Greetings from North Texas! I have been lurking on this site for a little while... I think I have made a post or two, but nothing to write a book about. Anyway, I am new to amp building. I started in December of last year(2013), building a 2-channel 50W EL-34 based head of my own design* along with a rather large 2x12 closed back cabinet running G12M drivers. That project went so well (other than the obvious error of not derating the speaker drivers) that I decided that I wanted to do it for a living and founded Brown Amplification in April of last year.
For you folks that have been doing this for years, this may sound hasty and stupid, but am not one to shy away from a challenge. I freely admit to lacking the 30 years of tube amp repair and building that seems standard for most outfits. I have, however, spent the last 23 years as both a technician and electrical engineer in both military and commercial electronics. That being said, I have the utmost respect for the amp builders that grew up fixing and building tube amps... that experience can NEVER be replaced by a college degree. That is why I have lurked both here and at other forums... there is great wisdom here, and more than once it has helped me with design ideas and problem solving, so THANK YOU. I hope to be more of a contributor than a user in the future. I always consider myself a student, but I also hope that my "outside the box" technical experience can bring something new to the table. Time will tell.
anyway, HI!
-Ryan
*When I say "my own design", I really mean I studied a lot, borrowed a lot, then tweeked to my preferences. I've never done a clone, but I have borrowed heavily from a variety of designs.
