Finally finished my build. Pics inside. I'm blown away!!

[gnugear]

Man, oh man, this thing is INCREDIBLE!! Hands down the most exciting amp I've ever played. I've been very skeptical about all the hype and was actually prepared to be unimpressed ... but I'm shocked at how great this thing sounds. It's rich, harmonic, full of bloom, and touch sensitive as all get out.

I started this thing over a year ago but got stuck, lost interest, got layed off and bunch of other stuff. When I began, the Francesca photos hadn't been posted so I started my power supply board layout differently. I kind of modified it so it's wired the same way but it looks different. I ran out of those 47uf caps so I've got them piggybacked to make the right values. I'll replace them later.

Oh yeah ... it fired up on the VERY FIRST TRY!! No blown fuses, no trouble shooting, no nothing. That's definitely a first in my book!!!

I'm running it with my Les Paul R9 historic into a '68 straight basketweave cab. I'm a die hard Marshall fan but this thing may actually be my fave.

[UR12]

Gnugear

Fired up first try, sounds great, looks great, who could ask for more?

Congrats! Omar's going to have a lot of material for the new gallery when he gets the new page up. April 1st will go down as the most trainwrecks completed in one day. What chassis did you use??

[Jeph]

Congrats man, looks great! I'm extremely close with finishing my build, all I need is a mov and strain relief for my power cord.

[gnugear]

I used a Hammond from Mouser. I ended up staking and drilling the boards myself ... what a pain. The hamertone finish on the chassis is just sprayed on from the hardware store. I was a clutz when gouging out the power tube socket holes, so I had to cover up the scratches somehow!

Oh yeah ... this thing definitely sounds best with OLD tubes. I'm experimenting with Mullards, Bugle Boys, Brimars, and a Mazda. So far I like the Bugle Boy in V1 and the Brimars in V2/V3 best.

I've got '72 slant with real greenbacks coming next week, so I can't wait to try that one out.

[martins3325]

Glad the amp really came alive for you! Not sure what power tubes your running but ive heard repeatedly Ken stongly prefered NOS Siemans EL-34s --alot cheaper than NOS Mullards--. Also a great sleeper 12ax7 if you can find em is NOS Raytheon Black Plates..might wanna give em a try. If you can track em down wont cost an arm and a leg. Have fun tweekin!

[gnugear]

Those power tubes are some old Svetlanas that I had laying around. I've been messing with preamp tubes and I keep coming back to a Amperex/Bugle Boy in V1 and Mullards in V2/V3. I've tried Brimar and Mazda but the Bugle Boy/Mullard combo is magic.

Gotta check out some NOS power tubes now.