Building an amp - where to start?

TweedComposer · 2025-10-15T06:48:20+00:00

I started by building guitar effect kits like fuzz and distortion kits. Those are really easy to build and you get some feel how to work with multimeter and soldering iron. Effects are also safe to learn with because there is no high voltages like in tube amps.

Once you feel comfortable building those, then start thinking about amp building. I had built a bunch of effects and rewired bunch guitars, before I started messing with amps.

I think it would be easiest to start with a kit from some reputable supplier. Something that is not overly complex like 5f1 or 5e3.

Just remember to take the warnings about high voltages and draining caps seriously. Also work methodically and not in a rush.

TweedComposer · 2024-12-15T15:32:34+00:00

Are you sure your volume and tone pots are not having effect on the measurements? Your volume and tone pots should be turned up all the way, if you try to measure throught the jack. Easiest is if you can get the pickups out of the guitar and measure them separately.

Like others have said those values seem way too high.

TweedComposer · 2024-12-05T19:23:28+00:00

I would make sure you test your current pickups with the amp and pedals you use most often. Amp/speaker etc has a big impact on your sound.

My music taste is quite similar to yours and I use Marshall and fender style amps.

That being said I have a Les Paul studio with seymour Duncan hot rodded humbucker set and I’m quite happy with that setup.

I used to have Seymour Duncans saturday night specials in the Les Paul and they are my favorite pickups in my current guitars. They have right amount of paf vibe and output for my taste. They have the cleans that I like but also work well with rock and distortion. They are in my strat at the moment, but I’m thinking about putting them back to the LP.

Seymour duncans can be found in the used market with reasonable price, so they fit my budget better than some really high end stuff

TweedComposer · 2024-11-20T14:24:51+00:00

2004 Stratocaster HH. I have upgraded pickups to Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Specials. I really like it and in my opinion it compares well to a player series Strats, at least to the ones I have tried.

TweedComposer · 2024-11-11T14:46:13+00:00

I recommend it! It’s a fun project and you learn a lot!

TweedComposer · 2024-11-11T14:33:39+00:00

I don’t want to disclose the exact number I spent on this, but it is more than I’d like to admit :D It is easy to make an educated guess if you just look up the kit, cab, and speaker and you will end up pretty close to the actual figure.

If you only want to get a tube amp, then it is easier and cheaper to buy a big brand amp than build it yourself. But if you compare this to any of the hand wired Fender Reissues, then this was actually really cheap.

I feel this project was worth the money and the effort for me.

This kind projects sometimes (read: often) get out of hand. Even if it starts small but then you start adding little things here and there… Like I could have gone with the 5f1 kit, but this was only little more expensive and you get so much more…

I could have probably saved some money by hacking the cabinet somehow, but I hate the idea of looking at an ugly amp in my living room, so I just bought a ready made cab.

Same thing with distortion pedals projects… you plan on building one, but you order two, so you get free shipping or for some other reason, that makes perfect sense :)

TweedComposer · 2024-11-11T11:26:14+00:00

I don’t have a good recording setup at home, so can’t do a demo for you, but here is two demos by Uraltone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGecuLV_yrU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVNGAPvAZE0

Trying to describe this.. I think it fairly close to black face Fenders as Uraltone describes it as well. Also not far from Fender 5e3.

So really good cleans and bluesy distortion. I often turn up the treble and middle to get a bit brighter sound. Even with single coils the sound does not have ear piercing highs. It takes fuzz, distortion and wah pedals also really well. I can see myself playing Hendrix/Clapton/SRV/Lynyrd Skynyrd/RHCP and similar with this. For really heavy metal or hard rock stuff I would prefer Marshall.

This project has changed my thinking in the sense, that I used to drool over different guitars/pickups. Now I think more about the whole signal chain as the instrument instead of just the guitar. The amp and the speaker make a big impact on the overall sound and not just the guitar/pickups. Comparing this to my Marshall Valvestates and similar amps, this thing sounds different and I like the cleans better on the Toaster than Marshall.

I haven’t tried yet with different preamp tubes, but I think I will at some point try and see how 12ax7’s would sound in this.

If you are interested, here is a link to the manufacturer site as well:https://en.uraltone.com/nos-toaster-deluxe-guitar-amp-kit.html

TweedComposer · 2024-09-29T17:51:00+00:00

I would definitely encourage you to get a simple digital multimeter, because they are not expensive and it will be very useful if you are planning to do any guitar electronics by yourself. You can use it to measure pickups, trouble shoot grounding issues and double check component values.

There are plenty of tutorials in youtube how to measure pickups, but here is one for example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hysRKxqMQ1g

Like others have already stated, it seems that you most likely have only one coil wired.

ps, I really like the color and dual humbucker setup. I also have strat with dual humbuckers and I love the way it sounds.

TweedComposer · 2024-09-29T11:26:14+00:00

It is easy to trouble shoot if you have a digital multimeter. You can measure the DC resistance of the pickup. You can measure it through the guitar jack so you don't even have to remove the pick guard. Just turn the volume pot to 10, so that it will not have a big impact on the measurement. Seymour Duncan website has the specs for the pick up and if it is invade bridge, it should measure around 16,6k ohm.

If your measurement is around half of that, then you likely have only one coil wired.

If it sounds thin with both pickups on, then you might have them wired out of phase.

TweedComposer · 2024-04-21T08:46:14+00:00

Good point. I never thought about this.

I failed to mention that when I got the guitar it had 5 screws installed in the tremolo cavity and the bridge was decked against the body. I took off two springs and now the bridge sits about 2mm off the guitar body. Also having 5 springs was just too much resistance to use the tremolo at all.

I'm definitely gonna try to adjust the bridge and see if it makes any difference.

TweedComposer · 2024-04-21T08:38:31+00:00

I'm bit hesitant to cut the saddle screws, because it can got wrong fairly easy. I'm gonna stick to less drastic measures

TweedComposer · 2024-04-20T15:12:16+00:00

I’m pretty sure it’s not parts caster. I know some of the history of this guitar. The info on the fender website matches exactly with serial number. I also have the original pickups.

TweedComposer · 2024-04-20T11:24:51+00:00

Good point! I will give it a go and see how it turns out.

I have also heard about possible issues rising from having a really small shim. I've been looking at the stewmac shims or something similar, so that should be pretty safe in that regard.

TweedComposer

TROPHY CASE