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Mick's WF-55 blueser "This cabinet is either retro or 'barking', depending on one's views. I've found that performances go better if you can make them worry a bit." Mick chose Ford Bermuda Blue for his superb and seamless MDF-built cabinet. It looks perfect with Mick's custom-colour Strat (perhaps it's no coincidence that Fender's vintage colours were also based on car paints of the time). The wood front panel is stained with Peruvian Mahogany and has three coats of acrylic lacquer.
"Leo (Fender) must have known something, because my cab has the same dimensions as an original, and it might just be the optimum for an 8-inch speaker. Very pleasing with a surprising amount of warmth and bass. I've made the internal baffle demountable so I can try different speakers."
As well as playing the blues, Mick's an experienced mandolin maker and has kindly supplied some tips and advice on options for finishing the WF-55's mahogany front panel. I'll upload them in the next few weeks.
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Chris' incredible combo Chris had previously built an SE-5a (shown below) and ordered a PP-18 amp kit. Where the SE-5a combo cab he made was conventional, the PP-18 combo cabinet is anything but. It's 100% retro styling in beautiful blonde wood looks like a fancy piece of furniture. For those guys whose other halves complain about having guitar amps in the living room, perhaps this is the perfect solution? :)
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The Italian Trittico I love this picture; Domenico, Pino and Fabrizio got together to minimise shipping costs for their amps, and the result is The Italian Trittico - a formation of two SE-5as an a PP-18 in matching hardwood cabs. They obviously keep good company (the '67 Strat), but am I the only one worried by that raging fire behind the amps? ;)
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Aleksi's orange combo "I probably made a few neighbours mad, but I couldn't stop playing this thing. It floors my old Marshall Valvestate 2x75W combo. The dynamics and response are simply out of this world compared to the tube preamped solid-state Marshall."
When Aleksi got in touch, he wanted a combo cab to go with his SE-5a amp kit. At the time I was just making arrangements with a British cab maker to make and supply cabs to Amp Maker customers. Aleksi's assembled SE-5a mounted straight into the cab and you can see the result here. This is the chunky '70s Marshall style, and there are also '60s classic style cabinets, too.
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Stephen's blonde SE-5a If you built your amp in the cramped confines of a shed, or perhaps on the kitchen table, spare a thought for Stephen - he built his on board a ship in the North Sea! I can't imagine what sort of mains voltages a ship's generator puts out, nor how you solder while being thrown this way and that, but... it worked. :)
Luckily, Stephen has what I need: a professional cabinet maker as a friend! In unmistakable ash hardwood, this blonde looks superb. Since building the SE-5a, Stephen's also built an 18W TMB amp in matching wood.
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Brian's conversion Here's a conversion of an old solid-state amp: the Marshall Lead 12 combo at the top of Brian's 3-way stack now contains a complete SE-5a. Brian used the SE-5a Basic kit and placed the output transformer within the Lead 12's chassis (which was deep enough to accomodate it). The valves and power transformer hang down from the chassis. "The combo/head can be removed and used just as a small practice combo, or placed on top and used as a head for the two cabs. Either option sounds absolutely great."
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Giampaolo's PP-18 For his PP-18 build, Giampaolo opted for the 'classic' 18W combo cabinet, covered in beautiful natural white tolex. He also swapped the kit's black chickenhead knobs for cream-coloured versions to match. Like a lot of customers, he's also looking for a personalised logo: "I'm thinking of putting a logo plate like 'GiAmp' - playing with my first name... still searching for a plate maker that doesn't charge an arm and a leg."
"At yesterday's rehearsal, the amp behaved perfectly. Creamy tone and takes pedals without fuss. And LOUD, too. The other guitarist loved the tone." |
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John's Blues Jr / SE-5a conversion Using a donor combo cab is defintely a fast track to getting a completed amp. John opted for the basic version of the SE-5a amp kit to use in his old Blues Jr. "The sound quality is superb, currently through the Blues Jr's 12-inch Eminence speaker. I have plans to install a Celestion Alnico Blues, when funds permit, as I believe the amp kit is more than worthy of it." |
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Mark's converted combo Here's an unloved solid-state amp that's been given a new lease of life. In this case, Mark has used Amp Maker's 36W transformer set and JJ valves to turn an old ValveState Marshall into a fire-breathing all-valve amp.
Some jobs were clearly easier than others: "The output transformer fitted into the chassis without modification and the power transformer is mounted underneath at 90 degrees, (but) the front panel is a new piece of steel I welded in." The other changes are a Jensen 12-inch alnico speaker and 'Bluesbreaker' grille cloth, and the anoraks among us will have spotted the H&K RedBox DI box sitting inside the back of the cabinet.
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Peter's tweedy WF-55 For his WF-55, Peter slightly repositioned some of the components to make it easier to fit into his tweed finished combo. With the chassis suspended on the back panel, the original position of the power switch was inaccessible, so it was moved to the top and carefully mounted to avoid fouling the power transformer. "It sounds amazing and really lets rip with a booster or fuzz pedal in front!" |
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Robert's SE-5a combo Like many amateur cabinet makers, Robert found that getting the right wood is difficult. "I got some pine board from B&Q but it was a bit curved, so I ended up with laminated spruce furniture board from Homebase." Despite this Robert persevered and taught himself how to use a dovetail jig and router. "One weekend after another came and went. I used Colron Danish oil to finish it and oxblood grille cloth with Fender corners and vintage handle; "but I made the vent slot a bit too wide, so the handle went on the side.
"I have to say that I am pleased with the way this has worked out since I had not done anything like this before. It delivers authentic sound that none of the modelling amps seem to be capable of despite their claims." |
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Jens' SE-5a Jens runs a left-handed guitar shop in Germany, and bought an SE-5a kit with classic combo cabinet to use as a demonstrator amp for customers. "This was 'background' before building another amp completely myself". Good to see another Tokai Love Rock fan - this one being rather unusual: left-handed and P90 pickups. :)
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Martin's PP-18 Like many customers wondering about the classic Dominator/18W circuit, Martin wasn't sure if he'd miss the Treble, Middle and Bass controls. "I tried it out last night and I am very pleased with the tone in particular. I was a bit concerned about the lack of individual bass/treble/mid adjustment, but it is all there in one control - excellent!" |
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Joel's SE-5a conversion Here's another solid-state amp that's had its unloved innards removed and an SE-5a circuit added. Joel's donor was a Rickenbacker TR7. As the second photo shows there's plenty of room, and it only took some drilling to add the holes for mounting the individual components.
"I tried it with several guitars (Rickenbacker, Charvel, Fender, Hofner), 6 & 12 strings, single or double pickups... it's great in every case (after a few minutes to find out the right control setup). The best surprise occured when I plugged my Yamaha Silent nylon guitar and got a pleasant 'acoustic classical sound' through the Jensen speaker."
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Mike's SE-5a build Mike wanted a 'small combo' to make a portable amp for his guitar-playing son, and chose an SE-5a amp kit. However, like a lot of people, Mike was easily persuaded that using a 12in speaker gives any amp a chance to give its full range, and so the idea of a tiny combo was ditched and plans for a more typical 1x12 combo took shape. He started with the cabinet plans for the classic 1x12 18W, used proper finger joints for the corners and the result is this stunning red combo. Too good to carry around, perhaps? :) Because Mike's now building a smaller Fender Princetone clone.
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Michael's low-rise combo To make his SE-5a combo as low as possible, Michael made it considerably deeper than the typical 9"/230mm of most typical Marshall-style combos. This allows the valves and transformers to clear the back of the speaker. Michael also added two small circular vents to allow air to circulate around the valves. |
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Kevin's aux-naturelle 18W combo Who needs tolex? For his combo cab, Kevin cleaned up some old floorboards (!) and finished them natural. There's some great detailing - check out the shaped valve protector on the back panel and the personalised valance on the front. Great work! :)
As for the amp: "This 18W amp has utterly amazed me - I am using it instead of the Pro, even in reasonable size gigs, and it's cutting through great and sounding fantastic. When I think of all the money I have spent on overdrive pedals and 9V batteries over the years... now it's just a guitar and a lead."
Check out Kevin's band, The Nightflies - now that's what I call proper R&B! :)
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Shane's US-style SE-5a The SE-5a is a 'British-voiced' amp, but you can take any approach you like when you design and build your cabinet. Shane's combo cabinet is a vintage Tweed style design but he's added a contemporary twist with the stunning burgundy tolex. "Great kit and a relatively easy build thanks to your fantastic instructions. I found covering the cab in tolex to be the worst part of the entire process! Well worth the effort though". I think the result speaks for itself. |
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Alan's unusual SE-5a combo There are only so many ways to mount an amp chassis inside a combo cab, but Alan took an unusual approach with his SE-5a. He chose an over-tall cabinet, with a shelf inside (shown below in a planning stage). This allows the completed SE-5a chassis to sit upright - as in a head cabinet, and allows for a completely separate speaker compartment.
"It sounds amazing, thanks to your well thought through design. The speaker that I've fitted is an 8-ohm Celestion Blue which enhances the sound, emphasising a strong rich middle tone."
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Stefan's combo conversion Old Marshall solid-state amps of the '70s and '80s are a great find for amp converters - they usually have good quality British-made Celestion speakers and they're made as sturdily as the Marshall's valve amps of the same era. Stefan fitted a SE-5a Basic Kit into this combo. "It's really loud. I thought it would be a quiet little amp. I went to the cellar and soon my girlfriend came down and said that they can hear me playing through the whole house. That sound grooves! It's the '60s - '70s sound exactly how I like it."
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David's stacked combo Appearances can be deceptive: David's mini-stack is actually a one-piece combo. Like Alan (above), David has mounted his amp chassis on a shelf inside the cabinet. So it looks like it's a head cab sitting atop a speaker cabinet. One extra benefit of this approach is that you can turn it into a closed-back combo by making a suitable rear panel for the combo part of the cabinet.
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Aleksi's Princeton-ish combo This Tweed Princeton-ish combo was a present that Aleksi made for his father. For the circuit, Aleksi used TB11 PTFE board along with Amp Maker transformers to make an amp that's broadly similar to the Champ-based WF-55 amp kit. But following the vintage Princeton's lead, it also has a simple tone control. It's all mounted into his own chassis, with a 'plexi-style' control panel and chrome knobs to suit the tight control panel. And this is all wrapped up in a custom cabinet from Chris (see Cabs by Chris). |
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Mauro's hot-rodded Behringer The best thing about cheap solid-state amps is that they make great donors for valve circuits. Mauro built his SE-5a Basic Kit into a Behringer Vintage GM110 combo. As with any donor amp build, Mauro started by checking whether the 257x67mm SE-5a turret board and transformers could fit, and that there was space for the controls.
The next step is to drill and punch the chassis for the valve sockets and mounting points for other components. (Tip: check twice, drill once!) Check out Mauro's music at Soundclick.
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Kevin's upside-down amp Whenever an Amp Maker kit is built upside-down - as here, where it hangs from the top of the combo cabinet - it requires some thought and planning. It's best to use the Plain chassis version of the kit and order a mirror-image turret board, because when flipping the control panel by 180-degrees, the inside of the amp flips from right-to-left.
"This has been a very enjoyable project (for a change); your guide is spot on. I have made amplifiers before, but always transistor, with good results, but not in the same league as yours!"
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Rob's slant-faced SE-5a combo There's always some new twist on combo styling, and Rob's is one. Wanting a control panel that was easier to read when standing over the amp, Rob designed a combo which would take the SE-5a chassis at an angle. He worked out the weird geometry to allow the valves and power transformer adequate clearance, and mocked up a cardboard prototype!
For the final amp, Rob used purple velour (!) and perspex for viewing slots. See the full building guide at Rob's Wiki: SE-5a combo Wiki.
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Peter's 1x12 SE-5a combo Combos don't get much cuter than this. Peter's hand-made 1x12 cab has an offset G12H speaker and a two-tone colour scheme.
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Rab's mirror-image build Rab wanted to make a combo cab where the controls were at the front - i.e. with the chassis suspended from the top of the combo cabinet. This simple decision actually causes a lot of changes: the whole amp needs to be laid out in 'mirror-image' form (compared to the layout shown in the online construction manual). It's not hard, but it needs VERY good attention to detail.
Rab also chose a distressed paint finish for his cabinet, an alternative worth considering for those (like me) whose tolex-covering skills aren't up to scratch! :)
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Breogan's 2x10 PP-18 combo OK, I'll admit that the idea of red tolex made me wonder, but there's no doubting the drop-dead gorgeous result of Breo's choice. "I love the finish! It is kind of a retro-cool mix of colors, like a 50's Cadillac." The white piping along the back of the control panel is a great touch.
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John's 1x12 SE-5a combo Another approach to combo styling; John went for the chunkier late-'70s styling and used Marshall-style large chequerboard grille cloth to set it off. It creates a very purposeful-looking amp.
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Tim's combo Another vote for natural pine with danish oil finishing, from Tim and his SE-5a. Tim used a simple L-pad attenuator to reduce speaker volume (while the amp itself is cranked). He mounted the L-pad control on a small panel just inside the back of the combo cabinet.
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Lars' modified PP-18 combo Lars used the PP-18 as the basis for his ultra-compact 2-channel combo. There's enough juice available from the PP-18's power transformer to power an extra preamp valve and Lars added his own circuit with Treble, Middle, Bass and Master controls. This channel works alongside the PP-18's normal input. |
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Wolfgang's SE-5a build "Over the holidays I had a little time to finish my amp. Now everything is done and I have a little screamer! The amp is really noise-free. The sound is just great. I usually play a Fender Twin, and I used occasionally a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, but I was never really happy with the sound. It was just not sweet. I guess this may change in the future."
Properly built and well-housed, the SE-5a is no lightweight toy. Wolfgang used good-quality 21mm ply for his cabinet with a Celestion G12M greenback speaker. All-in this little combo weighs 18kg.
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Kare's PP-18 combo The PP-18 amp that Kare bought was a Christmas present for his son. The cabinet he made to house it has a mixture of design cues: thinner ply like '70s WEM amps, salt-and-pepper cloth a la Marshall and protective hardware of the type you see on a lot of independent amp maker builds. "My son is now a convinced valve amplifier enthusiast." |
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Chris' 1x12 SE-5a combo Take one SE-5a amp, a G12H, some wood, and voila! Chris: "I made a case using the 1x12 18watt measurements for my amp, but reduced the dimensions to those more suited to a portable practice amp and made it 23x10x18 approx ... the finish is rollered woodsheen paint, suggested by someone on the www.18watt.com forum". The grille cloth is Marshall-style 'salt and pepper'.
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JE's 1x12 PP-18 combo For JE's 1x12 18W combo, he opted to adapt the layout so that the valves hung downwards - i.e. at right angles to what would be the chassis' back panel. This means fitting them into a tighter space than they would otherwise take up, but JE found no problems. A side benefit is that there's more space for the turret board and its associated wiring.
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Andy's B&Q special! Pine was good enough for Fender's vintage amps, so it's good enough for today's amps. For his SE-5a Andy used low-cost pine shelving from the local B&Q DIY store and made butt-joints with dowels for the corners. The finish is danish oil and he added a small logo printed on Lasertran inkjet paper to the back panel.
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Looking for head ideas? If you're undecided about whether to make a head or combo, or just want to see what other Amp Maker customers have done with their head cabinets, click through to the Customer amp gallery: heads + stacks page. |
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Add your photos, MP3 clips, etc If you've built an Amp Maker kit, or made your own amp using Amp Maker parts, I'd love to add it to this page. I'm happy to include photos, MP3 sound clips and any ideas and tips you've got to help inspire other amp builders. Of course, I'm also happy to add links to your band's Web site, your amp-building blog, etc. |