All assembly and testing and tweaking of electrically powered equipment should be done with care. Mains voltages (100-240 Volts AC) themselves are dangerous and almost all valve-powered amplifiers have higher voltages (250-500V DC). The latter can be stored within capacitors insude the circuit – even when the amplifier is switched off. What this means, in …
“Can I add reverb?” is probably the most frequently asked question of all. The short answer: Yes, but it’s not trivial, and it’s difficult to get it sounding good. The long and detailed answer: Reverb is a time-domain effect, and is best placed AFTER compression and distortion. If you look at the typical FX chain …
Valve rectifiers are an unnecessary expense and complication for a guitar amp. In a few vintage amplifiers they do contribute to the tone, but in many amplifiers they don’t provide any sonic benefit at all. Here’s why… Valve rectifiers’ most important feature is that they have an internal resistance. Let’s say that it’s 100ohms. When …
“Can I add an FX loop?” is another common question. The answer is very similar to that for adding reverb. The short answer:Yes, but it’s not trivial, and it’s difficult to get it sounding good. The long and detailed answer:The main reason for having an FX loop in an amplifier is to add time-domain effects, …
No. For a few troubleshooting issues, having an oscilloscope available is useful. But you would also need the training to know how to use one (not difficult, but not trivial). If you enjoy amp building so much that you want to get into the real detail of waveforms, distortion, etc, then it might be worth …
To build an amp kit you need a combination of electronics tools and a few hand tools: 1) Soldering iron. 20-30W is fine. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a temperature controlled model (although they are nice to have if you plan to build a lot of projects). Don’t use a …
I always recommend running within the rated power rating of your speakers. So, if I am using an 18W amplifier, I do not run it into a single 1x12inch cabinet with a 15W-rated Celestion Blue. I know that some people do, but the speaker is so expensive the risk is not worth it. Going the …
No – as long as it matches the output impedance of the amplifier that it’s plugged into. In a valve amplifier the output transformer’s windings match the speaker to the power valves. So the amp will sound the same if you use a 4-ohm speaker plugged into the 4-ohm output, or a 8-ohm speaker cabinet …
This is possibly the #1 question that I get asked, and I have two answers. 1) Short answer: Celestion G12H 30W for british/overdriven tones. JBL E120 for cleaner tones. This is entirely my own subjective preference; you may hate them! 2) Longer answer: The speaker and its cabinet is a very significant factor in the …
Yes. Some kits have universal power transformers with 110-120V windings. These are wired exactly as shown in the build guides and layout diagrams. Some of the other mains transformers supplied with all kits can be wired for European (220-240V AC) or North American (110-120V) mains supplies. The online build guides for the kits show how …
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