“I built one of your SE-5a amps a couple of years ago whilst recovering from hip replacement surgery. I have to say that it was the best kit I’ve ever encountered (I’ve built a lot of kits in my time).
“The final cabinet is made from 20mm thick Jarrah veneered chipboard (Jarrah is a beautiful Western Australian hardwood) and I wanted a retro art-deco type look to it. Routing a 20 mm radius on all of the edges gives it that old -fashioned look and hides the joints nicely. Lots of sanding and multiple coats of varnish actually give the chipboard surfaces on the rounded corners a very cool appearance. I was happy with the handle cut outs as well and I put a long vent slot in the top of the cab mostly so you can see the valves glowing! I fixed a single layer of mosquito wire mesh to the inside of the cab along the slot to prevent stray fingers or loose objects from poking around but you can still see the glow.
“I wanted to show the speaker hole in contrast to the wood grain so I used three layers of mosquito wire mesh arranged at 120 degree angles sandwiched between the speaker and the front board instead of an overall grille cloth. I was initially afraid the layers might rattle and buzz when you’re playing but they don’t and they do provide reasonably solid protection for the speaker.
“Speaker is a refurbished 1956 12-inch Fender. Sounds great and definitely has that early British pop characteristic to it.”