My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

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Irene Idler
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#1 My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

Having had my overly ambitious dreams cut down to size, I've finally decided on my first DIY project: the Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp. It's a fantastically simple kit, comes with a pre-drilled chassis, and, most importantly to Mr. Idler, all the parts are British-made. There's a simple mod plan on the website for adding a tone control that I'm sure I can manage, and I'm planning to have the cabinet made larger than necessary (and use a 12" driver) to accommodate future additions or rebuilds. I fully expect this to be only the start, and my endpoint is to reuse all the insides and end up with a more powerful amp with gain, reverb, and tremolo controls.

It's a single-ended design that takes an ECC83 for the input valve. The output valve specified is a 6V6, but it can be modified to use something different, such as a 6L6, EL34, KT66, 6550, or a variety of other possibilities. Mr. Idler thought I should go with the EL-84, but after some discussion with a friend in the US who builds custom guitars, amps, and effects for a living, I've decided to stick with the 6V6, which is particularly popular among guitarists for its "sweet" tone.

There was never any question that I'd go for a Celestion Vintage 30 driver; I've loved Celestions in guitar amps since I was a teenager, and the Vintage 30 is by far my favorite (Plus, British!). Mr. Idler recommends the 16Ω option to reduce the required step-down ratio. Between the tone from the three lipstick pickups on my prodigal Danelectro DC-3 (story to be posted in the Instruments forum), the 6V6 output valve, and the Vintage 30, I anticipate a very nice sound indeed.

The tricky bit, really, is going to be assembling the cabinet in such a way that the insides are easy to show off. It won't be much to look at in the beginning, but hey, maybe I can persuade a few people to bring their guitars to the next DIY meetup and try it out.
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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#2 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Mike H »

Amp Maker! I know him - well in passing - should be good. Transformers are Danbury. :thumbleft:
 
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#3 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Thermionic Idler »

I was very pleased when Meredith found the Amp Maker site, it also turns out to be a source of very reasonably priced octal valve sockets and tag strips :-)
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#4 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Mike H »

Wonder what he's going to do about sourcing future transformers tho ....
 
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Irene Idler
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#5 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

I asked Barry, and he's not sure yet where he'll be sourcing transformers; he's talking to a variety of manufacturers and hasn't made a decision. He told me he'd asked Danbury for enough transformers to get him into the new year. He wasn't able to guarantee I'd get the Danburys if I waited till then to order, so I ordered the kit (and some odds and ends for Dave) on Monday, and it arrived a couple of hours ago, Danbury transformers and all. (Barry even emailed to check because I'd specified the wrong voltage capacitor for the tone control mod, and he swapped it out and adjusted the cost for me. That kind of attention to detail is worth its weight in gold!)

All bits are present and accounted for, resistors measured with voltmeter to make sure I was reading the color codes right, and everything very nice quality indeed. The PTSE turret board is VERY solid and impressed Dave thoroughly. The pots feel nice and smooth, the switch has a nice substantial action, the knobs are even nicer than they looked online, and the front panel on the chassis has plenty of extra holes in it for my planned mods later on. It came with JJ tubes, the same manufacturer Dave used in his Son of Beast, and even a pre-drilled mahogany faceplate (as this is meant to be a replica of a Fender "Tweed" style amp, though I plan to spray it black since my cabinet will be pretty different). There's one bit of plastic that wasn't identified in the inventory list, and Dave has no idea what it is either, but I expect it'll turn up somewhere in the build instructions. The only hitch is that one corner of the front panel on the chassis is a little bit bent (I hate UPS with a burning passion[1] but they're who Barry uses and we weren't up for a road trip to Cambridge). Fortunately it should be easily fixable and will be covered by the faceplate anyway.

I'll take photos and post them later for those who enjoy that sort of thing. I plan to document this build pretty thoroughly as it's my first ever. My fingers are itching to get started, but first I need to do a more thorough read through the manual. It'll probably be the weekend before Dave has time to do a soldering tutorial for me as well, but we work so well together that I really want to wait for him to show me rather than trying to follow a youtube video. (Also, he has to retrieve spare wire and expendable bits from the storage unit.)

[1] I can tell some UPS stories from when I lived in the US that would curl your hair. Like that time the driver couldn't find my apartment, so instead of calling me for instructions, he drove to the other end of town and left it outside my previous apartment, which was in a pretty terrible neighborhood and had a landlord I'd nearly had to file a restraining order against (and my car was VERY distinctive), in a heavy downpour. But that would just be getting started.
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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#6 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Mike H »

Irene Idler wrote:He told me he'd asked Danbury for enough transformers to get him into the new year.
I guessed he might do that.
 
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Irene Idler
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#7 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

It's a good thing I ordered that kit when I did, because amp-maker is out of stock on them now! I haven't actually started soldering yet -- Dave and I have had a crazy couple of months -- but I've got a design in mind for the cabinet and cressy says it shouldn't be a problem to copy it:

Image

So picture this, only with silver flake metal finish. Totally over the top.
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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Irene Idler
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#8 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

Well, I've finally done it: behold, my very first attempt at soldering! This is the completed turret board for my guitar amplifier. Dave has graciously assured me it looks better than his first project, but I know he's only trying to make me feel better. Still, all the connections check out, and I feel quite pleased with myself. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Image
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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Dave the bass
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#9 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Dave the bass »

Shoddy!

(Its a forum tradition).
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Irene Idler
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#10 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

Mike H wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2016 5:13 pm Amp Maker! I know him - well in passing - should be good. Transformers are Danbury. :thumbleft:
As it happens, I got his *last* Danbury transformers. Lucky me!
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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#11 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Cressy Snr »

Nice work Meredith. :thumbleft:
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#12 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by cressy »

looks better than the inside of my el34 amp. nowt wrong with that soldering
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Irene Idler
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#13 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by Irene Idler »

Thanks, all. I have to admit I think it looks a little better in person, but I just wanted everything to work, so I was more focused on making good connections than a nice layout. My Danelectro will be back with me tomorrow, and join a grand tradition of prodigal guitars of which I first became aware when I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Might have been a good idea to leave enough money in the budget for this month to buy a guitar cable, but I was distracted by a shiny new reissue of Matthew Sweet's 'Girlfriend' from MOV...
"Hey, you know the rules, baby. If you wanna PLAY funky, you gotta SMELL funky." -- Mike Troutman
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#14 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by The Stratmangler »

Irene Idler wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:48 pmMight have been a good idea to leave enough money in the budget for this month to buy a guitar cable, but I was distracted by a shiny new reissue of Matthew Sweet's 'Girlfriend' from MOV...
Matthew Sweet?
Wasn't he in The Thorns, along with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droje? Their album is great.
Shawn Mullins album, Soul's Core is also available on MOV.

Nice job on the soldering :)
Chris :happy3:
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#15 Re: My very first project: Amp Maker WF-55 valve guitar amp

Post by IslandPink »

Crikey that circuit board is a bit shoddy isn't it ? :D
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