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Dub-T-123

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The amp build is continuing slowly and steadily. I've got the tube socket wiring complete and the output transformer wired up. The brass grounding plate should be here Monday, so some of the wiring is waiting until then. Been fun so far [thumbup]

 

FD65CD86-FFCE-4470-9465-FE15F9578E74_zpskjkn6jjs.jpg

 

Gettin' me excited! Might have to build one myself. I imagine it's gonna sound sick and I can't afford a tweed Deluxe of course. Looking forward to this one turning out awesome! [thumbup]

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Gettin' me excited! Might have to build one myself. I imagine it's gonna sound sick and I can't afford a tweed Deluxe of course. Looking forward to this one turning out awesome! [thumbup]

Do it! Do it! Do it!

 

Yes... We definitely need a demo when its done :) [thumbup]

Will do. Prepare for TONE [laugh]

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Got the power section wired up. I thought this was gonna be easy, but I don't have the tool to insert the strain relief clip into the chassis and it was HARD to get in there. Luckily I managed to get it in without damaging anything. Soon as I get the brass plate I can wrap things up in the chassis. Better get crackin on that cab :)

 

BBB39F68-90AC-4E9D-B46F-7C3023AAC228_zpsufy4w6hz.jpg

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Cool.. What wood you got for the job??

 

Heres a quick vid on the subject

I'm going to do a traditional fender style cab with 3/4" solid pine and a 1/2" birch ply baffle (back panels are 1/4", but I may make them 5/16" or 3/8" since I'm not planning on covering with tweed). Gonna do through dovetail joints like the original. I'm thinking of staining it green or something that kinda doesn't look like every other 5e3 build :)

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I'm going to do a traditional fender style cab with 3/4" solid pine and a 1/2" birch ply baffle (back panels are 1/4", but I may make them 5/16" or 3/8" since I'm not planning on covering with tweed). Gonna do through dovetail joints like the original. I'm thinking of staining it green or something that kinda doesn't look like every other 5e3 build :)

Sweet.. You gonna post pics of that build too? Id be interested to see it for sure.

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This is my solution for the time old problem of Gibson guitars on the workbench. I've made a swivel part which has one side scooped and one side flat for whether you need the guitar on its front of back. It's made out of some left over pine decking boards I had and oiled with tung oil

 

IMG_20161015_122042.jpg

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I'm going to do a traditional fender style cab with 3/4" solid pine and a 1/2" birch ply baffle (back panels are 1/4", but I may make them 5/16" or 3/8" since I'm not planning on covering with tweed). Gonna do through dovetail joints like the original. I'm thinking of staining it green or something that kinda doesn't look like every other 5e3 build :)

 

Will it have reverb? Thought about speaker yet?

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This is my solution for the time old problem of Gibson guitars on the workbench. I've made a swivel part which has one side scooped and one side flat for whether you need the guitar on its front of back. It's made out of some left over pine decking boards I had and oiled with tung oil

 

IMG_20161015_122042.jpg

Well done!

 

Will it have reverb? Thought about speaker yet?

No reverb on this guy. I would like to build something like the Weber revibe in the future though

 

The speaker should be coming in Monday. I ordered a ceramic 12" from Weber. It's a "12F150" 25W with light dope option. The speaker is supposed to be similar to a Jensen C12N, which is what Neil Young uses in his 5e3. I'm hoping the ceramic speaker will give me a little extra output, and if it makes the amp sound a little closer to Neil's that's cool too!

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Final setup done on walnut top 1 :)

 

BUT, but I plugged it in to check everything was working as it should and discovered that it wasn't working properly (groan)... So after checking all the soldering out I couldnt find an issue.. After a while I realised that the switch itself was faulty which is a first for me.. Its a switchcraft one too so im not sure what happened too it.. Problem is that I bought it ages ago so cant even send it back... Oh well at least I know what the issue is and can fix it easy enough...

 

Man its crazy how many things can go wrong with all this...

 

DSC_1929_zpslhteprxp.jpg

 

and then for fun I decided to put it next to my LPs to see how it fits in.. see what you reckon

3726_n_zpskx8cudea.jpg

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That's annoying but it does happen even with the expensive parts. I've had carling footswitches fail fresh out of the package ($10 switch for a pedal rather than the normal $2 one). The ones that are good last forever the ones that are bad usually break immediately.

 

You might be able to fix the switch by adjusting the contacts a little bit

 

Looks awesome btw. Cool looking pickups too

 

 

 

My speaker and brass plate came in today. The speaker sure is pretty. Came with a free beer koozie too. Definitely gonna need that koozie

 

36FB7BC0-F487-48EF-8A82-DE512AE54E0C_zpsilhkzmdd.jpg

 

Now that I have everything I need to finish the amp, it's just down to a little more wiring and then building that cab! Got the dovetail jig this weekend for $35 at harbor freight. I've already concocted the way that I will completely disregard the instructions for that jig lol. Should be pretty easy

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Sweet.. Cant wait to hear it Dub [thumbup]

 

Heres my latest shots of walnut top 2... almost ready... Just another day or so of oiling (I may even leave it where it is if it looks ok tomorrow).. Obviously I have to finish this and that blue maple top by the weekend for that show...

 

DSC_1939_zpssjrdmq7g.jpg

 

DSC_1942_zpsvz3xjoux.jpg

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Today was the moment of truth. I plugged in the amp and... Failure.

 

Checking voltages I realized I had nothing present at B+

 

Sure enough I trace the wires back to the rectifier tube socket and I had soldered the center tap from the OT primary and the wire from the first filter cap anode to pin 7 on the rectifier tube instead of pin 8.

 

Luckily no parts were damaged, and once I corrected that mistake everything was go. Plugged everything in and cranked it up (chassis and speaker on the floor) and it definitely works as it should. It's about 9pm here so I had to keep the testing brief but it's definitely sounding great. Very sweet overdriven sound with the Ric. I bet it will roar with the SG. Maybe I'll pop a 12AX7 in V1 and see how gritty that gets.

 

Well at the moment I'm feeling pretty proud. This thing is badass. Can't wait to get the cab built and take it out for some proper jamming

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Got the power section wired up...

 

BBB39F68-90AC-4E9D-B46F-7C3023AAC228_zpsufy4w6hz.jpg

 

You might want to double check the power cord wiring. I can't see it that well in the pic. I'm assuming you're not using the other switch. The black wire from the power cord should go to the tip of the fuse. I think that's how you have it. Then the wire from the rim of the fuse holder should go to one side of the power switch. Then the other side of the power switch should be connected to one of the black transformer wires and the other black transformer wire should get connected (twisted together, soldered and covered) to the white wire from the power cord. Then the fuse is the first thing in line when the power enters the amp. See here

 

You can use the other switch for a standby switch like this

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I didn't want to do the standby or ground switch on this so I left it unused.

 

The way the power is wired is basically the same in the sense that the first thing the hot wire hits is the fuse. The neutral wire connects to the black PT wire via the power switch (when switched in the ON position). The "rim" of the fuse is connected to the other black wire from the PT. Slightly different but the end result is the same.

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Ohh by the way.. I have a question for you wiring experts....

 

I have this wire which ive had sitting around for a while (use it to fix my washing machine).. And wanted to know if you guys think its good enough to use for wiring a guitar.. id say so but wanted to double check... mostly it will be used for ground wire

 

This is what the package says

DSC_1961_zpsd5nj6naw.jpg

 

And heres the wire

DSC_1964_zpswuxvg0jp.jpg

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