D-Man
Hi,
I've got a little Sanchez guitar amp. Now I don't know if any of you have ever seen one of these but it really isn't good quality.
It's output is apparently 15watts. However, the 6,5inch, 8ohm speaker is only rated for 10watts. The overdrive is not too bad at high levels but I'm sure it could be better. It has controls for volume, high, low, mid and level and gain (for the O/D). The sound it produces is pretty weak. With the volume at about 4 (clean) it produces a distorted sound.
Is there anything at all that I can do to improve, customize or just change the sound of my amp?
Gearhead
Don't worry about the wattage of the speaker, the design is probably fine. One of the uses of a small cheap amp is to use the chassis as a starting point for a new amp, but you would have to be interested in amp building to do that. Otherwise, upgrading the thing is going to be a waste of energy and money imho.
If you're looking at improving your tone, look around in the classifieds section and on the known second hand sites. It is often the cheapest way in the long run to buy something gooood secondhand.
D-Man
I've looked at and considered amp building before. It's not completely out of the question for me. But where do you strart when doing something like this. Do you build from diagrams? Where do you get these diagrams? Where do you buy your parts?
I'd love to get more info on this coz it'll be cool to complete somthing like that even if it takes ages
MikeM
Ir costs far more than you think. It's cheaper to buy a Cub or second hand. Go DIY cause you have the passion or if you want to tweak.
Gearhead
For tube amps: you could get kits including workshop from Karel Mars or kits from tube amp component suppliers through the likes of Matta. There are group buys regularly on this forum and if you let guys know you are interested, they might approach you to share shipping. You have to know what you are doing though, because tube amps and their high voltages can and do kill.
Start off by looking at the cost of a kit or parts (for example the AX84 on the net) and compare that against buying the odd second hand branded amp. In the long run you might want to sell your amp and it would probably fetch more if it was called a Blackstar then when it is called D_Man_DIY. I am not trying to put you off of building (on the contrary) but just want to make sure you consider your options.
For sand other amps, personally I think DIY is a waste for guitar purposes ?
TomCat
I went the total DIY route, so here are a few things to consider.
1. You need some background in electronics to be able to understand what you are doing without wasting a lot of money or killing yourself. You also need the background to understand what is going on when things don't turn out as expected and you need to troubleshoot. You also need someone who has walked the road to check what you are doing, especially in the design stage of the project.
2. Do lots of research. There are schematics all over the internet for Tube amplifiers. Anything Fender based such as a Champ or Princeton is usually a good starting point.
3. Be prepared to be patient , the process of DIY takes time.
3. Have a clear idea of what you want the amplifier to do. Do you want something simple with lots of clear headroom or do you want add extras like distortion, reverb etc.
4. Be prepared to spend some money. DIY often turns out to be more expensive than an off the shelf amp of similar specification.
5. Have a passion for the project. You will reach a point where it feels like you are never going to finish and you need to be passionate enough to see it through to completion.
Other than that...A DIY amp is a walk in the park..... ? ?
