Marshall 50W Build!

[Kapo_Polenton]

dude, that's looking pretty good! don't worry about bent resistor leads...you will rarely get them perfect. You can however buy a little gizmo in which the resistor sits that allows you to get a perfect bend though. Experience will make for perfect bends as builders get to know the length required between turrets. take a look at my gut shot and then pat yourself on the back...think of it as giving it that hand wired vintage look! In my defence, I was trying a bunch of mods and screwing around with the diodes and just wanted it up but that's no excuse, i'm def not a pro

 

[Mr. Willy]

Looking dang good for a first time build. That's gotta be a rewarding experience.

 

[Michi]

Looking exceptionally neat man! Keep up the good work & updates !

 

[Joe L]

Got up to no good with my soldering iron last night and completed the turret board!

Here is a crappy iphone picture for now, will get some better ones when i get chance.

It went better than planned, didnt really encounter any problems. I think it's kinda neat (not bad for first attempt i'd say ), although the perfectionist in me is dying due to some un-straight component legs!

I really want my build to look as good as it will (hopefully) sound. Also makes trouble shooting easier if everything is neat and tidy.

Just need to add the insulated buss wire to link it all up and it will be read to mount the chassis in no time.

Thanks for the nice comments so far!

The board is looking good so far. I checked it out and all the diodes and electrolytics are the right polarity and from what I can see, the resistors and caps are the right values.

Tips - for a first build, wire everything from the top of the board to make checkout and mods easier. If you make your own board, you can put a hole for each wire to run from the turrent to the bottom of the board. Also, make sure and put the part numbers facing up, again, for easier checkout.

In wiring the preamp tubes, keep pins 1,3,6 & 8 low to the chassis, pins 2 and 7 up a bit and as short as reasonably possible. This will help stability so the amp won't squeel when cranked.

Advanced - separate the phase inverter/bias section of the board from the preamp so in the future, you can try different preamps. Because once you have built an amp, you are going to eventually want to play with it.

And holler if you need any help!

..Joe L

Here is my Bassman with an SLO reproduction circuit board wired in. Talk about a sleeper!!

 

[Charvel_King]

Thanks guys!

I'll do some more detailed pics today and update my blog.

Should have the amp finished this week, just a couply more evenings work and it'll be done.

Then i'll get some clips done.

 

[Charvel_King]

 

[LP Freak]

Looking good

 

[xXDaveyJonesXx]

Yesss

 

[Charvel_King]

Okay, been really busy with this and new job the last 2 weeks but it is finally done!

Here are some pics of the final stages!

Measuring the Off Load Heater Voltage (i.e. measuring the voltage across the two heater wires without the common ground)

6.7v is perfect, would be hald that so 3.35v with common grounded.

Off Load HT Voltage (or B+ for the yanks )

The Hammond Transfromers are fantastic, perfect voltages accross the board!

Used a power drill to get perfect twist for the tube heaters, not bad!

Heater wiring:

Testing the heater supply:

Pot wiring:

V4 and V5 sockets, impednece selector and speaker jack wiring:

Front pannel and knobs, looking very amp-like at this stage:

Powering up and testing:

Oscilascope!

Variac Style, this is very cool. Looks just like the one in the old Van Halen pictures!

This is used ot gradually bring the voltage up to 230v for the first power up so not to damange the caps.

HT Voltage (B+)

Finished article:

For tubes i am running some TAD EL34s i had laying around. In V1 i have an original Mullard ECC83, old Sovtek in V2 and Brimar (Brimar is another old british company like Mullard) ECC83 in V3 (phase inverter)

Was great fun and the amp sounds fantastic! There no hums or weird noises, works perfectly. I was expected to encounter some problems as i sourced parts myself and didnt use a kit, pleseantly suprised!

Sounds just like i thought it would, pure Marshall tone!!

Gonna perform some tweaks too, will keep you guys posted on that front

 

[guitarobert]

Dang that looks tasty! Really nice.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

nicely done.. do you find yours bright? I snipped my bright cap yet again.. seems better without it.

 

[Charvel_King]

nicely done.. do you find yours bright? I snipped my bright cap yet again.. seems better without it.

Thanks! And nope, its sounds great!

Very organic sounding.

I'll get some clips done soon.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

beats me what's up with mine then! back to the wood shed.... i guess depending on parts, voltages, lead dress...anything could do it. What volume have you taken it to?

 

[Charvel_King]

beats me what's up with mine then! back to the wood shed.... i guess depending on parts, voltages, lead dress...anything could do it. What volume have you taken it to?

Not too high at the moment. But will be cranking it next week.

Got any more detailed pics of yours, see if there any any difference in ours?

 

[Charvel_King]

Dang that looks tasty! Really nice.

Thank you, it sure sounds as good as it looks!

 

[TrueTone500]

Excellent job!

 

[IHateRap]

Great job!

Can't wait to give it a listen.

 

[RG955TT]

Looks really great! How many hours do you think you have into the build?

 

[peterc52]

Takes me under a weekend, more like 1 day and an afternoon. I can't stop when I've started an amp build.

 

[peterc52]

Here is one 2203 build I did