Clone project

[Theorangemonkey]

I need help with a clone project. Im unsure what ive desided to clone because of lack of funds to buy a tranny. I do however have a busted fender bxr 200 tgat I was thinking of scraping for parts if I could figure out what amp it may be compatible with. My bxr200 is a ss 200w bass combo thats all I can figure out about it, I cant even get the specs for the tranny and output trasformer. So basicaly my question is if I pull it and implant it into the schematics of say tht TT, what else would I have to change in the schematics to compensate for the bigger tranny and ot?

Im a noob at this I can read schematics preaty well and I understand what circiuts are for what in the schematics but when it get down to what each component can handle volt wise, amp wise and ect im clueless. Please help me it would be much apreitiated.

Also I understand the dangers of working on and building tube amps and have read the safty procidures over and over.

Forgive my spelling mistakes im using my phone to type this and its a screwy piece of poo.

[Jondog]

Im unsure what ive desided to clone

This would be the first step to figure out. Then, if there are any re-usable parts on your BXR that fit the build, use'em. As far as the trannies go, you pretty much have to use the same power section as the BXR. Is a BXR even a tube amp? I thought they were solid-state? If you want to build a Tiny Terror, you might be able to use the chassis, IEC socket and cord.

[fiveightandten]

That's a solid state amp. Virtually no parts from it will help you with a tube amp build. You can clone a tiny terror. But if it's your first build, you'd be far better off trying to clone something that has a tried and true layout out there for you to follow. Translating a PCB based amp into something hand wired can open up a can of worms with hum, oscillations, or other problems to track down. You can try and work out the layout from the TT handwired by looking at pictures. That would be your best bet. Either way, i'd recommend a commonly cloned circuit over something like a TT, and i'd recommend building from scratch over trying to build something out of a solid state bass combo.

That's my recommendation at least. I suppose you could use the chassis from your amp if you wanted to go through the trouble of drilling it for sockets. But chassies are so cheap and readily available, there's almost no point, IMO. You wouldn't be able to keep it a combo as-is due to the heat from the tubes. You'd have to cut the back open, and modify it anyways. The face plate is also all weird with the EQ sliders and everything. Almost nothing about a SS bass amp combo makes for a good shell for a tube guitar amp.

In short, if you want to build an amp, i'd look into a kit. Or go to a resource with schematics and layouts and build with that info. For cheap transformers, look into Hammonds. I think Torres engineering carries them. I used a Hammond PT to power my Hiwatt clone.

Here's some pics of of that:




As a for instance, every part in that amp, I placed exactly where it would be in the real thing. If you try and clone a TT, you'll be translating the schematic and looking at pics of a TT HW and hoping you got things right.

TT HW:


A little less clear looking, huh?

Look how easy it is when you have a layout... (Fender 5E3, which is all over the internet)



Hope that helps.

-Nick

[jontheid]

Woo Nick - that is a nice bit of amp building. Wouldn't know it was a clone unless you said. You could sell that to Music Ground.

To the o/p - if you want to get into making and understanding tube amps, go here: http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Start with 'Triode gain stage'. It is the foundation block that everything else is built on.

I far prefer tube stuff to transistor stuff, not just because I prefer the sound, but also because in general the circuits are far simpler and the amps are easier to work on.

[Randy Bass]

This thread reminds me of those kit cars where they take a VW Beetle and put a Ferrari-esque body kit on it.

[Theorangemonkey]

Sorry guys Ive been absent for a bit.
After doing a bit more examining of my bxr I reallized the tranny is way different than tube amp trannies so I preatty much scratched that idea. Im actually getting kind of set on cloning an orange or vox amp and out of all the schematics and pics ive found of clones the tt seems to be the easiest (and cheepest) out of the ones ive chosen, and your right nick I can hardly find any clone projects of the tt, but the schematics I have seem to be detailed enough for me to replicate them othere than a few things like the watt size of most of the resistors, I would assume 1watt for the majority of them.

As for buying a kit, most of them are 700-1500 usd and thats way out of my limit. Ive priced every component for a tt clone and it was roughly 300-400 usd

Some of the other schematics I have and would like to try and clone would be the vox night train, orange ad15 (which looks very simmilar to the tt) and the vox ac15htvh but id like to figure out how to make the 2 seperate channels footswitchable instead of having to switch inputs.

I actualy printed out everything from valve wizard and have been reading it for a while now. Also I have a metal sheet bender so I can actualy make a chassis from a blank sheet of aluminum.

[Theorangemonkey]

Also the pic I have of a hw tt is alot more clear, although the guy said he never finished it. So I was just going follow the scematics and use his pic for a few things I cant see in the schematic (like whether or not is a 1w or a 1/2w resistor or the wireing on the duel pots

[IvanMan]

Hi guys. I'm a newbie in this forum, and also a newbie in tube amps construction.
After a period in modifying existing amps, I'd start with the construction of my first tube amp and the choice is an OTT.
After a lot of digging in the web I found this schematic that seems a good starting point:

About this schematic I have a few doubts and hope some of you can help:
1) R9 resistor --> in this schematic it's 68Ohm, but in other it's reported as 100Ohm. Right value?
2) Volume (P3) and Tone (P2) pot are right or have to be inverted (P2 before P3)?
Other helps may be useful are:
3) More data about Resistor and Caps (type, voltage or power, etc.) and Transformer
4) Layout for a point-to-point connection
5) A voltage chart to be used later during test
May you help or address to someone/website with this informations.
My objectives is to realize a detailed BillOfMaterial for me and to help other newbie to realize an OTT.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help.
Ivan

[bclaire]

Hi guys. I'm a newbie in this forum, and also a newbie in tube amps construction.
After a period in modifying existing amps, I'd start with the construction of my first tube amp and the choice is an OTT.
After a lot of digging in the web I found this schematic that seems a good starting point:

About this schematic I have a few doubts and hope some of you can help:
1) R9 resistor --> in this schematic it's 68Ohm, but in other it's reported as 100Ohm. Right value?
2) Volume (P3) and Tone (P2) pot are right or have to be inverted (P2 before P3)?
Other helps may be useful are:
3) More data about Resistor and Caps (type, voltage or power, etc.) and Transformer
4) Layout for a point-to-point connection
5) A voltage chart to be used later during test
May you help or address to someone/website with this informations.
My objectives is to realize a detailed BillOfMaterial for me and to help other newbie to realize an OTT.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help.
Ivan

Very old thread resurrected...

For what you're going to spend, just go buy a used Tiny Terror.... it will be cheaper, work properly, and you won't have to ask us a lot of questions about what went wrong....

Welcome to the forum. It's usually a large red flag when a first-time poster resurrects a four year old thread...

[fiveightandten]

What's with all these guys wanting to build a tiny terror? You can pick one up for barely over $300 in the used market. You can't build one from scratch for less than that.

If you *really* have to have a hand wired tiny terror, buy a used one, gut the thing, and rewire it yourself. You'll have the entire amp right there and have the PCB to aid you in making your hand wired layout. If you can't transfer PCB to hand wired with the amp on your bench, you shouldn't attempt to build an amp anyways.

-Nick

[Jondog]

I can't see what schematic you're using. Image didn't work. But like Billy said, it will cost you more to build one than buy one...to do it right with quality components. I understand if you're doing it for the fun of it though and cost doesn't matter.
Edit:
I'm not sure what the actual value of R9 is, I've never checked, but its either 68K ohms or 100K ohms. Either one isn't going to cause problems. You could try both. Potentiometers are where they should be on the schematic. They just aren't in that order on the chassis layout.

[IvanMan]

Hi to all.
and thanks for your "kind" replies.
DIY an amp, in my opinion, is not only a matter of cost but also of satisfaction in playing guitar with something that you build with your hand, and something you can modify to search "your"sound.
I know that is not an easy path, but may be the OTT is a good starting point.

@Jondog. I don't know why the forum doesn't visualize the image but if you right click on the buttom and open the link, probably you can see it. In any case thanks for the information.


All the best for the new year.
Ivan

[Jondog]

Hi to all.
and thanks for your "kind" replies.
DIY an amp, in my opinion, is not only a matter of cost but also of satisfaction in playing guitar with something that you build with your hand, and something you can modify to search "your"sound.
I know that is not an easy path, but may be the OTT is a good starting point.

@Jondog. I don't know why the forum doesn't visualize the image but if you right click on the buttom and open the link, probably you can see it. In any case thanks for the information.


All the best for the new year.
Ivan

Yeah, I followed the link to see your schematic. If you can afford it, get the Mercury Magnetics Holy Terror transformer kit. Best quality and drop in replacement for the TT. If you want a true TT clone with the 7 watt setting, you'll need that power transformer unless you can track down a parted out TT transformer. Otherwise, you'll have to do with something different or custom made.