newbie offer for 12xxx build

[Night Owl]

Hello!

I’m a total newbie at building amps, and I’m starting a 12xxx build. I’ve read literally hundreds of postings and looked at dozens of pictures and documents on the forum over the past couple of weeks, so I know all the basic info is here to do it. But I’m sure to have my fair share of standard beginner’s questions. And it’s a bit difficult and tedious to sort through all the threads to find all the details, as others have mentioned. So I have something of a proposition for those of you more knowledgeable than me (like pretty much all of you!).

This is clearly an awesome forum filled with helpful, experienced people that share knowledge that is hard to find elsewhere. Instead of being just “the next beginner bugging everyone with the same 12xxx questions”, I was thinking to pull together the info that is scattered across all those postings and pictures. Hopefully that will give other beginners a more concise description of a 12xxx build. And I’ll accomplish my own goals of building an amp and learning something in the process, while making some sort of contribution back to the forum.

I would pull together a document similar to the basic 100w Plexi build instructions. I’ve already started doing that, because I need it to get through my own build. Specifically what I propose to do is:

1. Search the forum and existing documents for the details for each step
2. Document clearly what I think I need to do for that step
3. Post those instructions here to make sure I got it right, incorporating your feedback
4. Perform the updated instructions on my build
5. Add pictures as I do the construction
6. Post the updated steps and photos, again incorporating your feedback
7. Repeat 1-6 until all the steps are complete and verified with my build and your review
8. Leave the final document here in the forum and wait for the call from the Pulitzer committee

No rocket science. Not really any new information - just consolidation and verification. If some of you are game, let me know and I’ll upload the first version and we’ll get it rolling!

Thanks,

Night Owl

[itsonlyadam]

Good luck! You know... I had thought about doing the exact same thing... but I decided against the buying the 12XXX chassis/kit as then I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the new juicy SoZo super caps.... well, without getting a new cap board. But anyway, good luck, I would love to see a compiled document. Hint: recycle a lot from the current 100W kit instructions... that should help out.

[Night Owl]

Thanks, Adam.

I've written over half of my detailed plan, although I haven't cleaned it up and verified correctness yet. As you mention, the 100w instructions are a great starting point. Whoever wrote them did a great job. I wouldn't have bought a kit if that manual wasn't there. Some chunks of it can be used directly, so I'm just summarizing them into my plan. I expect I'll get around 90% correct, 5% I'll have to ask about, and 5% I'll think I have right but won't - not a bad starting point, depending on what that last 5% is!!

I'm just waiting for a couple volumes of Kevin O'Connor's The Ultimate Tone to arrive so I can read up a bit before I warm up the soldering iron. So that gives me some more time to sort through the pictures, diagrams, and postings to figure out the rest of it.

[Fido]

Good idea...that's what i had in mind when I started the "12-series Build Journal" thread, so when you find such posts on the Forum, please feel free to PM me the links so I can copy them to that master thread.