learning

[fixer2]

Hi Iam new to amp building ,but have done some with effects for guitar like a couple of wha whas and a delay pedal over drive a clone of vox fuzz from 1968.But I see here some of the same names coming up a lot helping out people like me with my messed up jtm 45 clone (thank you all that have given me replys ) but what I am asking this time is where did you guys get all of your knowledge ,where did you learn it from did you go to school for ,because I have gotten a few books on tube amps before I started this project and thought I was more ready than Iam .Because I would like to build one of the plexi type amps that are here on this form like the 68 or 69 plxi is there a kit and if so how much for the full thing head cabinet all of the parts needed to make a clone of a 1969 Marshall plexi head so then I can plug it into my Marshall 412 that I have (and love those green backs too ) I hope I can learn much much more on this field hopefully from another books or DVDs etc.

[neikeel]

http://valvestorm.com/1969%20Kit

This is the best kit to put together. Robert is very efficient at getting stuff out to you and all that is listed is good quality, as good, if not better than any other kit stuff on the market.

You can order transformers from various sources (will depend where you live) but I have used the Metro/Heyboer and Marstran/Heyboer ones and can wholeheartedly recommend them. Important to get the correct wire colours if you are new to this and both of those are correct. The Classic Tone products are very competitively priced and I hear good things, they have different specs and their wire colours and are slightly different. I am quite fussy so when I build a clone I want it to be as close as possible. I would not go Mercury Magnetics unless building a high gain hot rod.

This kit also has instructions and people here are very familiar with the 100w kit. If you think that you might want to mod later ( 4 stager, No loss loop or virtual variac) get the correct chassis and parts, so think it through before you start

[danman]

I agree with everything that neikeel said and will also give a second vote for Valvestorm. he has everything that you need to build your amp and you can use the great instructions that Metroamp has put together.

As for learning more, I would start with a book or website devoted to basic AC/DC electricity principles. Once you have learned some of the basics of how resistors, capacitors and circuits operate, you can move on to vacuum tube circuits and theory. There is also a wealth of knowledge on the web that will keep you busy reading for months. I started with a couple of basic books and several hours of reading on the web everyday. I also learned alot from reading the tech forums here at Metroamp and several other places. It has been about seven years now since I started the journey and I am still learning something new everday. I have managed to build a handful of amps now, but I still have a long way to go in the learning process.

[fixer2]

yea I have found a lot of the web just have to know how to type if into google to get the info flowing in ,but by asking questions has always been my thing ,there is always another way and some one that is one notch better so I listen.How is the 68 plexi kit harder or the same as a jtm 45 clone to build .Both are turret board right .I know soon I will get my jtm ne working just have to find out what is grounding out.dim light in the preamp tubes as far as the heaters and I get continuity from ground to the speaker jacks and a few places on each pre amp tubes but I got and have read a few books from that guy in Texas ( G W ) they are good .

[danman]

I believe that if you can do a successful JTM45 build, you should be able to handle the 1959 kit. The Valvestorm product is a turret board construction and there are only a handful of extra components with this circuit. Be sure to study alot of examples of clean and tidy lead dress when you go to build it. Good lead dress will lead to a quiet amp that will be easy to work on and troubleshoot later. You asked earlier about the path that the signal takes through the circuit. If you do some reading on how the 12ax7 preamp tubes function, you should be able to trace the incoming signal from the input jacks, to the grid of v1 and then on to the plate. From the plate, the signal will pass through a coupling cap, which will block the DC voltage of that stage but allows the AC signal voltage to move on to the next stage. The v1 preamp tube has two halves and each channel uses one half of the tube. From each plate of v1, the signals from each channel head through the coupling cap (.022uf) and onto their own volume pot. After the volume pots the two signals are mixed together at the 270k mix resistors and pass onto V2. This is just a simple breakdown but if you learn how a triode tube functions you will be able to visualize how the signal moves. I cannot find the link right now but over at "hoffmanamps.com" there is a signal flow chart that will show how the AC and DC voltages flow through the amp. You may also want to check out "aikensamps.com" and look at his tech info pages which are loaded with great info. Another great site is "valvewizard.co.uk/" where you can find plenty of excellent reading material on the subject.

[fixer2]

Hey Thank you again just keep on asking and eep on learning that great I will study this so I get one thing going before moving on I am now taking my jtm 45 in piece by piece so I really understand it so I know I will get there ( its just that work stuff gets in the way, but bills have to get payed ) Thanks.