Hughes Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 hey all, just wondering im very new to all this and i know how to read schematics but i was wondering if you guys went to a special class to learn to make amps/effects. i really awnt to know how to make a line 6 spider amp and i have a schematic for it but how would i take on such a big task and if its even worth it, like will it be cheaper then a real line 6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Both of these are great resources: The Cooperative Tube Guitar Amp Project The 18watt Community Center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted June 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 thanks man, in your oppinion, do you think a beginner should try making a spider II amp?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 You know I don't have any experience building amps. I am like you, just doing some research. I do have experience building guitars though. When people ask me what they should start off building I always tell them to build what they want to build. If it is more complex then you just need to take your time and research everything. The forums on both sites are filled with good advice from people who have built many amps. As long as you do enought research to start the project and have specific questions (good: how much power do I need to run 4 EL34s? bad: how do I build an amp?) then I think you'll be fine. As with any project like this please understand the lethal voltages involved before you start. Are you talking the Line6 Spider II amp? If you can find a schematic and can understand it enough to build one then, yes, go for it. I was looking at tube amp projects that are a little more simple and without any onboard digitial effects. This is the type of amp that the links I sent deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) ok about the voltages, i dont want to electricute my self so how would i know how far to go? also is the price of building one going to be similar to the line 6 spider II 212 amp? becuase if it is i might as well buy one. Edited June 28, 2005 by Hughes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I'd suggest you start by doing some reading at the sites David suggested. I'd also consider any kind of moddling amp wildly ambitious for a first timer with apparently zero electronics experience. I have the power and output transformers for an Ax84 p1 on my shelf, where they've been gathering dust for about 3 years. I really need to get the other components together and build the damn thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 yeah i will do some reading and such and study up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 you may also want to take an electronics course through highschool, or college (when you get there). it can help a lot im sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 i wouldn't recomend tyring to build this amp. i wouldn't want to dash your hopes, but its like this. i went to College to learn about logic controlers c++ programing robotic's and other miscelanious things i had been doing repairs on stuff for 10 years before i got into building my own stuff. and even today i wouldn't atempt going to build a line six amp. if i wanted an amp to build i would suggest something that had a very versatile preamp, and use real effects and not a computer inside. if you want a computer then might i suggest using the 500+ different programs people have written to use with the guitar port device. someof them are quite nice and usefull. guitarrig it has truely awesome classic amps and a few newer ones. still needed tweaking. however i have a good friend here that gigs now with a small computer and a poweramp. he has an amazing sound i would never use his rig as i am sketchy on how reliable it is but he built a small computer for it. that has strpped down windows on it. and auto loads the program at boot up, no keyboard only a mouse and a 5" monitor. also he took the usb foot controler idea from over at diystompboxes.com [somone posted a link to another website that had this awesome site on it on using a joystick and taking the x and y axis and making them for expresion pedals.] and he does 4 nights a week with that rig and well anyway enough ranting. it built an all tube preamp and fxloop with a digital fx section [canibalized from miscelanious fx units that i liked and a few of my own] into a small tube powersection which i used as a monitor section for myself and then stole a section off of it to go into the monstor300watt powersection which was all solid state. personally i believe an awesome amp signal into a ss reinforcement amp is the way to go, since thats what the crowd hears anyway. think about it. take the greatest tube amp player and it goes from guitar> to tube amp>Microphone>board>fx>SS poweramp>speakers> CROWD. anyway.. peace out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I agree that building a Spider amp would be a big task for a beginner. If you were able to source ALL the parts (correct tolerances, etc...) and assemble it there's still a strong possibility that it won't work right. You'd then need the knowledge to troubleshoot the problem and I doubt you'd get much help from techs at Line 6. I also agree with ansil that the Line 6 guitarport has some pretty cool effects in it for a reasonable price. It doesn't really matter if the effects are in an amp, pedal or guitar depending on your use (such as needing to integrate it all because of limited space while traveling to/from gigs). Maybe, start with a bit simpler DIY project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I went to vo-tech in high school and during the time between then and now (8 years) about all I can do is repair my amp and guitars, forget about designing and building an amp. The high end modeling crap is for engineers, not hobbyists. Even if you manage to assemble 99% of those parts, you still have to get a hold of the custom processors and firmware to make it all work right. Unless you have access to some pretty sophisticated equipment, stick to basic audio amps and preamps. I'd just do what Ansil said and focus on building a nice preamp and cabinet for your digital processor to connect through. There are TONS of schematics and books available to learn from and nothing beats hands-on experience. I'd also suggest getting a ham radio license. You'll learn a lot about basic electronics and electricity, plus the ham community has lots of mentors that are eager to help you out with the hard stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) I've built several (already designed) stereo amplifiers, and it's not actually that hard. Please note, however, that these were straight up analog designs, not wacky computer modelling things. If you don't know where to start on building yourself a computer from scratch, with high-bandwidth audio inputs and outputs as well as programming the operating system and applications from scratch... stay away from trying to build a Line 6 . If you don't want to electrocute yourself and don't know enough about to be able to NOT zap yourself, STAY AWAY FROM VACUUM TUBES. You need AT LEAST 250V (often 300-400V) to make most tubes run, and that'll kill you pretty easily. Edited June 28, 2005 by jnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I learned most of what I know about working on an building your own amps from ampage, ax84, geofex.com, aiken amps and other various sites. Four years ago I didn't even know how to measure voltages and today, I have modded all four of my commercially made tube amps and have three DIY tube amps under my belt. I spent a lot of time reading stuff and trying to understand it before I ever attempted an amp project, for various reasons - the main one being that I didn't want to kill myself. At the same time, I was building stompboxes like there was no tomorrow. That was a good platform for learning about basic electronics before attempting to build an amp. I wanted to build an Allen Amps kit for a few years before I did any of my DIY amp projects (which someone with very little or almost no electronics could build thanks to great build instructions) but I was still cautious about it. I had more fun doing my scratchbuilt amps, though. As far as a modeling amp is concerned, I would stay away from it like it were a deadly infectious disease! The main reason being that I think the tone of these modeling amps suck (they are better than they used to be) and as was said, it's quite complex and requires chips with certain things programmed into them. If you still really want a Line 6 Spider II, go buy one. Save up for it, do whatever it takes. Or get a kit from http://www.allenamps.com or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Way back when I was a kid and had no fear of large amounts of electricty, I started fooling with old DuKane, Bogen, Hammond, etc. tube amps. In the late 70s, solidstate kinda took over. Then we progress to modelling amps. NOW, every one is ranting to have a decent, cheap tube amp again. If I were to build anything with the thought of saving money, I would try building a 15-30 watt tube amp that will make anyone take notice and buy the modelling electronics and crap from the people who do it for a living. It is hard to save money building anything with double-sided PCBs, surface-mount passives and a robot doing the labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 First of all, I would never a modeling amp, but if I did, the only thing I would use it for is practicing at home and/or recording. I think I would get a POD before I would buy a modeling amp, though. I would play that thru my tube amp or course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 ok about the voltages, i dont want to electricute my self so how would i know how far to go? ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Take a course in high school or college on electronics. There is no rush, and in the end, wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy the spyder II? It's 500 bucks and i'm told its more expensive building amps, unless it's custom ones (like 2000 dollar fender ones i assume). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 i think im just gonna stick wiht buying amps for now haha thanks for all the help/info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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