building my own pre-amp

[broncobass]

calling out to diy-ers who have info or good advice on how to go about building your own tube-powered preamp. If u have schematics, lay-out, pics , I'd like to view them and hear your (success)story. For this experiment I'm gonna use a neutral poweramp (oh dear it's even japanese : yamaha) and replace the preamp. anybody out there ?

[moosapotamus]

I've been thinking about building the Alembic F-2B.
Here's some of the info I've found...

http://www.geofex.com/FX_images/alembpre.gif

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jff/af2b...ss_Guitar.html

http://www7.taosnet.com/f10/fender_pre.htm

~ Charlie

[seamonkey]

Paia stuff is always fun
http://www.paia.com/tubestuf.htm

You can tweak the knobs to get different tube type effects.

[RobertUI]

I am researching right now to work with my buddy who builds guitar amps to build a bass pre (eventually bass heads) and I am very intrigued by the fender pre listed on the f10 site. The question that I have (my buddy would probably know) is how the power hookup would work. That pre looks EXACTLY like what I am after, but the power stuff always scares me, and I don't see any of that addressed on his site.

Thanks!
Rob

BTW, my buddy's site is http://sdgvintageamps.com if you're interested.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by RobertUI

I am researching right now to work with my buddy who builds guitar amps to build a bass pre (eventually bass heads) and I am very intrigued by the fender pre listed on the f10 site. The question that I have (my buddy would probably know) is how the power hookup would work. That pre looks EXACTLY like what I am after, but the power stuff always scares me, and I don't see any of that addressed on his site.

The power supply is well addressed on the frontiernet link. Note the parts cost he mentions, even using some recycled parts. So as usual, don't expect to save any real money by going DIY.

Anyhow, you could try the diyaudio.com forum, and poke around Ampage (www.firebottle.com) for some more ideas.

If you want to take a stab at a solid state one, here's my old TB thread: DIY Rack Preamp Thread. I directly compared this to an Alembic F1X, and I actually prefer mine. I'm not big on tubes for bass applications though.

I did a tube one recently too. It's fairly complex, and you'd probably do better with a Fender or Ampeg variant for starters. For an idea what the back end topology of mine's like, Google "Aikido Amplifier" or check out the tubecad.com site.

Have fun and work safe!

[RobertUI]

+1

I know alll too well that DIY often means MORE EXPENSIVE, but I just love the thought of gigging with stuff that I've built myself. I've always stuck to cabinet building, but I really want to have my hand at the electronics side

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by RobertUI

+1

I know all too well that DIY often means MORE EXPENSIVE, but I just love the thought of gigging with stuff that I've built myself. I've always stuck to cabinet building, but I really want to have my hand at the electronics side

Good on ya then, I'm all for it. I want to move on to a DIY EUB next. That, and a power amp, and I'd be all homebrewed when I want to go that way. I do a lotta gigs where the fashion show aspect pretty much requires store bought stuff though.

[RobertUI]

You've intrigued me with the SS pre... I am happy with the set up that I am running, but I am looking to add (ok, this is a very useless descriptor) character to my sound. I keep thinking that a homebrew pre- might be in store for me? dunno

Thanks a ton, if I get this project ball rolling, you can assume that you'll be getting at least 1 pm from me! :-D

Thanks!

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Walter Harley has a schematic for a solid state preamp that he designed on his site http://www.cafewalter.com

It doesn't have an EQ section since Walter plays an active bass and wants to avoid any additional phase distortion caused by the preamp's EQ section (IIRC).

[seamonkey]

If you're looking at SS also check out:
http://www.lynx.net/~jc/pedals360.html

[fdeck]

If you are looking for squeeky clean solid state...

[doctec]

If you're thinking about building a tube bass preamp, you should check out this book, "Tonnes of Tone" by Kevin O'Conner

http://www.londonpower.com/books/tot.htm

He's got lots of basic tips on building tube-based guitar projects and detailed instructions for two or three different bass pres.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by fdeck

If you are looking for squeeky clean solid state...

Looks good. Very clean wiring job.

Why the two phase invertor switches? You don't usually see that on bass preamps.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by seanm

Looks good. Very clean wiring job.

Why the two phase invertor switches? You don't usually see that on bass preamps.

Thanks! There is a theory among upright players that phase switches help combat feedback, and this was originally designed as a blender for upright bass. Not that I have ever found the switches to make a difference.

But you have a good point... for electric bass use, you would probably want to eliminate one or both of the phase switches.

Also, I should note that at http://personalpages.tds.net/~fdeck/bass, you can download extensive documentation and printed circuit CAD files for this project.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by fdeck

Thanks! There is a theory among upright players that phase switches help combat feedback, and this was originally designed as a blender for upright bass. Not that I have ever found the switches to make a difference.

But you have a good point... for electric bass use, you would probably want to eliminate one or both of the phase switches.

Fair enough. I never thought of upright bass. I could see it would be a problem if you had two different pickups/preamps and one was out of phase with the other. But you probably only need the phase correction on one channel.

<Crocodile Dundee voice> That's not bare bones, this is bare bones! </Crocodile Dundee voice>

[broncobass]

great info guys, need some time to check out all those links.
Can I just take this opportunity to advertise my band ?bronco.easynet.be
check it out !