Last week I posted this thread that didn't get a whole lot of action:
*really* low wattage all tube practice amp?
I received that little MOD102+ kit on Friday and built it over the weekend. I built it as stock, except with a star grounding scheme. The stock grounding configuration leaves a lot to be desired IMO. Didn't take all that long and worked perfectly the first time I fired it up, but then this isn't my first rodeo with working on a tube amp. It is, however my first rodeo with building one from a kit. I admit I didn't really even read the directions, I just skipped to the final layout and started slinging solder. I must say though, that after looking at the directions and drawings included, they are stellar - although I built mine "out of order" versus the directions in a way that made more sense to me (i.e. setting up the ground scheme and wiring up the heaters first before soldering more components in). I think anybody with halfway decent soldering skills could build it. Anyway, "pics or it didn't happen", so here's a couple:
So how does it sound? (Into my CTS loaded '66 B15 cab (the only 8 ohm cab I own)) It's bright. It's really bright. ICEPICK bright. Even with the treble knob backed all the down, it is downright unplayable unless I roll the tone knob off on my bass (something I never do). I'm talking P or 4001 with DR high beams here, nothing groundbreaking. I don't know WHY it's so bright, but I had to do something about it. I literally thought about ripping the entire tone stack out and replacing it with a baxandall one 10 minutes after I finished building it. But first I wanted to try something simple. I grabbed a .0068uF greenie from my parts drawer and shunted the grid of V1A to ground, creating a low pass filter right at the input (you can see it in the second pic on the top right). Now we're talking! Tone controls that are actually useable for bass now! I've always been more of a baxandall tone stack guy and never really was able to get any sounds that I liked out of a high wattage F/M/V stacked amp, but this little thing sounds pretty good! I may still play around with the components in the stack... or maybe I'll just leave it. And oh yeah, it'll do dirt. Full on splat if you want it to. And at somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-8W it won't rip your face off.
And so now I'm going to something even more unconventional. I'm going to order this:
Randall RG8 35W 1x8 Guitar Speaker Cabinet
Yes, I know it's a guitar cab. Yes, I know it might sound like crap for bass. But it's small, it looks cool (at least I think so), and I can always replace the speaker. I thought about the Orange PPC108 because it looks even cooler, but the randall is cheaper and is a little bit deeper for a little more internal volume. I'm building a tiny, low watt, all tube bass practice rig here - it's my money and I'll spend it how I want, dammit!
Kit pros: Cheap, good parts quality, great directions, easy to build, easy to mod.
Cons: 8 ohms only, no tube cage (Modkits should make this an option as hammond makes a matching cage, although it's another $40 - I have one on order).
*really* low wattage all tube practice amp?
I received that little MOD102+ kit on Friday and built it over the weekend. I built it as stock, except with a star grounding scheme. The stock grounding configuration leaves a lot to be desired IMO. Didn't take all that long and worked perfectly the first time I fired it up, but then this isn't my first rodeo with working on a tube amp. It is, however my first rodeo with building one from a kit. I admit I didn't really even read the directions, I just skipped to the final layout and started slinging solder. I must say though, that after looking at the directions and drawings included, they are stellar - although I built mine "out of order" versus the directions in a way that made more sense to me (i.e. setting up the ground scheme and wiring up the heaters first before soldering more components in). I think anybody with halfway decent soldering skills could build it. Anyway, "pics or it didn't happen", so here's a couple:
So how does it sound? (Into my CTS loaded '66 B15 cab (the only 8 ohm cab I own)) It's bright. It's really bright. ICEPICK bright. Even with the treble knob backed all the down, it is downright unplayable unless I roll the tone knob off on my bass (something I never do). I'm talking P or 4001 with DR high beams here, nothing groundbreaking. I don't know WHY it's so bright, but I had to do something about it. I literally thought about ripping the entire tone stack out and replacing it with a baxandall one 10 minutes after I finished building it. But first I wanted to try something simple. I grabbed a .0068uF greenie from my parts drawer and shunted the grid of V1A to ground, creating a low pass filter right at the input (you can see it in the second pic on the top right). Now we're talking! Tone controls that are actually useable for bass now! I've always been more of a baxandall tone stack guy and never really was able to get any sounds that I liked out of a high wattage F/M/V stacked amp, but this little thing sounds pretty good! I may still play around with the components in the stack... or maybe I'll just leave it. And oh yeah, it'll do dirt. Full on splat if you want it to. And at somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-8W it won't rip your face off.
And so now I'm going to something even more unconventional. I'm going to order this:
Randall RG8 35W 1x8 Guitar Speaker Cabinet
Yes, I know it's a guitar cab. Yes, I know it might sound like crap for bass. But it's small, it looks cool (at least I think so), and I can always replace the speaker. I thought about the Orange PPC108 because it looks even cooler, but the randall is cheaper and is a little bit deeper for a little more internal volume. I'm building a tiny, low watt, all tube bass practice rig here - it's my money and I'll spend it how I want, dammit!
Kit pros: Cheap, good parts quality, great directions, easy to build, easy to mod.
Cons: 8 ohms only, no tube cage (Modkits should make this an option as hammond makes a matching cage, although it's another $40 - I have one on order).
