Recycling old amps into new amps

[christw]

I thought I'd share a couple of budget builds from leftover components from the past few weeks. I'd love to see anything you guys have done as well.

Here's the first - a suitcase amp for my good friend Paige. She plays out of town often and wanted an amp that she can take on a Greyhound, carry stuff, and it needs a line out. Sounds ridiculous, right?

Quantum 25R chassis - $10
reverb tank - free
MCM 6.5" full range speakers - $18 ea / $36 pair
suitcase - free
hardware - $9
design & labor - ~3 hours

Pics during build:

Next up - the Stereobox! I had all the right parts on hand and wanted to make something cool for myself. Here's the initial fit before I pretty up a couple of cuts & wiring.

Magnavox HS1048 console power amp - PP6V6 left, right, center/bass with a beefed up OT and shared power supply - $45
'60's Columbia 360 AlNiCo 5.25" full range speakers - $20
'64 Rola AlNiCo 12" speaker - $20
trunk - $10
sewing machine stand - $10
hardware - $13
4 hours design/labor

 

[subbasshz]

rad dude. and our rics are twins :love:

 

[Rosebud]

That suitcase so made me smile

 

[JimmyM]

Never did anything like that, but it's cool as hell!

 

[bobcruz]

Way cool. Now I know what to do with some of the stuff laying around my garage (old luggage, boomboxes, partial sets of surround speakers and a subwoofer for starters)! Thanks!

 

[christw]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Hopefully these builds inspire something else wacky and cool! In the meantime, I need to go build some more for local musicians.

 

[hackworth]

Very Cool. El Camino = The Road.

 

[M0ses]

Yeah, totally rad. Could you provide a link to those MCM 6.5s?

 

[telecopy]

I thought I'd share a couple of budget builds from leftover components from the past few weeks. I'd love to see anything you guys have done as well.

Here's the first - a suitcase amp for my good friend Paige. She plays out of town often and wanted an amp that she can take on a Greyhound, carry stuff, and it needs a line out. Sounds ridiculous, right?

Quantum 25R chassis - $10
reverb tank - free
MCM 6.5" full range speakers - $18 ea / $36 pair
suitcase - free
hardware - $9
design & labor - ~3 hours

Pics during build:

Next up - the Stereobox! I had all the right parts on hand and wanted to make something cool for myself. Here's the initial fit before I pretty up a couple of cuts & wiring.

'50's Magnavox Console stereo - SE6V6 left, SE6V6 right, PP6V6 mono bass with a shared power supply - $45
'60's Columbia 360 AlNiCo 5.25" full range speakers - $20
'64 Rola AlNiCo 12" speaker - $20
trunk - $10
sewing machine stand - $10
hardware - $13
4 hours design/labor

That. Is. Amazing. I think you should make a portable practice amp out of a yogurt cup. Kind of like the Fender Amp Can.
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[christw]

Very Cool. El Camino = The Road.

Exactly! I couldn't resist putting badges off my old El Camino on a suitcase amp.

Yeah, totally rad. Could you provide a link to those MCM 6.5s?

Sure! They're realistically good from about 100 Hz up. That's a ballpark based on personal experience, not measurements. I bought them for midrange use and realized they were way more efficient than my woofers. Invalid Link Removed

PM me for coupon codes to drop them to $15 and change. - scratch that, my box is full! I'll post that here.

That. Is. Amazing. I think you should make a portable practice amp out of a yogurt cup. Kind of like the Fender Amp Can.
Link Removed

I did once put a 2" speaker into a Playdo container in high school electronics class. It actually sounded pretty good.

Truth be told, I'm really struggling on making a budget suitcase bass amp. That takes real skill! and engineering, not just some artwork. Geetar amps are a piece of cake by comparison.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Google ammo box amp to see some nice images of amps and speakers built into military ammo boxes. These boxes and tough as nails and make a nice case.

There's a car product called Dynamat which is useful for lining anything that can rattle in builds like this. Makes the case a little more solid feeling.

 

[christw]

A local buyout store always has surplus ammo boxes. I wonder why I didn't think of that. I even used some for storage on an old moped. It could definitely make for a cool amp though.

Thus far the suitcases haven't been pushing enough low end for rattling to become an issue but thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely keep it in mind when I quit playing it safe. For now I think I'll build a 5F1 into a tweed suitcase.

 

[JACink]

Nice!!

I love making stuff like this, it's amazing how much junk I end up having laying around!!

At the moment I am looking into building a small travel amp with a Lepai (20W + 20W) 12v amp, and a 8" + tweeter cab.

 

[beans-on-toast]

For now I think I'll build a 5F1 into a tweed suitcase.

Those tweed suitcases are so nice. With the parts available, you can also build a custom one. Invalid Link Removed one look pretty nifty.