I want to see if I can settle a debate I'm I've had with multiple people (or perhaps start a new debate). If your tube amp is on, and you have no signal on the input (shorted to ground) can you switch the loads without causing damage? I get mixed responses, but one source has his PhD and has been building tube amps for 30 years...he says that as long as you can guarantee there isn't any signal it shouldn't matter at all. Then there are guys on the internet that say you shouldn't do this under any circumstance.  I'm inclined to believe that the few milliseconds of no load plus the time that it takes for switch bounce to subside shouldn't make any difference. What do you guys think?

Assume that make before break switches don't exist.

I've been trying to get my hands on a Sunn Beta Lead for years, but the few that pop-up on eBay are either in bad shape or priced way out of my pay grade.

Has anyone tackled a DIY version of the Beta Lead? Anything similiar? I really dig the very unique distortion that I haven't really found in another amp.

I'm showing my noob here, but what is the best way to wire up power for the power amp circuit plus a lower voltage "tap" (excuse my use of the word) for the preamp modules.

-Wire a 9v regulator in parallel with the power amp using the DC coming from the rectifier?

-Wire a 9v PSU in parallel with the rectifier using the AC coming out of the transformer?

-Wire a separate transformer in parallel to the other transformer using the AC from the inlet?

I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question, and your help is greatly appreciated.

I finally got my Randall Century 170 passing signal. I took it in to the shop and they replaced one of the jacks in the FX loop and now it miraculously passes signal, but now I have another problem. The clean channel bleeds into the distortion channel and it sounds like complete garbage. I don't know if this was an issue before getting it repaired because I bought the amp broken. I hear this is a problem with older Randall amps, but how does one fix it?

I bought a Randall Century 170 that powers up, but has no output. I've debugged stompboxes using an audio probe located at http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=Debugging, but before I do that I wanted to see if any of you have tips on debugging something plugged in to the wall.

I've built a bunch of gear (including a tube amp) that run on mains power, but never had to debug them...luckily only stompboxes.

Your help is appreciated.

I'm new to amp building, and have successfully finished the tube Firefly project that is floating around the internet. I'd like to build a high gain amp, and I'm really a fan of amps like the Randall RG100 and Century (that Pantera sound).

Are there any projects you recommend I look at? Maybe something not too crazy to start?