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My new amp (solid state "mesa recto")

Started by Alexius II, July 29, 2011, 03:41:07 PM

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joecool85

Looks great!  Are you going to coat it with anything after the inking (polyurethane, linseed oil etc) ?
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com

Alexius II

I tried that transparent acrylic stuff on it and it looks nice.
It even gives it a tiny hint of green-ish shade which is even cooler  8|

I'll report back in a few days, hopefully with some nice photos  :tu:

Alexius II

The amp will have to wait a few days, because I have to finish another thing first... until then: here is the first sample.
Recorded on a 1x12 openback cab, center mic, one guitar on the left, one on the right, my random chugga riffs  ::)
Settings were somewhere around: a bit too much gain, bass and treble  :loco ;D

joecool85

Sounds great.  I gotta learn some metal riffs...love the chugga chuggas  :tu:
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com

Alexius II

It took me a whole day, but it's finally finished (construction-wise)  :tu:
This is the final photo before getting my hands dirty with black ink, hehe...



One thing I noticed is, that I have more and more random "waterfall" hum/noise. I'm sure the bias trimpots are the source, since adjusting them a bit helps for a while... looks like I will have to replace them with fixed resistors :-\

J M Fahey

I would always suspect pots or trimmers with DC across them, in a signal path, specially if high gain.
Measure and replace them with closest standard value.

Alexius II

You are right.. I guess I should have thought of this earlier.
Nevertheless, I found THIS nice tool that will help me match the resistance easier :tu:

J M Fahey

Nice tool  :tu:
Any way, nearest 10% value is more than good enough.
Not forgetting that the actual value will not be more than 5% away  ;)

Alexius II

I have achieved the desired look of the wood... and made a matching logo :)
Only one thing missing now: the labels for input, outputs, pots and switch.

Latest pic with my simple logo:

joecool85

Wow, that looks seriously killer, great job!
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com

teemuk

Great. I especially like the small details like the bigger (volume?) knob that's still the same style as rest of the knobs, and the black-colored shaft of that switch.

I don't know how well it would work at this point when everything already seems pretty much assembled but you should really consider an option of etching the labels. The etched, kinda "corroded" looking labeling on the chassis might fit rest of the scheme perfectly.


Alexius II

#26
Thanks!
This is my first amp "head", so I really appreciate all the positive feedback :tu:

About the details. Well yeah, friends often call me... I believe the English translation is "nitpick"  ;D
I always find inspiration in smart simplistic designs that just plain work. Both functionally and aesthetically.
Lots of pre-planning and attention to details are a great part of that, of course. ::)

I would love to etch the symbols/writing, I even have some ferric chloride, but I don't think I have the balls  :lmao:
I never etched aluminum before, but intend to try it on my next stompbox. This chassis is only 1mm thick and I'm afraid of ruining it. I do have on the other hand a 2mm aluminum sheet. Hmm, I have some more thinking and drawing to do.

Since I'll be taking it apart to replace trimpots with fixed resistors, I might as well do something more challenging than simple stickers/labels  ;)

This also means it's going to take a few more weeks until finishing it. Patience.

EDIT: yeah, the big one is the volume knob.
From left to right they are: gain, bass, mids, treble, presence, volume.

J M Fahey

Well, *if you dare* you may take the Silkscreening route.
Now there are also Laser etched anodized aluminum labels, maybe you have access to somebody who does them.
The service is usually provided by shops who engrave Sports trophies and the like, so check that.
There are two basic flavors:
1) silver aluminum, covered in a transparent special varnish, which gets "toasted" by the laser: dark brown to almost black letters on a silver background.
2) anodized aluminum (any color but black, blue or red is best) where the laser evaporates that color: silver letters on colored background.
Results are impressively professional.

Alexius II

Exams are over, time to wrap this one up  :tu:

I've tinkered with the unused switch for the past few days and ended up using it for diode clipping. I know everyone using a boogey is going "wtf" :loco but it sounds good for my ears, so that's it. I experimented with clipping inside the tone stack after reading this cool AMZ article and ended up using two (3mm) green LEDs for treble and two 1N914 for mids, leaving bass as it is. This compresses mids and tames treble a bit, making a darker, smoother, and a bit more compressed sound. I like it on a V30 and hate it on a CL80 :)

Now that this is sorted out, the labels can be created. I think it's time for me to learn aluminium (khm, aluminum for those in US ;D) etching. I don't want to etch the enclosure (removing all the pots and switches :() but instead create small "Alu labels" and glue them onto the enclosure (epoxy should do the trick). I think this is the safest way... and should look cool too  :tu: I already have ferric chloride, I'll get an aluminium sheet tomorrow  ;)

joecool85

Quote from: Alexius II on September 17, 2011, 07:01:57 AM
Exams are over, time to wrap this one up  :tu:

I've tinkered with the unused switch for the past few days and ended up using it for diode clipping. I know everyone using a boogey is going "wtf" :loco but it sounds good for my ears, so that's it. I experimented with clipping inside the tone stack after reading this cool AMZ article and ended up using two (3mm) green LEDs for treble and two 1N914 for mids, leaving bass as it is. This compresses mids and tames treble a bit, making a darker, smoother, and a bit more compressed sound. I like it on a V30 and hate it on a CL80 :)

Now that this is sorted out, the labels can be created. I think it's time for me to learn aluminium (khm, aluminum for those in US ;D) etching. I don't want to etch the enclosure (removing all the pots and switches :() but instead create small "Alu labels" and glue them onto the enclosure (epoxy should do the trick). I think this is the safest way... and should look cool too  :tu: I already have ferric chloride, I'll get an aluminium sheet tomorrow  ;)

Keep us posted as this sounds like a really great way to label an enclosure.
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com