I must say.
This is probably the most impressive looking home built SS amp I have seen.
I am in awe  <3)
In fact it looks better and more "pro" than alot of the no-name brand SS I have seen for sale in stores and online.
Also...
Kudos for sharing,and not asking for help then declaring it "proprietary" knowledge.
Like so many seem to do in the DIY arena.

Space them like they are guitar spkrs.
Like in a 4 x 12 cab.
Leave the back open and experiment with open/closed back.
JM said it !!! ,use spkrs that DONT!!!  have the rubber/foam suspension on them.
And remember 1 high efficiant guitar spkr (like a Jensen MOD) will be louder and have better sound than 4 of any less efficiant type spkrs.

You can try a 10-68k resistor in series at the input to block RF.
And yes with all your troubles you should have got a schematic.
Perhaps the place you took it under warranty would give you one if you explain the situation,and express you will be having a friend who is a tech do the work for you.

I really liked that article  :tu:
Alot of useful info if you dont know what sound it is you are looking for.
I was a little shocked that he recommended hiring a "Korean" amp tech to build an amp for the reader instead of "asian" or a better word would have been "knowledgeable" or "skilled".
Had a caucasian made this statement he would have been dubbed a racist or accused of "stereotyping".
Again had a caucasian recommended hiring a "white" amp tech the word racist would have been used to describe the author.
It just amazes me that this type of double standard was allowed to fly at Harmony Central
in spite of how useful the info is.

Its nice to see someone using one of these amps ,and you are in good hands with JM guiding you.
I stumbled across the original Marketing for one of these amps when I was looking for something else, and they had ads with topless woman they were going to run but didnt in the USA.
Ah yes it was some research on an EH pedal that led me to it.
Anyway the "Freedom Amp" was part of my motivation for getting into SS DIY.
When you are done could you post some more pics?
Maybe some sound clips too?
I love going back in time with this kind of vintage SS gear.
Good Luck,it sounds like you almost have it sorted.

Quote from: Slimbo on December 07, 2009, 08:18:58 PM
I think the best choice will be the one that has the most tone shaping. The Noisy Cricket Mk II looks like the leader with a grit switch, gain, volume and tone. Smokey's got gain and a tone switch, Ruby's and Little Gem have volume and gain pots. I have had my eye on the Tonemender as well, so naturally I searched for it in this forum and found an improvement, the PhAbbTone box, by the username phatt. Might have to breadboard a few.

Check out my TDA1519b practice amp,it uses a lm 386 in the pre amp for its clipping behavior.
And went from a Dr Z tone control to a Marshall TMB in the last version.
Be sure you read the 386 data sheets and get the lowest power one (325 milliwatts)
I use that pre amp for tone shaping as a pedal in front of my other amps too.The last version can get any sound from chimy clean to over the top gain.
Think of it like a TubeScreamer feeding a Marshall tonestack feeding a Distortus Maximus.
And you have an idea of the gain available.

Welcome to the board.
By the looks of your "dirty garage amp"
You found the right place,from little smokies to 100 watt monsters .
Beginers like me to seasoned pros its all here  :tu:

Wow thanx for sharing that Teemuk.
It sounds very promising.

Cool keep the updates coming.

Be sure to throw Phatt some chip points if he was helpful to you  :tu:

Interesting as the amp I have that makes that noise is still using the original PCB and connectors VS an eyelet board like I normaly use.
I will check the connectors on mine as well.
Glad you got it fixed.
Did you bypass the connector or use DeOxit or something similar to solve the issue?

Thanx JM that was very helpful as usual.
I hope to start the LM3886 build soon .

I was wondering at GGG they say use 10-12 turns of #22 insulated wire for the (inductor?) in parallel with the 10 ohm resistor (R5/L1) http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_lm3886_amp.pdf
Is this correct? Or does it need to be that resistive wire at StewMac which is so many ohms per linear foot?
Also what purpose does this arrangment serve?
I am almost ready to start my 3886 amp,just ironing out the details,thanx.

I second what JM said the best SMALL spkrs for a Ruby have been ones pulled from TV
or other AV speakers.
And trust me I have tried several dozen different kinds.
The 5" Jensen Mod sounds good,and just about any 12" guitar spkr sounds fantastic with the Ruby.
PC powered Spkrs dont sound as good as a cheapo TV spkr though,I scrapped some square spkrs from a TV they sounded really good.
Hit your thrift shops, ask friends for dead TVs (awesome for salvaging other components too)
Or dumpster dive...

Quote from: J M Fahey on November 16, 2009, 05:55:50 PM

QuoteYou can also stack (solder Pin 1 on Opamp A to Pin 1 of Opamp B, Pin 2 to Pin2 2, etc) two lo-fi op amps to get better response.

A *very* curious idea, ¿who/where was that suggested?
I'd love to hear the technical explanation.
Thanks.

A guy(DavidAlanCole)(I think) at DIYstompboxes had a thread about this,which I havent had time to try yet.
But apparently stacking is a "trick" that is used to up the output of the opamps too.
His example used several NE5532 chips stacked to give a 5 watt output for a practice amp.
A couple others commented they had done this too.
They all raved about the sound quality this produced and they all claimed to have gotten the idea from the same book,which I cant remember the name of.
It was also mentioned that sometimes a 100r (or K,again its been awhile)was needed at the output of each opamp when stacking.
I think it was said it took a stack of ten to get 3 or 5 watts.

5Thumbs that diagram was helpful.
So if I understand right this setup would replace hard clippers to ground ?
So I am guessing the signal comes in at the top corner of the bridge and the bottom corner would connect to ground?
I appreciate you sharing that as I really like the sound of the Tonebone pedals but they are way too pricey for my means.