Im a noob in this

[Vigo]

Hey, first of all, im new here so thanks for having me. I've been reading a lot lately since my amp blew up and i decided to rebuild one myself using some parts of it.

What im looking for is advices to know if im on the right path or if i mixed something up.

One of the things that i'd like to get cleared out is the signal chain processing, i've had in mind that it would go something like that (I'll try to add as much steps as possible to be as precise as i can be)

1 - guitar signal

2 - input receiving (keeping current returns with the correct impedance?)

3 - boosting my mV signal with a correct OPamp (im really unsure which amp should do the trick for that)

4 - distortion (im making a set up which will probably only have a single channel, high gain, i've read online that diodes soft clipping in serial with mosfets might produce a more overdriven and warm sound (is that true?) that would be what im after)

5 - filtering (what i'd like here is a bass, mid, treble setup with 2 pass filters, one low and one high, i think the pass filters should be put in the power-amp section thought or am i mistaken ? )

6 - sending the signal to the power-amp

7 - boosting the around 1 volt signal to something that's relevant for my speaker (4 ohm) (my poweramp will be using a 120/16-16 XFO since i salvaged that with a couple of other parts from the previous amp and i was hoping i could get something around 30-wattish with that setup since that's what i had before and it was more than convenient for me.)
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If i had to choose, this part is the most blurry to me, i dont really know what i should aim for in my component, values

8 - I'd like opinions on star-grounding vs not star-grounding, i figured i'd star-ground but heard it was not necessary in all cases.

9 - Using shielded wires, how much could this impact the noise protection?


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That's about it for what i have right now. Im still checking circuits and trying to figure every functionalities. Please dont be too harsh i've just started looking into this i know im probably not super informed but im learning, thanks.

[Vigo]

Anyone ?

[MCM1910]

I'm relatively new and there's a lot of stuff in your post. There's a lot of great help here so be patient. I'm taking a bit different an approach from you. I'm not building an amp but trying to repair one. I'm sure you've heard of the ruby and such but that was where I started and it was a ton of fun.

[Vigo]

Havn't heard of the ruby actually, gonna check into that!

[MCM1910]

oh okay cool!

www.runoffgroove.com

And I believe there's a circuit analysis at electro smash.

And my favorite but a hassle to get to as the site has come down but you can search it on the way back machine, Beavis audio

[phatt]

2/
Anywhere from 220k up to 1 meg on the input will work,, if you are going for lots and lots and lots of hi gain then wise to keep the amp input at sane levels other wise it will be noisy.
3/
Don't worry about exotic chips it's more to do with how you design the passive parts than fancy pants opamps,, Just use TL072/4 or similar and you will be fine.

4/
If you are new to building stuff my advice is build a basic circuit like P27 ,,,Can be found at Rod Elliott's wonderful site. :tu:

http://sound.whsites.net/projects.htm

p27B is under "Projects by Classification, Musical Instrument"

You can just build the preamp or the whole rig, up to you?
Rod's pages are just chock full of really useful advice for the novice :dbtu: :dbtu:

Buy the PCB or etch your own if you want. Then use pedals for the OD sounds.
The advantage of pedals is that you can swap as many pedals as you can find or build your own, whereas if you build OD into the Amp then it's fixed and can't be changed  without a rebuild of the Amp. :duh

(And trust me,,, you will want to tweak it more than once :crazy2:)

5/
Yes filtering will help but a lot of dirt pedals come with that already built in. just build a simple preamp power amp SS rig and at least you have a flat response reference point to test all the pedals you want,,, then in time (Often measured in years :lmao:) you can advance to trick Amp circuits with all the bells and whistles built in. 8|

6/
Not a big issue unless you have a weak power amp speaker setup,, see 7

7/
If your transformer only has 16volt rails then you will struggle at gig volumes as power amp requires a fair voltage. I'd suggest at least 25Volt rails for good clean power amp use.
Small chip amps just distort way to early and limit what you can do with all the pedals.

8/
Star ground is from the Valve amp era so don't worry to much about that but study up on how to avoid **Ground loops** as that is the most common issue for newcomers.

9/ Akin to avoiding ground loop hums. yes if the section of the circuit is HiZ and sensitive it will pickup noise/hum/buzz.
So long signal wires (even inside a chassis) can pickup trash so shielded cable will help.
Be aware that hi gain circuits are by nature noise prone and it will take a while to work out the tricks to avoid them.
Cheers, Phil.

[phatt]

opp's  I forget that *Teemu's pdf book is a download on this very site 
https://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?board=2.0
3rd one down.

And always remember the golden rule; There are many ways to do the same thing in this game, from simple to complex. Some can cost a fortune and may or may not work or sound any better than a basic system that is well designed.
Phil.

[Vigo]

Really interesting thanks for the reply! Im curious though about some points, when you say ''sane level'' on point 2 (regarding input impedance) im guessing you mean lower more than higher (since like you said, hi gain amps produce noise faster and high impedance circuits are real antennas)

Definitely gonna check those builds you've sent, im also trying to mount an overdrive pedal schematic i found online today, i'll see what happens

[phatt]

Yes lower input Z can keep things from going into oscillation.  8|
Steve Via seems to have no trouble obtaining brilliant sound and those Carvin Amps he used have more gain than you would ever need even though the Input Z on the first stage is 220k.
Sure those are Valve amps but same results can be achieved with a SS setup.

With heavy distortion circuits tone shaping is the key to a good result and the basic tone controls of old don't deliver for modern metal players. Added cab sims or notch circuits are now common place in Amp circuits so experiment with some of those.
Phil.