As a guitarist, I am always looking for ways to improve my sound. This means I listen to and play through a lot of different amplifiers. I do this both with and without effects. I am always seeking that killer tone. For the longest time, I was playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe II. While there is nothing particularly bad about this amplifier, the tone in no way compares to older vintage tube amps. I shopped around at some of the local music stores and played a few different amps. I found a couple of amps modified by John Landgraff which sounded great, but these were just modified Hot Rod amps. I came across a Vintage Sound Amp and was blown away by the tone and quality. Since I lived near Rick Hayes, I hit him up and he graciously indulged me and helped me in my desire to learn.
I decided that I would build my own tube amp and decided on a 5E3 clone. The first couple would be from kits. I researched the best quality components and decided on building a kit from Trinity Amps. I opted to buy only the chassis and components as I would source the cabinet and speaker elsewhere. I ordered the kit. While awaiting delivery, I assembled the tools that I would need, ordered the cabinet and ordered the speaker. I was ready to build.
Before building the amp, I had to make sure I had the right tools including the right soldering station, voltmeter, dim bulb tester and a variac so that I could properly power on and test the new build. I was able to find most of the tools at reasonable prices. I ended up building my own dim bulb tester following instructions from Uncle Doug.
What is a Dim Bulb Tester?
This device is used to test for high amperage (shorts) in a circuit downstream. If the big bulb glows when the voltage is up, there is an issue. The bulb can blow before the circuit is damaged acting like a fuse.
The Build Process
Once the kit arrived, I spent a bit of time reviewing the instructions and making sure I had all the required parts. The process is straightforward. Here are the basic steps:
- Install the potentiometers and output selector switch
- Install the tube sockets
- Wire the heater wires
- Install the power transformer
- Wire standby and power switches, fuse and rectifier tube socket
- Install power cord connector and wire
- Layout components on the eyelet board
- Verify the eyelet board layout
- Solder all the components to the eyelet board
- Install the jacks (input and output)
- Wire the jacks
- Install the eyelet board
- Wire everything according to the schematic and diagram
- Follow the power on and testing instructions
- Drill the cabinet for the chassis
- Install the speaker into the cabinet
- Install the chassis
- Final testing
- Close up the cabinet
- Plug it in and play!