The Harp Amp Project

To those of you who have been watching this site. I got a new job, lost it and then got another one. I have not had time to work on amps at all. I will get to it, so don't give up on me! As soon as I start making progress again I will ahve new pictures.
Keith

THere's a bunch of guys building a Fender Deluxe 5E3. Here's the link: http://www.toad.net/~nubbin/5e3.htm

I am in the data collection phase of this project. I am interested in building a 50's Fender 4x10 Bassman. I want it to have the 4 Blue Dot Jenson Speakers and a Tweed Case. I can buy most of the parts Mail Order or through the internet, but I am still looking for the cheapest way. My approach now is to find a basket case or a fried chassis and build it up from a few original parts. I am going to the guitar shows every few weekends with $150 in my pocket. Unfortunately all I see are exotic microphones which I can't pass up.

Update:

I purchased an old Guild Amp that had been blown and scavenged. There is no speaker and the transformer had been removed. The case looks very cool. I am going to gut this and make a Fender Tweed Deluxe out out of it.

It is interesting that the next week, my brother bought a basket case of the same amp, but it sort of worked. His version had a cheap speaker and no tolex. Between the two we got a half power amp. (That's why you can see the speaker in the above picture.

This amp uses 50L6 tubes and line voltage for filement power. This can kill you if you put a hot microphone near your mouth. I will eventual gut both of them and make deluxes out of them.

Here's the original chassis after an hour with the soldering iron.

As you can see in the next picture those high voltage filement tubes are like 50 watt light bulbs and get hot!

I will be sending to Hoffman soon for the Deluxe kit. I hope to have a better camera for those pictures.

Here are a few of the links that I have been exploring:

Angela Instruments Best place to get name plates and other Fender Components. This is where you start.

Duncan Amps Amp Links Good list of many of the places to search for amp parts and kits

Apollo Amps Tubes, Components and Kits. Good place to get Reverb Tanks

Kendrick Amplifiers is run by Gerald Weber and has an extensive parts list at reasonable prices.

stf-electronics.com Tube Amp Kits. Get your 50's Fender Champ Kit here for a Killer low power Harp Amp. The Champs break up very good and have that Fender crunch sound. Since you'll probably have to mic your amp anyway this is major alternative to building the Bassman.

The Mojo On-line Catalog Index Parts is Parts is Parts.

Tube Amp Mod Kits Torres is the Amp Tech God. Look here for books and tips and information on amps.

http://www.vibroworld.com/ Vibro World has some kits and parts.

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/ Hoffman Amps is where I probably will buy my Bassman Circuit.

http://www.montagar.com/~patj/gindex.htm Good collection of guitar amp and effects circuits.

http://www.londonpower.com/ Lots of tube amp kit info, but I am confused as to what they are selling. It looks like you have to put the whole amp together from smaller kits.

Back up to JT30 Page

• Purchase Hohner XB-40 Extreme Bender
• Purchase Hohner Blues Blaster Microphone at Coast to Coast
• Buy The Quest for Tone in Amplified Blues Harp (Third Edition) by Pete Sheridan
• Purchase Shaker Dynamic Microphone - 1/4 inch jack at Coast to Coast

Canned Ebay Searches