- Joined
- Feb 11, 2009
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- 23,146
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After building a bunch of great sounding BYOC pedals, I decided to tackle the Champlifier. Here's the starting pile from the BYOC website:
I like the turret board, but those turrets take a while to heat up with my iron due to the iron's small chisel point. I like it better than trying to jam six leads into a single eyelet though. Here's the included board:
Here are a couple of midway shots:
The instructions are fantastic. Only once was I frustrated - the last step had me soldering in a spot that was very hard to get to, but I persevered and overcame.
As others have noted, if you want to learn amp theory, this kit won't teach you that. This kit is like building a Lego set - if you follow instructions well, and know how to use the proper tools, you'll get the desired results. Just as building a Lego house won't teach you how to be an architect, this kit won't teach you to be an amp designer. For example, unless you know something about electronics (and trust me, I am no EE!), you'd never stop to think that an exposed wire or solder blob from the turret board might short out on the exposed chassis.
That doesn't mean that the kit is unsafe IMO. There are many warnings about voltage and electrocution at the proper points in the directions. I just think that an insulation layer was a better idea.
That said, I recommend that anyone who wonders why boutique amps cost so much money should build an amp kit. I love doing this stuff, and I have a fair amount of experience with a soldering iron. Still, this build took me the better part of a weekend to complete. Sure, I'm anal and like all the wires to be the right length and the labels on the components to show, but isn't that the kind of work we'd expect from a boutique builder? Sure, with more builds, my speed would increase, but I learned that hand-wiring an amp is a time consuming process. If I charged my normal consulting rate to build this amp, the end result, including components, would cost over $2,000! Cut that in half and it's still a boatload of money for a Champ.
One of the things I don't like about the kit is that the back of the turret board is uninsulated from the chassis. I'd read this online while researching the kit, so I ordered a blank insulating card from Mojotone to use as a barrier, similar to the way my Bassman is built. I had to trim it to fit, and drill holes for the mounting screws, but it worked perfectly:
One other note - I ordered a different colored jewel for the lamp from Mojotone, but the threads don't match. I did not expect that, and I'm not sure why it's the case, but there you go.
Here's the final gut shot:
And here's the amp being tested on my non-conductive, flame-retardent garage floor.
Why isn't it in the cabinet? Because Mojotone still hasn't shipped my cabinet a month after I ordered it. They tell me it should ship this week, but I just couldn't wait to test it. Even open, on the floor, it sounds great! No sparks, no smoke - just great tone. I can't wait to hear it in a nice lacquered pine cab!
I like the turret board, but those turrets take a while to heat up with my iron due to the iron's small chisel point. I like it better than trying to jam six leads into a single eyelet though. Here's the included board:
Here are a couple of midway shots:
The instructions are fantastic. Only once was I frustrated - the last step had me soldering in a spot that was very hard to get to, but I persevered and overcame.
As others have noted, if you want to learn amp theory, this kit won't teach you that. This kit is like building a Lego set - if you follow instructions well, and know how to use the proper tools, you'll get the desired results. Just as building a Lego house won't teach you how to be an architect, this kit won't teach you to be an amp designer. For example, unless you know something about electronics (and trust me, I am no EE!), you'd never stop to think that an exposed wire or solder blob from the turret board might short out on the exposed chassis.
That doesn't mean that the kit is unsafe IMO. There are many warnings about voltage and electrocution at the proper points in the directions. I just think that an insulation layer was a better idea.
That said, I recommend that anyone who wonders why boutique amps cost so much money should build an amp kit. I love doing this stuff, and I have a fair amount of experience with a soldering iron. Still, this build took me the better part of a weekend to complete. Sure, I'm anal and like all the wires to be the right length and the labels on the components to show, but isn't that the kind of work we'd expect from a boutique builder? Sure, with more builds, my speed would increase, but I learned that hand-wiring an amp is a time consuming process. If I charged my normal consulting rate to build this amp, the end result, including components, would cost over $2,000! Cut that in half and it's still a boatload of money for a Champ.
One of the things I don't like about the kit is that the back of the turret board is uninsulated from the chassis. I'd read this online while researching the kit, so I ordered a blank insulating card from Mojotone to use as a barrier, similar to the way my Bassman is built. I had to trim it to fit, and drill holes for the mounting screws, but it worked perfectly:
One other note - I ordered a different colored jewel for the lamp from Mojotone, but the threads don't match. I did not expect that, and I'm not sure why it's the case, but there you go.
Here's the final gut shot:
And here's the amp being tested on my non-conductive, flame-retardent garage floor.
Why isn't it in the cabinet? Because Mojotone still hasn't shipped my cabinet a month after I ordered it. They tell me it should ship this week, but I just couldn't wait to test it. Even open, on the floor, it sounds great! No sparks, no smoke - just great tone. I can't wait to hear it in a nice lacquered pine cab!
