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Hello all; I would like to say first off how much I really enjoy reading all about the great fun these amp projects have been to all of you, and the awesome sounds from them for a fraction of the cost of high end production amps.

I'm hoping to be ordering my own 5E3 Tweed Kit from Stephen very soon, but I wanted to ask you all, what options or upgrades I might consider installing in my first project rather than doing it later once I know more about these fine amps..I've read and decided to purchase the VRM, which sounds like it's a handy feature to have.

I also am hoping to get advice on cabinet ideas that I'd like to cover in Shellaced Tweed, (where to purchase Tweed in SW Ontario)
and possible ideas on what speaker or speakers to install to suit my Hollowbody Gretsch 6120 and my Country/Blues twang..

Give me your thoughts please, and thank you in advance..

Ernie R

I'm not so sure that this is the amp for me to build with Zip for support or so it seems..58 views and not one reply, that doesn't leave one with a warm and fuzzy feeling, at least it doesn't for me....The first time builder has a hum in his amp and 1 person has been there to respond...maybe this is why so many people just go and purchase pre made units...not sure what I'm going to do now, as I had my heart set on building a tweed deluxe..too bad though..

Strange that we didn't chime in Ernie. I know I've read this post...probably didn't have a chance to respond at the time.

IMO, the Deluxe kit is perfect for a first time builder - even more so than the Tramp. It's a very straightforward build and is a beautiful sounding amp. It shocked me how good it sounded in fact. You won't go wrong. If you're after a Tweed there's no better option really.

My advice for a first time builder would be to build the basic kit & get it working first. Then start thinking about modifications. I might even recommend building it without the VRM & add it afterward, but that's up to you. It's not all that complicated, but it does add more complexity that will make debugging a little more difficult if you have issues with the initial startup.

As far as cabinets go, I built it with a 1x12 combo cab that I got from Trinity. I tried it with several speakers, and it sounded fantastic with all of them. It even sounded great pumping into a closed back 2x12 Vintage 30 cab. In the end I used an Eminence Texas Heat in the 1x12 and it was just killer.

As for cabinet supplies, I can't help you much there. I've ordered some stuff from Steamco in Manitoba, and a few things from Stephen here at Trinity.

From a support perspective, I can't imagine you'll have to worry about that with Stephen and Phil, and everyone on this forum. Great people and always willing to lend a hand. Between the lot of us we've probably seen most issues, and if we haven't the gurus here can usually come up with some ideas. Trinity's customer support is second to none IMO.

Sorry we (the forum community) didn't respond...usually we're all over this stuff. I hope you're still interested in a kit. There's nothing more rewarding than playing through an amp you built yourself! I guess that's why I have 7 home-brews at the moment, and I've built a few for friends also.

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SG + Brit tube head = Nirvana

Sometimes if somebody posts to the same forum right after you post, yours can get overlooked since it doesn't show up as the "Latest Post" very long. Dunno if that's what happened here, but I can vouch for the level of support, assistance, & encouragement you get from Stephen & Phil....as well as from some very knowledgeable members. I haven't built a 5E3 so far (TC-15 & home-brew Franken-Amp) so my amp-specific advice won't be much help, but I hadn't built an amp prior to working with Trinity & I highly recommend it.

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** b0b0 **
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- This Space For Rent -

Emo is right . You should build the kit stock first and then tweak it as the need arises.As for speakers/cabinets the original sound is from a single 12. I would be inclined to build it that way, maybe adding a 1x12 cab to make an awesome little stack. It really depends on how loud you like to play (and how loud your drummer plays!)One thing I noticed about the guys on this forum is that they will only post when they have something of value to add to the conversation- you won't get a lot of drivel here! You should try to get your supplies from Steamco if you're not getting a cab from Stephen- gotta support Canandian businesses as much as possible!

Hello Ernie

Like Emohawk, I read your post a while back and was very interested by it because I am thinking of building a Deluxe. I did not respond to it because the only amp I have built is a Tramp so I felt I had not much to contribute.
I would just like to add to what Emohawk said that I was given enough support and information by the documentation that Trinity gives with their kit to assemble it and ended up with a very good sounding amp. Some supplementary info and pictures were found on the forum also, which was very useful when I discovered I had forgotten to ground the main capacitors. Another builder had done the same thing and wrote about it in the Tramp forum.
I never felt lost and alone during this project. It was an occasion to learn a lot about electricity and tube electronics which I find a fascinating subject.
A new builder will get better results if he reads the documents before starting to build. When he starts, better go slow and be patient. You learn more this way and lessen the chance of errors and end up with a working amp instead of starting the sometimes long and tedious process of troubleshooting.

Thank you guys for your responses, I Almost feel bad for my comments It was not my intention to disrespect anyone.




Emo; After a fair bit of research on 5E3 kits, and from what I have learned the Trinity is as good as they come, plus buying Canadian is "Ehh" ok too..

I just hope it suits my country blues and a 6120 Gretsch with filtertron pups tone buds, which I'm fairly confident it might..

Also, you're right on the money, with building the basic unit and get it working before any mods..

Regarding cabs and speakers; I honestly know next to nothing about what configurations of cabinets will make this sound good matched with that aspect..nothing..but I hope Stephen might be able to help me with the right set of plans for the cabinet required. My buddy (who is also interested in a Trinity build) who's a fine wood worker has agreed to tackle the cab assembly mission...

Regarding speakers, again not much knowledge other than reading and and listening to sound clips yet stilll wondering about the texas heat, cannabis rex, green or blue backs, or something in the BBQ line?? Country blues hmmm, Time will tell, but I have a modded tweed blues jr with a jensen c12n, that I can get going with it if need be..

7 homemade amps....I can only imagine the feeling of gratitude and pure enjoyment you must get from building and playing through them !!

B0BO; thank you and best of luck with future builds..

G-log; I will look into Steamco..Is this the best place to maybe purchase the proper wire..Hopefully in the plans, it will suggest which wire manufacturer is best for certain wires..and yes, I certainly believe in buying Canadian, especially when it's a quality product..

Gotie; regarding the fascination with tube amps and it's components, I look forward to learn all I can. Although I'm comfortable with single phase low and high voltage, I'm fairly green, although I performed a fromel extreme mod to my blues jr this past winter, and it worked fine once I plugged it in..lol...but I really don't understand the functions nor the meaning of values like micro ferets, plate voltages, idle voltage, etc etc, of electronic amp components, but I'm hoping one day I might....I do know that I will not rush into the build until I'm confident that I'm ready with all the right tools and equipment at hand and laid out first.. Although I'm fairly confident with a solder pencil and my current Weller 25 watt seemed to do a fine job on the fender mod, do you feel it's maybe too hot for this application, as I was reading about the possibility of baking smaller fragile components if they get too hot..I don't mind getting another pencil, I just hope it won't break the bank to get what I need..

I thank you again for the help and advice, and hopefully I won't annoy anyone enough that the aid might cease, as I'm really looking forward to this new amp project.

Ernie

The most popular addition is VRM, then some people play with coupling caps, but that's about it. The stock cabinet is almost the perfect size for grab and go (plans available to build your own), but people have built heads as well.
With the Tone Tubby Alnico, IMO, it's almost the gold standard!

You will need patience when building any amp for the first time. We dont normally sell supplies for cabs unless it's in kit form like the Tramp.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

No need to fear about excess heat with your Weller iron as the components used in a tube amp are pretty rugged. Your soldering experience is a big plus for this project.

25 watt pencil is perfect.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Hi Ernie,

My two cents: Regarding support...you'll never be hurtin' for it. Stephen was wonderful when I built my Deluxe. Regarding this particular forum, there aren't as many members as some of the other forums out there, but that being said, you have a tremendous amount of knowledge here. Read some of the threads and you'll get an idea of who's who. Many of these guys are professionals and at times it may take awhile for them to respond. Also, you'll find this a no nonsense forum. I've not seen anybody troll here as I don't think it would be tolerated by the mods.

The only thing I can perhaps share with you about the deluxe is the speaker choice. I went with a BBQ 12F150. I just posted a thread here playing a tele through it. Give it a listen. It's raw, but I think it came out okay. Speaker choice is pretty subjective. If you look at some of the speaker polls on the site, you'll be surprised at some of the results.

Have fun building your deluxe!

Thank you all for the replies and great ideas.. My friend and I are ready to order our Tweed Deluxe kits from Stephen, and I'm wondering if the Scott Cole cabinet plans being a bit larger will help the overall tone quality..We still haven't decided on what speakers to install..I'm really looking forward to the challenge, but the quality of the Trinity is second to none and that means alot ta boot..

After receiving the neatly packed box from Stephen, and looking over and studying the instructions and schematics for the past week, i'm feeling a bit braver now as to the direction I'm heading, but still scratching my head over which included wire to use for what, and how to indentify and test for the proper resistors and caps to use where as I only have a voltmeter with a needle..it's an older Sanyo.....oh and from what I understand, on one page it mentions not to install the transformers before the prelimenary wiring is done in the chassis on the potentiometers and other basics, then on the next page I'm interpreting it says to run the wires from the trannys and solder....at least that's how my simple mind perceives it..I don't want to jump into this and get myself in a heap of trouble.....

also, i'm not certain from being a green horn with this Electronics stuff, but does the black ( heater, I think) wire feed #5 on V2, then feed off 4 on V2 to feed 5 on V1 ??

Thank you guys for the help in advance...Ernie

Hey Ernie, You might want to start a separate topic for this post. More will see it that way. The subject "HELP" might get attention!

With the wire, I'm assuming you mean colours? You may want to look down through the Deluxe threads and find some pics of other's work. I tend to you use one colour for ground, one for hot, one for signal. I don't think it matters much, but helps with appearance. Checking out other's work first will be beneficial regarding appearance.

A cheap $15 or so digital meter from CT will be helpful in checking resistors.

Caps should all be marked. It would help if you learned to read a resistor colour chart such as this one (I still double check with a meter):


It's cool to install trannys, pots, jacks, fuse holder, tube sockets, etc...onto your chassis first (I do), but I hook up the tranny POWER last. So, install, but hook up later.

On V2, there is a jumper wire from pin 4 to 5 so that both are getting juice. It doesn't matter which pin you connect to (4 or 5) to run the next wire to V1 pin 4, but you then need to jump pin 4 to 5 on V1 also.

Take your time. It will all come and make sense eventually. I was where you were a few years ago. If you need to talk it out on the phone, let me know.

Good luck and have fun.

Hey Duke; Can't thank you enuff 4 sharing your knowledge, yet one of my concerns was regarding solid strand vs multi stranded wire, and where you would generally use them both..20 or 22 awg is all that's required for this project, or do I need heavier wire in certain spots ???

Just so I hopefully get it through my thick head....heater wires are supply??...ie, red and black twisted coming from signal light to initial tube socket...that run along tight to chassis to next socket and so on..?? If I can leave the weight out of the equation from installing the trannys until the end, that would be hopefully easier..??

I will head to CTC and get a cheapie digital VM.. I'm looking at as many other posters build photos as I can find, and although it helps, it still leaves much to the my electronically inexperienced minds eye..

I will learn more about indentifying caps and resistors...thanks again..

You're welcome. Happy to share my extremely limited knowledge anytime.

You should not need heavier wire as the included wire is rated for high voltages. I personally prefer solid wire as it's easier for me to work with. When using stranded, I heat the bare wire and apply a slight bit of solder to actually make it like solid (I think everyone else does too). This keeps the strands from fraying while you're working with it.

You are correct about the heaters. I bought a Wolfcraft table top "workmate" for $20 at CT that I've used on all my amps. It supports the weight easily enough and kept things from moving around. Someone here on the forum was offering amp cradles at one time, but I think they are all sold out. They are ideal as they clamp your chassis and allow you to tilt it. BBQ sells one but it's $100 or so...if want to take a look. If you're handy in the shop, you could make your own.

When I stated, I didn't even know what an electrolytic cap was. All I can say is the more I read, the more I understood and felt comfortable working with amps. Many guys on this forum are engineers and electronic theory is as second nature as breathing to them. Ask detailed questions if you're confused, no question is silly. Another thing that helped me a lot was when I started to look at the amp project as a whole and break it apart into chunks, instead of looking at it as a series of steps to follow. Does that make sense? It's easy to get hung up on the steps and not even realize what you're doing. Read through your steps and separate them into meaningful groups. It took awhile to think that way but it really helped once I got to that point.

Be sure to take lots of pictures and share. Including pictures with any questions that arise are really helpful. Cheers!

Thank you..I'm starting to feel a bit more confident with plugging in the soldering pencil and yes I will take many photos..

What are your opinions on a 15" over the standard 12"..all I have played are different amps with 12s until recently when I purchased a nice used Peavey Delta Blues with a single 15" and I really have fallen for the tones from it..

You might want to build the amp part and plug it into your 15" speaker before building a cabinet for it. I can't say how it will sound that way, but 15" speakers are way under utilized for guitar tones IMHO...We guitar players are a conservative lot ..

Good idea indeed G-log..I agree with you and surprised there aren't more people or companies installing 15's over the 12's..The difference in tonality in my opinion is very noticeable and gratifying ..