Finally done!
I had to get a bit more wire from Stephen due to a couple of rewires that I did. Plus my job has been maniacal lately. Anyway - she is done and pumping out pure tone!
Here are a few pics -
She fired up on the first try and didn't even need lead dress. No oscillations, squeals, or hum at all. I mean ZERO noise other than typical self noise from the tubes if the overdrive is cranked and the master is wide open.
As far as tone, it sounds like a DR103 had sex with a 12 foot tall Bassman and had a baby. It absolutely owns the room through my Marshall 1960 Classic with 25watt Greenbacks. Clean, rich, "shimmery", and very very ballsy. This amp has no tolerance for any mistakes in technique - it's almost imtimidating. Huge 3-D chords
It LOVES pedals - so far I've run a Bad Monkey, a SD-1, a Triangle Big Muff, a Tube Screamer, and a custom pedal of my own design into it and they all sound freaking awesome. I can't wait to get this thing cranked up in a larger room.
I'm running 6v6s through it right now and its ungodly loud. I'm still thinking that I'm going to drop KT66s in it though. i had KT88s in a 2203 build that I did once and it was like the hammer of god. I'm ordering a pair of Gold Lions later tonight.
It seems to really amplify the differences between different 12AX7s. So far, I've settled on a complete set of RCA 7025s. They sounds great - even in the phase inverter. the 12AT7 sounded good, but the 7025 added just enough hair to make it pop a bit more. This amp rewards tube swaps and tinkering.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with the amp and the build. Stephen has a Grade A winner here and I can't wait to get this thing boxed up and out tormenting my other guitar playing friends.
Thanks for everyones time and the long read. If you don't have one of these - SHUT UP AND BUY IT. IT"S THAT GOOD!
Disconnector