rcruz71 wrote:
I'm a newbie to amp building, but do have some practical experience at building guitars and thought I'd try my hand at a new project - an amp! I'm still reading through various books (Tube Amp Book, Tube Amp Handbook and the lovely Fender book The Soul of Tone) and just getting to grips with understanding the components and theories etc.
That's a great start. And you no doubt also have the essential skill of soldering.
rcruz71 wrote:
Anyway, an amp kit would make good sense I know, because you'll get some great step by step instructions, but will you learn as much as choosing, sourcing your own kit
The main thing you will learn is how you can save on packing, postage and minimum order charges, by buying everything together from one place.
Seriously, if you want to try buying all the bits from all around, I would save that for next time. You will learn a *hell* of a lot from a first kit build in terms of building skills, lead dress, debugging, etc.
rcruz71 wrote:
Everyone appears to rave about the Dr Z. c@rmen ghi@ (all their amps in fact) and it seems a 'reasonably' simple amp...
That's somewhat debatable, and I think it depends on what kind of amps people are used to in the first place. To me it appears that Dr Z has hit on the fact that you can't go too far wrong with simple tube amp designs, however, IMHO there are better ones out there. But people who have been used to SS amps, or "all tube" amps from Mesa, Peavey, Crate, etc, with a lot of solid state stuff inside them, plus channel switching and a gazzilion controls which produce infinite numbers of mediocre sounds, a Dr Z amp will seem like an epiphany of tone. Yet, when a Dr Z is lined up against something like a Marshall 18W or a Trinity TC-15, they don't look quite so impressive. One of my friends happens to have c@rmen ghi@, along with several other cool tube amps, and tells me he was pretty disappointed with the CG - it's now gathering dust in the corner of his amp room. I've known guys who put their CGs on eBay after building their first Marshall 18W clone (or variant). Here's a post from another Marshall 18W and ex-CG owner:
deadbeat3200 wrote:
I just can't believe the volume and tone from my 18 watt amp. I had a DR Z c@rmen ghi@ once, it had nowhere near the volume or tone of my amp. Can you tell I am happy with the 18 watter? I am! Bruce J.
rcruz71 wrote:
So, I have found what appears to be a genuine c@rmen ghi@ schematic and layout diagram and good photos of top and bottom of chassis, though it does say Pheonix on the schematic - is this a pre-production name of the c@rmen ghi@? Does anybody know of someone/somewhere that has more info on building this specific amp or even if a similar kit exists of it?
The Phoenix is a code name used by cloners of the CG, due to the fact that Dr Z gets real nasty with anyone wanting to clone any of his amps. Real nasty in terms of hitting you with a combination of threats and personal insults against you and even your family. He also gets any drawings of his amps removed from other web sites. I've come across a few folks who've had dealings with him (and not only over the cloning issue) and found he isn't generally a real pleasant guy. So you won't find anyone offering kits for any Dr Z amps, and those attempting to clone Dr Z amps pretty much keep a low profile, and tend to communicate within closed groups where everyone knows who everyone is. So you may not find it that easy to get support for building a Dr Z clone.
rcruz71 wrote:
Anyway, looks like a good forum for my many, many future questions, whether attempting Dr Z or a Fender classic!
My recommendation would be to get yourself a kit for something like a TC-15 or a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. A couple of nice and simple, yet very different amps, with killer tones, and fully supported on this site. Of those two the 5E3 is the simpler build. So it would make a nice one to start with, but plenty of folks have also built a TC-15 as their first amp.
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