trinityamps.com

Hello

I'm finally getting around to posting a message about the TC-15 kit I built a couple of years ago. It was the first tube guitar amp I built. I've built six more since then including a Trinity Tweed Deluxe that I completed a couple of months ago. Tube amp building is highly addictive!

I've been building electronic projects and doing woodwork since I was a teenager back in the 1970's. Around Christmas time, 2010 I figured it was high time I built myself a decent sounding guitar amp. That meant a tube amp and since this would be my first tube project I decided to go with a kit.

I searched around on the Internet and soon found Trinity. I was impressed with the quality of their amps and the amount of information available about them on this forum. And as a Canadian, I really liked that there's a Canadian company selling top quality amps and kits.

I picked the TC-15 because I've always liked Vox amps and it sounded good in the demo on the website. It was a pleasure dealing with Stephen, too. He answered my emails promptly and once I ordered the kit it was shipped quickly and everything arrived safe and sound.

The kit went together very well and it worked the first time. It was a lot of fun to build, too. The documentation is excellent with step by step instructions and lots of pictures.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished amp. I built the cabinet out of solid African padauk wood. I'll post a couple of more messages with other pictures taken during the build, too.





I've had a chance to use this amp for a couple of years now and have a lot of fun playing it. I don't hesitate for a moment to recommend Trinity to anyone who wants a great amp, especially if they want the pride that comes with building it themselves.

Mitch Markin
Port Coquitlam, BC

Here are a few photos taken while building the chassis.

I began by installing all the tube sockets, pots, switches and jacks on the chassis. Then I wired up the AC, the power transformer, the heaters, the output transformer secondary, the jacks and the pots.



I started working on the board next. I see the new kit has a fancy black turret board. This one just has a red board with eyelets. I installed all the wiring on the bottom side, then I started working from left to right installing the resistors and capacitors on the top side. I also attached all the flyoff leads using the lengths recommended in the assembly manual.





All that was left now was installing the board and wiring it to the tube sockets and pots.





I did the final checks, installed the tubes and checked it some more. Everything was good. It worked the first time and sounded fantastic when I plugged in a guitar and a speaker!





It's still working great two years later, too!

Mitch Markin
Port Coquitlam, BC

Here are some photos taken while building the cabinet.

I used a hardwood from Africa called padauk. It's bright orange when freshly planed or sanded. It turns redder with age and once a finish is applied.

Here are a couple of pictures of the assembly. I've already planed the wood to final thickness, cut the pieces to size and routed dovetails on the joints.





Rounding all the edges with a router and sanding came next. It's pretty hard to build an amp or speaker cabinet without a router. I have several!





I finished the cabinet by spraying on five coats of clear lacquer.





I finished the front and back panels by spraying on three coats of hammertone paint. The vent grills are just perforated steel. The front one was spray painted black, the back one was left natural.



I installed feet and a handle, bolted in the amp chassis and the project was finished!



Mitch Markin
Port Coquitlam, BC

That looks great! The paduak gives a really cool classy look to the amp.

Did you add the Trinity Amps logo as a decal to the faceplate?
What speaker(s) are you using with it?

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Good looking build! Really like the African Padauk cabinet!

Thanks for the great feedback, fellows.

Cigarman, the wiring in your TC-15 is impeccable. Like I said I thought I did a good job wiring mine but it's not as neat as yours. Usually I'm pretty picky when it comes to wiring but I had a hard time keeping this one neat. Maybe the new layout helps.

Kurtlives, I usually use a 2x12 cabinet with a couple of Eminence Wizzards with this amp.

Yes, I did put a small Trinity logo on the chassis under the pilot light. I wanted to prominently display a Trinity logo on the front vent panel but I wasn't sure how they felt about their name going on a cabinet they didn't build.

For now I just have my name on the vent panel. I cut the letters out of some leftover padauk wood with a scroll saw. It does need something on the front grill to break up the blackness.

It's a Trinity amp, though, and I'm happy to give them credit.



Mitch

Incredible isn't a strong enough adjective. Wow. Beautiful work.

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Go Buckeyes!

Looks beautiful. Love that paduak. Love the MARKIN name in wood too. Excellent.
Only one change in the design since then really, and that. Is the voltage divider between ch 1 & 2. Email me if you want the details.

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

Thanks for the compliments, RMosack and Stephen.

Stephen, I really like the new black turret board for the TC-15. It looks classier than the red eyelet board mine has. It also looks like the new layout is a lot neater, too. I'm happy with the way mine turned out, though. It was a great first tube amp project. I found the voltage divider mod you mentioned to better balance the channels. It's in your New TC-15 Docs post at the top of this section. Looks like you just changed R11 from 100K to 220K. I'll give it a try.

Mitch

Yes, that's the simple change.. Glad you like the new board tho, but it accomplishes the same objective.

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

That is great lead dressing you've done. Nice clean build. What type of music do you play when using the TC-15?

I've built the same amp as well as the Triwatt. I am a builder who has to sell the amp eventually to pay for the next build. The Triwatt I built, sold then bought back from the guy I sold it to and then sold it again!

Now I'm waiting for Stephen to make the Lightning 15 a kit. One trick kick butt pony

Your cabinet is really the cream of the crop as far as home builds go.

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If it's too loud, you're too old.

Looks like there's been a lot of nice head and amp builds in the 15 world lately. Great work !

Thanks, Hank and sazafraz.

Hank, I mainly play classic rock, CCR, Beatles, Stones, etc. I've built a couple of Hiwatt inspired amps, too. One of them is a 50 watt. I love its sound but man is it loud! So I also built a 30 watt version. It's similar to the Triwatt but I built it from scratch. The Triwatt's circuitry is pretty authentic.

The TC-15 sounds great, too, that's why I still have it after over two years.

Where did you find the metal grill/vent material?

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I got the grill material at a metal supply outfit here in Vancouver. It's 18 gauge perforated sheet steel with 1/8" holes. I think I bought a 48" x 48" piece. I've been using it for a couple of years for vent grills on amps and other projects and I still have some left.