Gut and refurb old ss combo

[WhiskeyJack]

I wish I knew of this website when i changed out the knobs on my Epiphone to Gibson Style reflector knobs.

Yeah right? Some awesome knobs they got there.

I paid 6+CAD for one knob from StewMac. that website has them for <1 each.

I am not a good consumer.

I see they have the knobs that are used on the Klon's. I might get some white ones and put them on hanTaun because i am dumb and like doing things like that.

[WhiskeyJack]

I need to stop thinking about the massive to-do list on this thing. I keep thinking about shit that's way down the line. I'm usually pretty good at compartmentalizing and focusing on the present, but there's so much to do! Now that all my other little projects are caught up my brain has gone into overdrive on this thing.

Next task...finish cutting up the chassis and drill tube socket holes. That's it. That's next.

Don't be me. focus.

[Greg_L]

I paid 6+CAD for one knob from StewMac. that website has them for <1 each.

I am not a good consumer.

I see they have the knobs that are used on the Klon's. I might get some white ones and put them on hanTaun because i am dumb and like doing things like that.

Protip: Never use StewMac unless you absolutely have to. There is almost always a better way.

[Greg_L]

Fucking math....

So my front panel is 20.375in.....51.75cm for you royal family types.

I need to put 15 holes in this thing roughly 1.5in/3.81cm apart center-to-center with at least the same distance from the edges.

So my actual working area on the front panel is only 17.375 inches...44.1325cm.

I'm gonna have to really condense the spacing and be as efficient as possible to fit everything on the front. I'm gonna have to go vertical on the input jacks to free up some lateral space.

This purely horizontal layout mockup runs out of space for the switches and pilot light.

[Greg_L]

Okay sorted, this is it.

Vertical input jacks get it done.



And it'll look something like this....with better knobs of course.

[Lt. Bob]

why 2 channels?
Just to stay true to the circuit?

[Greg_L]

why 2 channels?
Just to stay true to the circuit?

Yeah I want the "bass" channel. I will actually try to record bass with it.

[WhiskeyJack]

Beauty!

Good stuff man.

[rayc]

Maths...where everything learnt until you turn twelve seems to be relevant once in a while but the rest is for specialists.

[Greg_L]

Maths...where everything learnt until you turn twelve seems to be relevant once in a while but the rest is for specialists.

Yeah I don't think I'll be graphing parabolas for this project.

[Greg_L]

Back at this thing....

Got the PT hole cut. Front and rear panels gutted so I can make my own control panels. Sanded and smoothed the chassis, hit it with some high-build automotive primer, and got to work drilling out holes for tube sockets and mocking up the general layout of the external parts. Lots of measuring and eyeballing here. I think I got good spacing on everything, and wiring connections should be pretty easy.





I still need to drill the hole for the SS rectifier socket. It's just another 8-pin tube socket, but I need to do more internal mocking up to finalize a location.

[WhiskeyJack]

Just look at it. thing of beauty. this will be the Tender Assman right ?

I don't know why you didn't send me some notes and measurements so i could have cad'd up some to scale layouts for you to bang out those holes. Looks like you did just great, but we have the technology to afford you an "eyeballin it" free project!

[Greg_L]

Just look at it. thing of beauty. this will be the Tender Assman right ?

I don't know why you didn't send me some notes and measurements so i could have cad'd up some to scale layouts for you to bang out those holes. Looks like you did just great, but we have the technology to afford you an "eyeballin it" free project!

Haha, yup, Tender Assman. I have to trial-and-error the mockup so there are no definitive measurements. With this being a chassis not designed for this kind of setup, I'm having to just lay things in place and see how they will fit together and where they could and should go. For example, I've already altered the OT and choke locations just since those pics were taken. I'm about to put it in the cab just to see if anything is gonna hit the speaker. That's another consideration. Eyeballing is a necessary step with this kind of nonsense!

But I did measure the spacing for the tube sockets. Distance from the edges and center-to-center are exact measurements. No eyeballing there. The general rule of thumb is diameter of tube x 1.5. That's your center-to-center tube socket measurement.

[Greg_L]

Making progress....

Worked hard on the front of the chassis and faceplate this morning. Lots of very fine measurements and grinding and drilling. Had to open the front of the chassis more so the pots could fit through cleanly, but that left very little edge for the faceplate rivets to grab onto. I nailed my hole locations and got the rivets in place to mock it up, but they're not secured yet. That will come later. But now I know the faceplate will work and everything fits on it evenly and cleanly. This is good.







The rear openings still look like hot garbage. I've still yet to clean them up. My goal is to have nearly nothing on the back. Just the power cord IEC receptacle and speaker jacks. Nothing else. Since I've moved the power/standby switches to the front there's not much left that needs to go back there.

[rayc]

You are a tidy person.
Impressive stuff.
I've yet to start on my bass. Builders started yesterday. I'd been spending time recording knowing that I won't be able to do too much of it soon and that's the right time to work on the bass. I experimented with stuff while they drilled foundations yesterday and it's definitely not a good fit so I'll be brandishing tester, screw extractor and, possibly, soldering iron, nest week.

[Greg_L]

You are a tidy person.
Impressive stuff.
I've yet to start on my bass. Builders started yesterday. I'd been spending time recording knowing that I won't be able to do too much of it soon and that's the right time to work on the bass. I experimented with stuff while they drilled foundations yesterday and it's definitely not a good fit so I'll be brandishing tester, screw extractor and, possibly, soldering iron, nest week.

Haha yeah, do it!

[Greg_L]

I think I'm done mocking up the front and rear panels. This is the rear.



Not much to see, and that's okay with me. Power cord inlet and three speaker jacks. That's it. I hate reaching behind amps so only the necessities back there. I fucked up like half a mm when cutting the square hole for the IEC plug, but oh well. There's a tee tiny little gap right at the upper left corner but you gotta look really hard to see it. It bugs me but I must just accept it. Onward and upward.

I may still put the fuse holder back there, but my plan as of right now is to have it vertical from the botton of the chassis like we did with @Lt. Bob Deluxe Reverb. That was his idea and it was slick as owl shit. I like it, and space permitting I'm gonna do it on this one too.

Everything is gray and dreary right now, but there will be paint. The chassis will be black. The faceplates will be white with blue trim/lettering. What I haven't decided yet is if I want to paint over the rivet heads, or leave them their natural silver aluminum. I think the natural aluminum will give it a little touch of a hot-roddy homemade look. Maybe. Painted rivets might look dumb like I just slathered paint all over everything. I'm leaning towards leaving them natural.

[JD01]

Looks like you've made a great start with this.
I agree with not wanting shit on the back of the amp. All the wattage settings and different cab emulations are back there on my H&K. Does my head in.

[rayc]

Plain rivets are a better looking option - though they'll get dull as they oxidise unless you some fancy chrome or steel heads.
Yes, front access it the best for me, particularly with a heavy head.

[Greg_L]

Thanks bromigos.

I'm almost past the fabrication phase now. Pretty much all of the holes, cut outs, and locations are set. This chassis is fairly similar in size to a standard post-tweed Bassman so my layout and internal organization can be pretty much the same. I was hoping to make one long turret board and include each stage's filter cap on the board along with it's corresponding circuit, but I don't think I'll be able to do that. There's not quite enough room and I'd rather not have too much crammed into a small space. Also I think I'm gonna ditch the extra tube socket and copper cap idea and just build a standard diode rectifier board like Bassmans originally had. So that's another little board that needs to fit internally. As it stands right now, two of the turret board mounts will fit right between the OT and choke, so there's not much wiggle room to get too creative.

So basically all of this means the six filter caps will have to mount outside of the chassis under a doghouse the way they were originally. No big deal. I just need to order a doghouse cover, or make one.