Gut and refurb old ss combo

[Greg_L]

This is a crude MSPaint mockup of how I'm imagining the front panel.

panel.jpg

[WhiskeyJack]

Ok well forget Gretsch knobs. No way I'm paying that much for knobs just so I have a "G" on them.

These are another option.


Those are actually Bassman looking knobs, but I can get them in blue. 65 cents a piece.

I like those better than the other one you posted.

[WhiskeyJack]

This is a crude MSPaint mockup of how I'm imagining the front panel.

panel.jpg

I can draft this kind of stuff to scale in autocad if you ever wanted me to.

[Greg_L]

I can draft this kind of stuff to scale in autocad if you ever wanted me to.

Oh hell yes, thanks. I might take you up on that.

I have a few spacing templates from other types of amps. My chassis is a little narrower than a typical Bassman chassis though, and I'm adding more stuff to it, so I'll need to space things out smartly and efficiently, but not too close together. I'm also thinking that adding the power/standby switches to the front panel might use up the spare room I had hoped to have for the "Tender Assman" artwork. But we'll see.

[Greg_L]

Fucking hell this was tedious....

All the caps sorted and verified...new stuff, but period-correct where it matters.


Same with resistors. I'm using 1 watt resistors at minimum. It is overkill and over-engineered, but why not? Fuck it. The material matters, but being over-spec'd doesn't. I'm using Carbon Film almost everywhere because that's the sound of old amps. Does it matter? Maybe.


And a shitpile of little bits and pieces...all the pots, jacks, switches, tube sockets, etc.


One thing I'm doing a little different is I'm gonna try a Weber Copper Cap. This amp is supposed to be diode rectified...meaning solid state rectified, not tube rectified. I have the diodes to build a stock-correct diode rectifier circuit, but the Copper Cap does the same thing, and I just happen to already have one. It's equivalent to a GZ34 Rectifier Tube. The Copper Cap installs in place of where a rectifier tube would normally go in tube rectified amps. But the Copper Cap is a solid-state rectifier. So what I'm gonna do is wire in an extra tube socket for the Copper Cap instead of building the diode bridge and see how it works. If it doesn't work then I can always build the diode bridge later and wire it up like stock.

What do I gain from this? Nothing. It's just something a little different using stuff I already have that will hopefully achieve the same end result as stock. All a rectifier does - tube or solid state - is convert high voltage AC from the power transformer secondary into high voltage DC that the rest of the amp can use. It doesn't really matter how you do it, you just gotta do it one way or the other.

And all of these parts are very high quality that I picked and sourced myself piecemeal. There is no kit for this. I had to closely examine the schematic and find each and every piece I need. I still need a tube set, but I'm a long ways off from putting tubes in this thing.

[Lt. Bob]

how bout these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038608?c ... f5f663e421

[Lt. Bob]

similar but a little bigger
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038627?c ... 076d5909cf

[Greg_L]

how bout these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038608?c ... f5f663e421

similar but a little bigger
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038627?c ... 076d5909cf

Those aint bad, but way too expensive. I'm thinking like a buck per knob, at most.

[SweetDan]

how bout these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038608?c ... f5f663e421

similar but a little bigger
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323738038627?c ... 076d5909cf

Those aint bad, but way too expensive. I'm thinking like a buck per knob, at most.

I cheaply sourced most of the parts for the DIY pedal stuff I did a while ago here: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardwa ... _limit=all

Not sure what the overseas shipping speed is like; I haven't worked on any pedals for about a year now....

[Greg_L]

I cheaply sourced most of the parts for the DIY pedal stuff I did a while ago here: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardwa ... _limit=all

Not sure what the overseas shipping speed is like; I haven't worked on any pedals for about a year now....

Wow that's a huge selection. Thanks, I'll have a look through.

[JD01]

I think you should go for loads of different colour knobs like you posted above - get a collection in as many colours as you have controls.
Also, if you haven't got room to script "Tender Assman" (Great name by the way), you could screw a fender style logo onto the grill cloth like normal Fender amps

Might be a pain to get one in metal, but you could script it in plastic, cut it out and spray it with metallic paint.

[rayc]

Multiple colours would look interesting BUT brains try to relate function to colour and you'd end up memorizing the function of the knob to the colour and then have to unlearn it when you walk away.

[Greg_L]

I think you should go for loads of different colour knobs like you posted above - get a collection in as many colours as you have controls.
Also, if you haven't got room to script "Tender Assman" (Great name by the way), you could screw a fender style logo onto the grill cloth like normal Fender amps

Might be a pain to get one in metal, but you could script it in plastic, cut it out and spray it with metallic paint.

Multiple colours would look interesting BUT brains try to relate function to colour and you'd end up memorizing the function of the knob to the colour and then have to unlearn it when you walk away.

Haha the multiple colors aint gonna work for me. I do have a specific visual idea of what I want this thing to look like.

I do like the idea of a custom nameplate though. I know a guy with a 3D printer that can make me something....probably.

The strip of aluminum I have for the front and rear control panels is 2 inches wide. My grand idea is to paint it blue and then use vinyl stencils/stickers to mark out whatever words and graphics I plan to have on the panels. Then I'll paint it white, remove the stencils, and have all of my words and graphics in blue with crisp clean lines. That's the idea. Can I pull it off? I don't know. There's a reason I worked on the nuts and bolts of cars and not the paint and body.

I also like the idea of just nothing on the control panels. Blank. Just knobs and switches. I'll know what is what.

[Lt. Bob]

Buy the knobs that will look best and make it even more awesome!

Did I cheap out on anything in the amps you built for me?
Nope .... if it had needed $75 worth of knobs to look right I'd have bought them in a second.

Problem with the G knobs is they're not blue and I think the design you have in mind really does need blue knobs.

Just those MXR type knobs you referenced first would work well .... prolly better than the aluminum

[WhiskeyJack]

My grand idea is to paint it blue and then use vinyl stencils/stickers to mark out whatever words and graphics I plan to have on the panels. Then I'll paint it white, remove the stencils, and have all of my words and graphics in blue with crisp clean lines.

"Practice on scrap first" - @muttley

[Greg_L]

Buy the knobs that will look best and make it even more awesome!

Did I cheap out on anything in the amps you built for me?
Nope .... if it had needed $75 worth of knobs to look right I'd have bought them in a second.

Problem with the G knobs is they're not blue and I think the design you have in mind really does need blue knobs.

Just those MXR type knobs you referenced first would work well .... prolly better than the aluminum

Nope you did not cheap out on anything. If I said "we need this" you bought it. And your amps rock ass.

Anyway, yeah I'm not cheaping out but if I can find knobs I like for pennies compared to dollars then I'm going with pennies.

If the Gretsch G knobs were blue they'd already be here. They're the right size and shape for what I want, and the "G" would be a nice personal touch, you know, since my name and everything. But they're not blue. Gotta be blue.

I also expanded my search into appliance knobs. Some really cool stuff out there for stoves and ovens and grills and shit. It would be funny to have have knobs that go up to 1000 degrees or something.

[Greg_L]

Practice

I don't understand that word.

[WhiskeyJack]

Those aint bad, but way too expensive. I'm thinking like a buck per knob, at most.

I cheaply sourced most of the parts for the DIY pedal stuff I did a while ago here: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardwa ... _limit=all

Not sure what the overseas shipping speed is like; I haven't worked on any pedals for about a year now....

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

[Greg_L]

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.

[Greg_L]

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.