Modulus Princetown amp kit

spev11

Further to my thread about small valve amps for pennies, i'm hovering over a Princetown kit from modulus.
Most likely it will end up as a combo of some kind but as I have a spare sub zero 10" cabinet i thought I'd wedge it in there. My questions are , rather than put it at the back of the up and facing upwards, could I fit it above the speaker at the front at an angle, i'll happily remake the baffle and move the speaker down and across. Has anyone got the princtown kit and have dimensions so I can see if the valves will clear? 
 Im not averse to it being at the back but I'd much rather have the knobs at the front (I know there's only two of em but still)

DannyP

Potentially unhelpful post alert:

Firstly, I've built a Modulus (not the Princetown, tho) and they're great kits with top components and support from Michael. Enjoy!

Secondly, If it were me, I'd go head and cab if you want to use the sub zero because:

a, It would be cramped and difficult to refinish the cab, grill and baffle after the modifications, and,

b, a lot of people enjoy a Princeton through a 12" speaker and you'd leave your options open.

Sorry for not answering your questions properly, just some random thoughts!

spev11

no thats brilliant, maybe i should just go for the head, i'll have a look at sizes and things

gdculley

I've built the modulus Princetown 5f2a into a combo so can get dimensions for you if that helps. My initial thought is that it would be difficult to mount the other way as the chassis is designed to hang on two bolts through the top of the cab. Flipped 90 degrees I think you would need to fashion some sort of bracket or something to locate around the edge of the chassis.

It's a great kit though, my first build and it all went well. I've modded it slightly since with a power reduction circuit (attenuator) and a switch to remove the  negative feedback circuit. The layout supplied by Modulus is excellent to follow.

If it's of any use here's a link to some photos of my build.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/af9Yhg5tsF765Rzg9

Cheers,
Graham 

spev11

So I'm leaning towards going for the Princeton Reverb kit, mostly because I've always wanted one and at £1399 new its way out of my budget, used ones are over £1000 now. So, whilst I understand its more complex to build compared to the smaller Champ based kits I can follow a diagram well. My soldering skills are pretty good but I'll get a better iron and do some practice. Has anyone built one?

gdculley

That would be my dream amp also! I think if Modulus provided a layout I would have gone for it by now, but I'm slightly scared following just the original fender layout! I guess it's such a common build that hopefully if you run into any trouble you should be able to work through it via forums like this. Good luck and keep us posted! :-)

spev11

I've read quite a few different post/forums/websites including robrobinette.com which has a wealth of info along with the Modulus info. I think, as long as you don't become complacent and just take your time it seems to be no more complicated than some of the pedal builds. Obviously there are bigger safety concerns but from a fiddly standpoint it looks less complicated really (theres at least room around the components to see what goes where).
 I've read the safety pages and will make sure as I go that everything is as it should be, I've got amps so there is no rush to get it done in any particular time frame.

thermionic

What I’ve learnt from building a small single-ended amp and a push-pull is that building the more complex amp is not more difficult, just that as there is more wiring and soldering to be done, then the potential for making a mistake is greater. Take your time and it shouldn’t be more difficult.

hollywoodrox

gdculley said:

That would be my dream amp also! I think if Modulus provided a layout I would have gone for it by now, but I'm slightly scared following just the original fender layout! I guess it's such a common build that hopefully if you run into any trouble you should be able to work through it via forums like this. Good luck and keep us posted! :-)

Slightly scared, don’t worry ,I’d be shittin myself

spev11

I rewired the loom on a Fiat Scudo a couple of years ago, after that nothing fazes me much. I'll just go through it methodically and slowly and it'll all be fine. I'll start a build thread once I make a start. 
Honestly making the cab/combo box worries me more as woodworking is not my forte, but a bit of practice and i'll get that sorted as well.
ta for the help and advice everybody

nero1701

I done a modulus build quite recently, not the Princetown. I done the Marshbar (Im not 100% sure why as I generally prefer Fender amps)

I found, tackle it little by little, I done half an hour here, half an hour there.,

I printed 4 copies of the layout out. I marked the wires off on the lay out as I attached them, I then double checked. Same with the turret board. then I had a last check, again ticking off the connections, double checking comp values ect.
Here is a link to a few photos I done of mine.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qaq42EzGwz1xttYx5

spev11

eek, i've gone and ordered it, now to start collecting my wits, reading as much as I can about it and clearing a space in the workshop so I can build it. Ordered without cabinet (i'll utilise something I have here or make a headshell for it) or valves (i'm lucky enough to have a 12at7 already here and a friend is sending me a 4 12ax7 (so i'll have a spare) and a GZ34, so i'll have to get some 6v6's but I'll see how the build goes. I'm not going to rush it but I will take plenty of pics as I go and start a thread if anyone is interested.

Much excitement/trepidation/outright fear at the spev11 house

gdculley

Awesome! Please do start a build thread, I'd like to follow that! :-)

DannyP

gdculley said:

That would be my dream amp also! I think if Modulus provided a layout I would have gone for it by now, but I'm slightly scared following just the original fender layout! I guess it's such a common build that hopefully if you run into any trouble you should be able to work through it via forums like this. Good luck and keep us posted! :-)

Don't be scared, I think Michael is a bit wary of putting too much info out there, but when I bought my kit, he emailed the resources including layout and the support was great.

spev11

I’m more excited than anything really but I do get moments of fear, it’ll be great though and i genuinely can’t wait to start. I’m going to replace my soldering iron before I start though, it’s fine for pedals and pots etc but a proper station will be more controllable and I can also use it for work ( now that e-bikes are everywhere )