NAD - Self built Tweed Deluxe - the "Danplifier"

4114Effects

OK, so I've always wanted to try my hand at amp building, and I've recently had a couple of days spare to give it a go, the results of which you'll see in the pics further down.

It's a point-to-point wired Fender Tweed Deluxe 5e3 circuit, 12ay7 and 12ax7 in the preamp, 6v6s for power and a lovely NOS JAN Philips 5y3 rectifier.

I decided if I was going to build one, it had to be something I was truly proud of, so I didn't go down the kit route, instead sourcing all the parts from ebay, valve amp suppliers and the likes. 

The 1x12 cab and head I made from quality 12mm ply - lightweight but still strong enough to stand up to gigging life. I've upholstered them with a lovely soft touch dark brown leather fabric - probably not as tough as tolex but it looks the part and costs a quarter of the price!

I bent and drilled the aluminium chassis myself, and sent off for the front panel and logo screen printing. Maybe a step too far for a home build but I'm happy with the results.

Speaker is a 12" 8ohm Celestion pulled from a old VT120 amp, it'll do for now but I will be upgrading to something nicer for Christmas - maybe a Cannabis Rex, unless anyone has any suggestions or nice drivers they'd like to sell me

Might be beginners luck, but it fired up straight away first time. Something really satisfying about seeing the tubes glowing through the open backed panel. Especially when you've made it!

How does it sound? Pretty damn good actually. It's flipping loud - I've not managed to crank it far enough to get any serious tweed crunch on it yet. I love the touch sensitivity, presence and punch. It's got me rethinking how I approach playing - I think I'll be favouring a simpler, more vintage setup from now on!

Anyway, enough of my waffling, time for some pics.

dchwhite

Nice!

4114Effects

By the way, thanks to @ESchap for some great advice and help!

57Deluxe

...is your name Dan?

I got a Can Rex for Christmas a few years ago.

My name isn't Dan though...

4114Effects

My name is indeed Dan. hence the Danplifier branding lol

Getting rid of your speaker? haha

ESchap

Very tidy build, Dan.  Super neat wiring!

57Deluxe

Should have called in a Dan5El3ctro...

simonbeckwith

#winning

Misterg

Nice work!

Dave_Mc

Very nice

JohnPerry

love it. wish I had the skills and time to build a 5e3 but i really don't. 

ThePrettyDamned

Really nice, I love the look of it!

Also, I find turret board wiring a bit sexy, way nicer than point to point.

It almost makes my loins quiver.


I know I'm not alone here...

... Right?

jpfamps

Good work.

Also glad to see someone who does the filament wire correctly!

4114Effects

Yep, gotta keep those filament wires tightly wound and out of the way. I hate hum. There's absolutely no hum on this, just a slight hiss when the volume knob is all the way up at 12, which I guess you'd expect given how loud it is at 3...

Wazmeister

Dan,

Nice and inspirational job mate !

so, the big question is (and I'm sure I'm not alone in this), hiw much does all this cost ?

4114Effects

How much did it cost me to build you mean? Erm, transformers were an eBay bargain, scrounged the plywood, made the chassis myself, I reckon £200 ish all in. Looking for a nice speaker to put in the cab, so probably £250 all told. Not bad for a one off hand wired amp.

usedtobe

That looks class. And a bargain, too!

jonnyburgo