-
COVID-19, lockdown, no gigs..... what to do? Internet is a funny thing.... before you know a 5F1 Champ kit sits in your shopping basket and another click and it’s paid for and on it’s way.....
So it took a good weekend of soldering the electronics together. Another week to build a cab out of some Ikea-shelves and I dug a Jensen P10R out of my parts cabinet (I have too much stuff...).
Man, is this a fun amp! Sounds great!! Very surprised by the clean volume and headroom! No, it won’t cut it in a gig with drums and horns... but I’m sure it can do coffee house gigs for solo guitar or with a singer. Perhaps it could even do gigs in a quiet room and a soft drummer using brushes.
And the sound is sooo jazzy. It has a very pleasant and complex mid-thing going on. Bass is surprisingly full for such a small amp. I was surprised how dark sounding it is (but not woolly or muffled), I now understand how those bright telecasters could sound so full and jazzy in the old days!
Recordings later on, trio rehearsal first tonight (with social distancing if course).
Fun, fun, fun!
-
01-11-2021 02:02 PM
-
Glad to hear it!
Where did you get the kit? It is on my list of things I might want to do in the near future. I've posted pictures before of some amp cabs I modded with nice quality wood, but I haven't built one from scratch yet.
However, speaking of scratch, an LP kit from Stew Mac is currently itching me, and since I don't have one at home and am getting a little bored with turning bowls and pens and making knives (well not really, but always looking for a new challenge) this might be my first new project.
-
Well done! And I didn't even know IKEA sold amp cabinet kits.
-
Really cool!
-
Sheer beauty! Well done, Sir, and play it in good health!
-
Check you -- building the Cooper ES-330 and a 5F1 during this awful year.
Keep going, J!
-
My Champ is perfectly fine with a drummer in restaurants and small bars.
-
Sure--it's called the Chamstrka. Right next to the Fjorlik and Pflustra.
Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
Well done! And I didn't even know IKEA sold amp cabinet kits.
Sorry, I can't resist posting this...an oldie but a goodie!
-
Good job !
I went that way some years ago and didn't regret
Used it during rehearsals when it was still permitted :-(
Perfect for practice amp at home
And, above all, what fun is it to play with a toy you built yourself !
-
Great Job!
some weeks ago i had a water damage that killed my cheap Champ clone ( only the cab, not the electronic nor the HP). So now i need to build/buy a new cabinet and i am also thinking about increasing the HP size. Of course it was originally a 8" HP but i would like to increase the head room without loosing the special roots sound.
Why did you choose a 10" and not a 12" HP? it was just a matter of available stuff or you tested both sizes and decided the 10" was the best choice ?
Julien
-
I got the kit from this Dutch electronics supplier: Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
Home Page
Probably not very cost efficient to order it from overseas? It didn’t come with any brandnames on it, except for the Hammond trafos. I think the store compiles the kit themselves? Not sure though... but I think there are lots of very similar kits on the market.Last edited by Little Jay; 02-15-2021 at 04:34 AM.
-
Apparently some good things can come out of this whole Corona-situation.... ;-) Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
-
Yes, I had the Jensen P10R laying around :-) Used it many years ago in series with another P10R that developed a rattle so it was just sitting on the shelf waiting for a purpose ;-) Originally Posted by Zheul
Btw, I covered the cab in wall paper.... it’s a really sturdy scratch free wall paper. I think it looks great, but it’s probably a little less durable than tolex but I intended this little amp mainly for home practice.
-
Wow that’s good to hear! But I take it that the drummer is using brushes then? Originally Posted by Tal_175
-
No brushes, but with a light drummer, champ stayed clean with some room to spare on multiple small bar/restaurant situations. MIne is the original with 8 inch speakers. Champ is loud. Yours with a 10 inch speaker will be louder. I know a guy who did outdoor cottage gigs with a 12 inch one without a PA. I mean not big venues but still. Originally Posted by Little Jay
-
I must say I am surprised to hear that! You guys must play really low volume then? I mean, the amp is louder than I expected and has more headroom then I anticipated for but it’s still a 5 watt amp.... also a Jensen P10R is not very efficient with a sensitivity of 95.1 dB so I have my reservations.... but I will take it to band rehearsal one of these days to see how it holds up. Originally Posted by Tal_175
Last edited by Little Jay; 02-15-2021 at 04:35 AM.
-
That's some really neat soldering! I 've often been tempted, as i can do the electronics part, but i 've never done wood work so it gets a bit expensive. Where i live silverface ones do come up for 600-700 euros from time to time, but still, the joy of building it yourself....
-
Good drummers know how to use dynamics, and can play tastefully anywhere! [They may be hard to find, but they exist!] Of course, the same can be said about guitarists.. Originally Posted by Little Jay
-
I bought the kit without cab for €249 (about USD 300 I think) including tubes and Hammond trafos. Speaker I already had, wood and grill cloth also (leftovers from other projects). I only spent another $25 on some wallpaper and 4 rubber rubber feet. But if you have to buy the speaker, wood, tolex and other small stuff then 600-700 for a Silverface Champ is hard to beat..... Originally Posted by Alter
That's some really neat soldering! I 've often been tempted, as i can do the electronics part, but i 've never done wood work so it gets a bit expensive. Where i live silverface ones do come up for 600-700 euros from time to time, but still, the joy of building it yourself....
Last edited by Little Jay; 01-12-2021 at 11:23 AM.
-
Very clean and orderly wiring job! Much better looking than 5F1 I struggled to complete. Great job!
Never underestimate the amount of fun you can have with a Tele bridge pickup and a cranked champ. Yeow!!!
-
The champ is mic'ed here for the audience (and recording purposes) but I think Julian Lage is also using it as stage monitor. So it's seems loud enough for stage volume with a not too restrained but a good drummer which of course means loud enough for some small venues.
He is going between clean and dirty with his dynamics. I think I saw him touch is volume knob too. The drummer is adjusting his dynamics accordingly.
Last edited by Tal_175; 01-12-2021 at 02:19 PM.
-
Great looking build!
-
I gotta say I really like the look of that wallpaper-covering.
Nice alternative to the usual tweed and tolex finishes!
-
Congrats on a project completed! Looks great! Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
Well done! And I didn't even know IKEA sold amp cabinet kits.
Re. Gitfiddler: I once made a 1x12" open-back cab for my son, starting from IKEA's cheapest EUR 10 massive pine night-table. Doesn't seem to be in their program anymore. Wallpaper covering, multiple coats of boat varnish, leather on the corners. Eminence Texas Heat inside. Works, as all open-backs do. Just a hint: an easy way to make beautifully finished cabs is to use wood or even plastic HDF laminate flooring and aluminum corner profiles. I frankly don't think the cab material matters as much as the volume and configuration, and open-back is very forgiving in this respect.
-
For a bit more retro-vintage-vibe I added some alu strips to the front:
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos