Superfly, Murder One, Sub Zero compendium?

[MetalUpYerEye]

I've been kicking around the idea of building a tube amp for a few years... But I want to start small, was thinking one of the sub-mini tube amps. I understand that Sub Zero is an all-clean amp and Murder One is an all distortion amp, with Superfly being kind of in between; a decent clean area and plenty of overdrive.

The thing is... Each amp has its own thread and they're all 10-15 pages long... I was wondering if there is (or could be at some point...!?) a compendium of knowledge on these builds, simplifying the task of getting all the info on each amp such as schematics, parts lists, PCB/vero/perf layouts, possible mods, etc.

I mean, I wanna try 'em but each thread has 3-4 different schematics, layouts, etc. with no definitive parts lists... 

[frequencycentral]

Nice idea, but a lot of work for someone (!).

Generally you will find that the latest layout/schematic in each thread is the one to build. All the info is there, and there have been many successful builds - not just by me. But because I've built so many I've had the opportunity to refine the designs. Murder One, for example, can be much cleaner than the original version. The older versions are there for reference.

So, who's gonna do the compendium?

[Perrow]

I think all of us should do it. If not on the wiki on this site, you're more than welcome to add the information on my wiki (see my sig).

[MetalUpYerEye]

It wouldn't have to be anything too crazy... Maybe a .pdf file with the latest schematic, pcb/vero/perf layouts, maybe a parts list, etc. Maybe do a page with possible mods or notes concerning certain touchy aspects of the build. I'd be more than willing to help if I could figure out how to make a .pdf and could get all the necessary literature...

It would certainly get more people building your projects... 

[MetalUpYerEye]

Ok i'm going to start with the Superfly, since thats the one i'm planning on trying first. I have a "Superfly Special" schematic from the thread but I couldn't find a PCB layout to match. I found one that has the mod for Master Volume but there isn't one with the Tone control mod. I also found a perf layout but it was much earlier in the thread and seems to have a few differences in resistors and caps. I'll probably make the .pdf based on the "Superfly Special" since it seems to be the latest and greatest, although i'll need a PCB and/or perf layout. I can make the parts list from the schematic.

[MetalUpYerEye]

Is there a PCB or perf layout for the Superfly Special?

Am I really the only one who thinks this is a good idea? 

[Taylor]

I'm sure lots of people think it's a good idea. The question is who's going to put the work in?  

However, I think there's a certain amount of weeding out here, possibly inadvertent. These are more difficult projects than pedals, so if you're put off by digging through the threads you might lose patience with the build. I unsuccessfully attempted to build a Superfly. Parts actually melt/catch fire/explode/shoot smoke when things go wrong. Of course, having the info compiled in one spot would make the build easier and would help avoid issues.

[MetalUpYerEye]

I'd be more than happy to put it all together, but I need to gather info. I can't put a schematic of one version, a PCB layout of another version and a perf layout of yet another version in the same .pdf and not expect people to get confused.

Being that these projects are also prone to parts mishaps (exploding, bursting, etc.) it wouldn't hurt to get the proper part numbers for xfmrs, inductors, etc. from the designer.

[frequencycentral]

Is there a PCB or perf layout for the Superfly Special?

I just used the original layout and added the tonestack parts on the back of the tone pot.

Though you could hardly call me 'the designer', as I took Doug's amp and Ledsales's SMPS and put them together, I'll trawl though over the next few days and confirm part numbers. Funnily enough, I'm building another Superfly Special at the moment.

And, yes, the weeding process is intentional. A high degree of independence is expected on the part of the potential builder.