pix of Custom built guitar amps/cabs

[TimWaldvogel]

I am sure all of us diy'ers have thought at one time of building our own amps and/or cabs... I woul love to see pictures of these projects you have tackled?

[G. Hoffman]

My interest in electronics started with amps, actually.  I just finished rebuilding my first one (originally built 3-4 years ago).  There are a couple of pictures in the Pictures thread already, but I'll link again.





And some more, HERE.


Gabriel

[John Lyons]

Here are a few I've done.

[TimWaldvogel]

Whete on earthdo you get that gorgeous wood? I can't find quilted maple to save my life around here

[sean k]

Thats some very nice work there John!

I really do admire anyone who takes as much time as you obviously do with attention to detail. I myself can't be bothered and often any old bit of ply will do but then again people wouldn't know yours was so wonderful unless hacks like me do bad jobs

I got a woodwork mag the other day thats published in Australia, it's got a guitar building thing going on thats really good, and alot of the obscure cabinet making woods of that nation come from the Island of Tasmania where theres still lots of native bush, forest, and it's isolated which means smaller sawmills have survived and become boutique dealers to saty alive. The same would be true in the states so you've gotten find the area nearest you that would follow that same set of conditions of relative obscurity to big city changes and industrialisation.

Small farming communities near mountains that still have first growth timbers have lots of sawmills and if they've seen a change over the past decades from small farms or orcharding to people moving in from the cities then those sawmills have lost their original demand and have moved towards boutique supply to keep going.

For me it's usually no more than an hours drive to locate sawmills that do weird stuff and sometimes even if they aren't lookning for the weird pain in the ass figures... they'll let you look through stocks to find it yourself.

[G. Hoffman]

For the really great figured stuff, you usually have to look to the internet.  Hibdon Hardwoods, and Exotic Woods are both good places to look, though they both lean more towards guitar woods.  There are others out there as well who I'm less familiar with.

The other possibility would be to use veneers over plywood, which along with being cheaper and a more environmentally sound use of the material, is frequently easier to find with the really impressive figure.  You need to be a little careful not to sand through it when you are prepping to finish it, but you can find some amazing figure that way.


Gabriel

[DaveM]

Well, unfortunately I get to post after John, who not only does some very impressive woodworking, but can take a fine photo as well.  Anyhow, here is my 1x10" cabinet, with a Noisy Cricket I made perched atop.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of sanding down 3/4" rough-cut plywood to a smooth finish, so I left as-is.  I'm happy with the results though, since it sounds sweet.  The removable back adds some nice versatility as well.  Now I just need to make a guitar, and I'll have a completely DIY practice rig.

You can just see the 10" Fender speaker here.

Another shot of the front.

Here's the cabinet with the back closed, which makes it more suitable for bass guitar.

Finally, with the back open, which is great for that "room-filling" sound.

[John Lyons]

That figured wood is Makore on the top piece
and Bubinga on the front panel. No stain used on those.
That's the natural color other than some linseed oil and polyurethane.

Veneer is nice but hard if not impossible to bend around a sharp radius.
I use it to do pedal tops though.

[birt]

[Just1More]

I've posted this before, but here's my AA764 Fender Champ clone.  To follow on from sean_k's earlier post, all the timber is from Tasmania.  It's mostly Tasmanian Myrtle with Celery Top Pine inserts and finished with danish oil.  Dovetails are all hand cut.  More detail on the build process here if you're interested.

[Kitarist]

Amazing work man!!

Are you from EU?

[doug deeper]

amazing!
where did that chassis come from?

[davent]

Those wooden cabs are great guy's, hard to beat the look of natural wood cabs.

Only made three guitar amps but have a couple more small SEnders in the works. Built a Firefly first then an 18watt LiteII and finally an amp based on a Fender 5F2a to be used as a tube and pedal auditioner.

Take care
dave

[kurtlives]

Dave your stuff always blows me away, amazing!

[Kitarist]

Those wooden cabs are great guy's, hard to beat the look of natural wood cabs.

Only made three guitar amps but have a couple more small SEnders in the works. Built a Firefly first then an 18watt LiteII and finally an amp based on a Fender 5F2a to be used as a tube and pedal auditioner.

Take care
dave

Who made the Head cab for you?

It's amazing!!!

[Top Top]

some of you will love this, others will no doubt throw up in your mouths a little bit

(made almost entirely of re-purposed materials - including the wood for the cabs and the amp head)

[davent]

Thanks guys!

 Speaker and head cab are diy.
dave

[jkokura]

Dave, I'd really like to get the plans you used for those!

Jacob

[glops]

birt,

That's the coolest looking amp ever!   Kick A$$!!!!!!

[Kitarist]

Thanks guys!

 Speaker and head cab are diy.
dave

Do you have any plans for this head cab? where did you buy that kind of tolex?

Thanks!!!