ST-35 on antiqued wood base - completed...

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Hi Friends,
Finally got this one done. I got side tracked with a Darling project, which I enjoyed throughly. It looks cooler than I thought it was going to be. Love that metal on wood look! The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to build it on a bigger chassis, but I like the compact 12 x 8.
There was a loud hum when I first fired it up, but I dressed leads, shielded inputs, and tightly coiled AC line and moved it away from inputs, and hooked the center filament to the spare ground and the spare ground to the chassis. I still get a very slight hum with no source connected to the RCAs, but it's dead quite with preamp hooked up. I am happy with the way it is, so I am not going to worry about it.
It runs a little hot. Maybe it's because I am using the wood and it's not sinking heat as well as the metal? I might have to install a fan...
To be honest, I still prefer the sound of my Darling, particularly in the midrange. Don't know what it is, but PP EL84 lacks something that SET has. I can't quite put my finger on it. Don't give me wrong, ST-35 still sounds good. Beautifully made PCB, Shannon!
I wanna thank Tom McNally again for proving me with his expertise as well as many parts he let me have almost for free. I suck at punching holes, and he graciously helped me out with it. Many thanks!
I am working on 13EM7 minibloks. Building two of them to get a stereo going. It will be interesting to see how they compare to the Darling.

ST-35 pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=161873684/PictureID=3132759446/a=86879691_86879691/t_=86879691

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=161874228/PictureID=3132771506/a=86879691_86879691/t_=86879691

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=161874227/PictureID=3132771493/a=86879691_86879691/t_=86879691

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=161873684/PictureID=3132759424/a=86879691_86879691/t_=86879691

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=161874449/PictureID=3132771555/a=86879691_86879691/t_=86879691

[WA4SWJ]

Another beautiful amp enters the world! Nice job!

[parabellum]

thumbs up from me ... looking good

[mesherm]

Congrats, that is one nice looking amp.
What input tubes are you using? On mine I had to roll a few tubes before I got the best sound. I have an NOS JAN 5751 in the 12AX7 position and an NOS RCA 5963 in the 12AU7 slot. I had a JJ ECC82 and ECC83 to start. I have TAD EL84s doing power duty.

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Thanks guys! I am using GE 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes. Output tubes are JJ EL84's. So, using those NOS tubes really made a difference, eh?What sound characteristics did you notice using these tubes?

[TomMcNally]

Very nice job Min - the base is really nice.
You might want to make yourself a pair of shorted RCA plugs
that you can plug into your inputs to see how quiet the amp is.
Firing it up with no input is like hanging a big "hum antenna"
on the amp. The wiring looks very good !

... tom

[mesherm]

As far as sonic differences vs tubes, I'm sure each person is going to be different. I originally had EI EL84 Elites in doing power duty. Then the TAD EL84s came to my attention in another thread so I bought a set. I left the TADs in because they seemed to give a bit more oomph. They were also very closely matched. I had very minor bias tweaking to do after the switch. I started with the JJs but the amp just seemed to lack definition and I was not that impressed with the DIY35 at first. Then as my tube inventory grew I started trying other tubes. All the NOS tubes I tried sounded better than the JJs. I tried a Telefunken 12AX7 but that seemed to be TOO bright, almost harsh on cymbal hits and the like. An Amperex 12AX7A sounded better. There was really no change when I used a JAN 5751 so I saved the Amperex and left the 5751 in because I had two sleeves of them . An RCA 12AU7 replaced the JJ and the muddy sound definitely diminished. Then I tried a black plate 12BH7 and thought that gave a tad more definition. Then I swapped in the 5963 and it sounded the same so I left the 5963 in since it used less current. So that's where I am at now. I have been satisfied with the sound so I haven't rolled any more tubes. The DIY35 gives me a sound almost as good as my best sounding triode connected ST70 clone and I don't think further tweaking will yield any improvement.
Just as a point of reference I usually use the same 3 or 4 CDs to audition changes or evaluate a new amp.
The ones I am most likey to use are:
Little Feat "Waiting for Columbus"
Leslie West "Got Blooze"
Pink Floyd DSOTM
Paul Rogers "Chronicle" (Japan Import)
I have listened to these over and over so I am very familiar with what sounds I should be hearing.

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Thanks for your input, mesherm! You seem to know you're looking for in the sound. That's cool. My projects are mostly dictated by cost-effectiveness for now, besides getting max. exposure to building and learning. So, whatever tubes I can get cheap for what I need works for me. This way I can save up for meaningful little projects like Fred Nachbaur's Minibloks. I should definitely sample some NOS output tubes when I get a chance in the near future. -Min