Mesa Boogie Studio 22

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Mesa Boogie Studio 22

Postby mugician » Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:21 pm

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to give me an estimate as to how much it'd run me if I were to make one of these myself.
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Postby Gingertube » Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:09 pm

I would first ask - have you played through one of these amps?
If you have and liked the sound then proceed, if NOT then I suggest that there are lots better 15 watt (or so) amps to clone.

I used one for a while and hated it, absolutely impossible to get a clean sound from it in its basic state, BUT then you may not want to get a clean sound from it.

I modded mine to be able to get a clean sound and found after that I also preferred the modded distorted sound.

The mod? - 1 resistor added. Look at the diff amp/phase splitter in the power amp section, 1 triode has 68K anode load and the other has 120K. That gives huge imbalance in the push pull drive to the output tubes and corresponding massive 2nd harmonic distortion. I simply fitted a 47K in series with the 68K to give 115K on one side and left the 120K on the other side. That "improved" the amp a lot - at least to my ears.

To start you off working out costs I would suggest a Hammond 1608 Output Tranny.

Cheers,
Ian
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Postby mugician » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:40 am

Good point. Now that I think about it, I'd rather make myself a Deluxe Reverb.

On schematic heaven there's like seven different versions of the schematic. Anybody got any info on the different versions?

So again, a guesstimate... doing a deluxe reverb from scratch... or, does anybody know of some affordable kits? I guess now's a good time to mention I'm sort of a noob when it comes to electronics, but don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to try doing this all by myself. I've got some experienced friends willing to help.
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Postby ChrisAlbertson » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:52 am

mugician wrote:Good point. Now that I think about it, I'd rather make myself a Deluxe Reverb.

On schematic heaven there's like seven different versions of the schematic. Anybody got any info on the different versions?

So again, a guesstimate... doing a deluxe reverb from scratch... or, does anybody know of some affordable kits? I guess now's a good time to mention I'm sort of a noob when it comes to electronics, but don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to try doing this all by myself. I've got some experienced friends willing to help.


Simple answer: $250 to $350 or much higher if you want. Of much lower if you can scrounge some re-cycled parts from old TV sets, tube radios or whatever.

The highest cost items for any guitar amp will be the power and output transformers. These will run from $35 to $65 each. Then the chassis and case. $60 if you can do your own woodwork and metal punching. Tubes are maybe $15 each. The rest are nickel to two buck parts. That's for an amp head. If you want a 1x12 combo then add $100.

But there is more. You will need some supplies and some tools a multimeter, solder and wires. If you get into amp building as a hobby then you can save by buying some items in quantity..

You also my want to buy some books. Here is a website. The author is promotes his excellent book but also shares a good portion of it for free. read all the free stuff there, then the book. http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/

Make sure you understand how to safely work around high voltage before you start. The voltage in a tube amp can be up to around 500V. It's a lethal voltage and small mistakes can be bad. Even with the amp unplugged capacitors can store those high voltages for a long time.

I think the best thing to do is build a very small single ended practise amp. Something like a fender Champ. You will have the best chance of success if you build a simple amp. Then maybe later add a gain stage to the champ. But start with a low gain clean sounding design and build it in to an oversized chassis

You might want to look at ax84.com and the forum there. Lots of plans and support and if you want, a kit for a few of the designs
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Postby mugician » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:31 pm

Thanks a bunch. That's the kind of answer I was looking for.

I've got a bunch of decent equipment, I do pedal work all the time. Just looking to get into more challenging territory.

Thanks for the link, and the simple reply.
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Postby Gingertube » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:41 pm

Kits,
Weber Amp Kits are pretty good.
Delux reverb combo kits are available in 3 configurations all based upon the AB763 circuit.

https://taweber.powweb.com/store/kits_60a.htm

6A20 Kit - 2 x 6V6 output tubes for 15 Watts out (they say 20W but that is seriously sus)
6A20x2 - runs a quad of 6V6 Output Tubes for double the power
6A20HP - runs 2 x 6L6GC output tubes for about 35 watts

6V6 are my favorite guitar amp output tube and quads of 6V6 sound great - so if 15W is enough then the 6A20 is the go. If you want a bit more wick I would suggest the 6A20x2 rather than the 6A20HP.

BUT - this is for you, so cater to your own preferences.

Cheers,
Ian
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Postby mugician » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:21 am

Wow! Thanks for the link. I considered a kit, but the ones I was able to find were so damn expensive, and not much info was given. I like how simply put these are, and all the options they give you. Thanks!

I realize that sourcing my own stuff might be a little less expensive, but when it comes to such a big project I'd probably be pretty overwhelmed.
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Postby dhuebert » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:33 pm

I don't think you can do better on price sourcing it all yourself, especially if you are getting the speaker and box included. The schematics and layout look terrific to me and of all the kits I've seen these look like ones I would most like to build.

The GA14 looks ideal for a small combo and a little more power can be had by swapping out the tube rectifier for a couple of UF4007. As well R47 could be replaced by a small choke to stabilize the screen grids and reduce noise on the power lines.

I would definitely put those optional resistors in as well.

Well done Webber!

Don
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