# 5f6a Tweed Bassman....my first build.



## itf? (May 27, 2009)

So, some people may be following my cabinet building thread for this amp. Well, here's where I'll put up the electronic construction portion. This amp might be a wee bit ambitious for a first attempt but hey, go big or go home right!?

So far I've wired the heaters: (the speaker jack will be moved to one of the other holes to get it out of the way of the heater wires)










And placed the components on the board:










If anyone notices anything completely out of whack please feel free to chime in. I'm still awaiting the arrival of the transformers for this project. I may go ahead and place the board and get it all connected so that when the trannies arrive I'll only have minimal wiring remaining. Good or bad idea?




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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I don't see anything out of place, but I'm a novice - built 2 amps, had a helluva good time doing it and hope you enjoy it as much.

My one question would be on the solder joints on the tag board - I don't know if it's the angle, or the light, or just my eyes....but the solder joints appear inconsistent, **possibly** some with not enough, others look like they weren't hot enough and the solder sits in a ball up top of the turret. The latter is easy to fix, just touch the joint (truly the joint, make the iron touch both the turret and the wire from the component) with a hot iron for a couple seconds and you should see a nice solder flow down to the components.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

keto said:


> I don't see anything out of place, but I'm a novice - built 2 amps, had a helluva good time doing it and hope you enjoy it as much.
> 
> My one question would be on the solder joints on the tag board - I don't know if it's the angle, or the light, or just my eyes....but the solder joints appear inconsistent, **possibly** some with not enough, others look like they weren't hot enough and the solder sits in a ball up top of the turret. The latter is easy to fix, just touch the joint (truly the joint, make the iron touch both the turret and the wire from the component) with a hot iron for a couple seconds and you should see a nice solder flow down to the components.


Thanks for the feedback Keto. I'll reflow the joints to make sure there's a good connection for each one. The "globs" are extra dabs of solder I added to some of them as a "just to be sure" measure when I didn't think there was enough on some tops. I'll double check the continuity of all of them as well before I begin soldering the wires into the chassis. 

Thanks again. ANY feedback at all is welcome. Again, first time so I'm a little paranoid about this build. I've built tons of pedals but this seems so much more involved.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I held up a 5F6A board I had done to the picture of yours. Everything looks right. Be sure you run the "connector" wires under the board. There's a couple of them on the 5F6A. And they are hard to see on most of the layout diagrams. Looking good!


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Lookin good!


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Lincoln said:


> I held up a 5F6A board I had done to the picture of yours. Everything looks right. Be sure you run the "connector" wires under the board. There's a couple of them on the 5F6A. And they are hard to see on most of the layout diagrams. Looking good!


I think i have them all. I've compared it to the weber diagram and several photos of completed boards online. I'll try to post a photo of that on here later tonight though just to be sure. 




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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

And these arrived today. 











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## epis (Feb 25, 2012)

Wow :sSc_eeksign: Made in Canada :sFun_dancing::applouse:


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

epis said:


> Wow :sSc_eeksign: Made in Canada :sFun_dancing::applouse:


Oh yeah! Compared them to similar units from some US manufacturers. Hammond's pricing was very competitive from a1parts and they get great reviews. The fact that they are made right here in the great white north was icing on the cake. How could I not go with Hammond!?


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Regarding the twisted heater wires: I read somewhere that the better method of routing of the twisted wires was up high(away from the chassis) and coming down towards the tube socket pins - supposed to reduce hum.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

And done. She sounds great and is dead silent at idle. 



















Not the neatest wiring job I've ever done in a piece of electronics but it sounds sweet. 


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

CONGRATS!! 
Great job! You must be very proud and extremely pleased.

I might have missed it somewhere, but was this a kit (apart from the transformers) or did you source all the parts by yourself? 

Now it is time to play through it and enjoy all of your work, blood (hopefully none), sweat (maybe a bit) and tears (doubtful..but it is part of the saying...LOL)

Cheers

Dave


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

ed2000 said:


> Regarding the twisted heater wires: I read somewhere that the better method of routing of the twisted wires was up high(away from the chassis) and coming down towards the tube socket pins - supposed to reduce hum.


I noticed that on a few of the instruction sheets I found online as well. I decided to go with what Boothill amps recommended on their web page. Thanks for the input though. 


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

itf? said:


> I noticed that on a few of the instruction sheets I found online as well. I decided to go with what *Boothill amps *recommended on their web page. Thanks for the input though.


I just looked at the Boothill amps website....I assume that answers my question re: Is it a kit?

Cheers

Dave


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

greco said:


> CONGRATS!!
> Great job! You must be very proud and extremely pleased.
> 
> I might have missed it somewhere, but was this a kit (apart from the transformers) or did you source all the parts by yourself?
> ...


Thanks Dave! It was a kit from Boothill amps. They don't include transformers or a cabinet so I made the cabinet and sourced the transformers separately. WCGILL supplied me with the weber signature alnicos that'll be going in the cab. They should be here next week.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

One thing to note for anyone looking to build something like this. The kit I got from Boothill was very complete and contained very nice parts like carbon comp resistors and mallory caps, etc. However, instructions are not really included. The owner emailed me links to a bunch of web sites but nothing really concrete. The layout is very close to Weber's. You'll have to source your own transformers, tubes and cabinet which without guidance and/or experience with electronics can be a daunting task. You will need to drill some extra holes for the grounds and possibly the transformers (my output transformer wasn't an exact match to the holes laid out in the chassis.) A lot of the parts you'll have to figure out their use all by yourself as there isn't anything in the kit or online that will indicate what they are for. It sort of comes to light as you get started.

Most importantly, TAKE YOUR TIME, double check all connections. (if you look at the completed amp above you'll notice that I missed one under-board connection and had to do it over top). Weber, Tube Amp Doctor and Mojo are great sources of information on kit building. And of course, the kind people here on guitarscanda are always helpful. Thank you all for checking over the layout for me and offering words of encouragement. I'll post a couple of pics of the completed amp once I get the speakers arrive and i get the amp all assembled in her new home.


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Not meaning to be nosy, but, how much is the total of all parts. I may attempt something like this once this retirement thing becomes less hectic.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Hi Ed. I can try to do a rough estimate here if you wish. You can do cheaper but this is what I went for.

Amp kit from Boothill - $370
Transformers - $190
Cabinet and hardware- $100 approx
Weber speakers -$170 
Tubes $140
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Total $970

Not exactly cheap but still cheaper than buying a hand wired amp. And you get the added benefit of saying "I built it."


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

999+ thumbsup to your final result


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Thanks ed2000!! I'm very pleased. I have a temporary cheap grill cloth on the baffle now while I await the arrival of some proper cloth. Once I finish making her pretty I'll post pics of the finished amp. 


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