Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Another AWA valve PA amplifier from the PA100X series, from the late sixties. Very utilitarian looking, and very sturdy. It’s a little bit tight in the chassis – not much room to work in there. AWA PA1005 PA AMPLIFIER Standard mic, PU (record player) and tone controls. Bass cut control on the rear, which is … Read more
Such an awesome looking little amp from 1954. Photos from an online listing, I am yet to track one down in person. For a simple single-ended 6V6 based amp, it’s an interesting circuit. AWA MODEL PA-806 PA AMPLIFIER Standard inputs and controls for a small Australian PA amp from AWA. Inputs for a mic, turntable … Read more
This amp is a bit of a classic from my hometown, Brisbane. Vase Trendsetters were very common back in the day, and many are still floating around. If you couldn’t afford a Marshall, there was a good chance that you had a Vase. They were mostly fairly simple amps, and pretty well made – I’d … Read more
I saw this one pop up recently and decided to take a punt on it (thanks Damian). For the money, I figured it was worth a look even if it only ended up being a decent chassis and set of transformers. Turns out that this amp is a testament to the quality work that Goldetone … Read more
Testing an Unknown Power Transformer Every now and then I end up with a transformer on the bench that I know came from valve gear, but I did not take enough notes when I pulled it. That was the case here. I knew this one came out of an old Zenith radiogram, but that was … Read more
I posted another AWA PA872 a while back, but realised I never actually shared this one. It had been sitting on the shelf for months – one of those projects that was nearly there, but never quite finished. I finally got around to wrapping it up this weekend. This looks to be an earlier unit, although … Read more
Request – here you go & I hope this is what you were after. Could shave off a column or two if that’s a bother. The Fortin is a pretty stock silicon fuzz face with an input blend, a 10k trimmer in place of the usual 8k2 resistor and a 100n cap on the output. … Read more
I came across a series of photos of this build on the PedalPCB forum, and there seemed to be a bit of confusion around the schematic. Thought it was worth documenting some of the observed values here for reference. The board shown below is from the wedge enclosure. There’s also a more pedalboard friendly version, … Read more
Yes, it’s another MKI. I designed this layout based on a Zonk to fit a specific enclosure width. So nothing remarkable, just one for me to use later. MKI TONE BENDER – SHORTY It’s missing the 33k resistor that normally sits across the 50k pot, cause I like to use an A25k instead. I sometimes … Read more
One that I’ve probably overlooked a little, given its place in the early history of English fuzz pedals – which was likely inspired by the Maestro… There was a three-transistor version prior to this called “Fuzzy” which by all accounts is a Maestro. The later versions dropped the input buffer and made the jump from … Read more