Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
This is probably where it all started in terms of opamp-driven distortion – in one side of 741 opamp, out the other with some hard clippers. DOD 250 / MXR DISTORTION + SCHEMATIC Direct link to Google Doc 741 SPECS Numbers vary slightly by manufacturer and grade, but these headline specs are what give the … Read more
GIBSON GA-30 GUITAR AMPLIFIER SCHEMATICS This is one of the GA-30 amps – there were a few by the sounds of it. While they share a similar topology, there are clearly some differences from the one above. Apart from changing the circuit, their appearance also varies over time – I’m not going to try and … Read more
6SJ7 preamp, 6SN7 paraphase inverter, 2 x 6V6 with local negative feedback. GIBSON BR6-F GUITAR AMPLIFIER SCHEMATIC Clearly a bit of work has been done on this one – just using the pic as an example of circuit construction. Low impedance input 6SJ7 PRE Ra 220k Rk 2k2 20u bypass Screen 2m2, 50n bypass 10n … Read more
5879 pentode premap, which is an improved version of the E8F6 – uses a Vox style cut control across the plates of the phase inverter. Paraphase inverter, driving 2 x cathode biased 6V6. GIBSON GA-40 GUITAR AMPLIFIER SCHEMATIC
The original schematic for the 385 was killing me – just too many part numbers listed, so I cleaned it up a bit. I also removed the projector circuits. I think there are two versions of this amp – this is the 6V6 version, while the other uses EL84s (which is nearly impossible to find … Read more
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Chicago Telephone Supply (CTS) originally built drivers for telephone network signaling and tone generation. By the late 1950s they expanded into loudspeakers, supplying the booming tube-amp market. Their speakers, often marked with the EIA code “137,” were used extensively by Fender, Ampeg, and many other amplifier companies from the 1950s through the 1970s. Early CTS … Read more
Valco made, Supro single-ended valve amp, very much the same as the Gretsch 6150 / 6151 SUPRO SUPER SIX, MODEL S6606 12AX7, 6V6, 5Y3 8″ Jensen speaker, 3.2 ohm OT 2640 PT 3036 B+ 300v 4.5w
Two great little guitar amps made by Valco for Gretsch – probably best to describe them as direct competition for the Fender Champ, but with some fancier appointments for the time. Pretty sure there’s a Supro equivalent that was also made by Valco for these two as well. Supro 1606 for the 6150. Both small … Read more
I’ll start with the Fender 5F2A Princeton, as this is generally considered to be “the one” for a lot of people. Basically take a tweed Champ, and add the classic Fender one knob tone control, which has no insertion loss, and you’re in business. It’s hard to go wrong with this formula, which is why … Read more