I was in the market for a two knob Tremolo kit and was about to suggest to MOD kits that they offer one. It was only a few days later that Guitar Kit Builder was asked to try out the brand new “Trill Tremolo”, so this worked out perfectly for me. In my guitar playing [...]
Many players reach a point at which they want to have a deeper relationship with their instrument – some way to understand the guitar better and to make it fulfill their needs as a player. One of the ways in which a player can achieve such goals is to build his own guitar; unfortunately the [...]
The MOD 102 guitar amplifier is a low-cost ($215) vacuum-tube kit sold by Amplified Parts of Tempe, AZ. The kit uses a 12AX7 preamplifier tube, and a single EL84 output tube with solid state diodes for power rectification. The amplifier is rated to deliver 5 watts into an 8-ohm load. SCHEMATIC REVIEW Referring to the [...]
The Persuader is a tube-drive distortion pedal kit sold by Amplified Parts of Tempe, AZ. Amplified Parts is a relatively new entity that is part of Antique Electronic Supply, which has been operating for more than 25 years. The focus of Amplified Parts is on the musician who is not an electronic technician and who [...]
This tutorial will show you how to create your own turret board, to be used in building a guitar amplifier. I’ll cover a procedure for cutting the G-10 circuit board material, drilling the holes and installing the turrets to build a complete custom electronic circuit board. Like most things, there are many different approaches to [...]
Amp Maker (www.ampmaker.com) is a Suffolk, England based maker of tube amplifier kits, started in 2005. Their design approach is to make good tone affordable. The Amp Maker line of kits today include: Woodface 55 (WF-55) – Their easiest to build kit, with 4 watts of tweed-voiced tone with a mahogany control panel. The Woodface [...]
Here are some time-tested tips on how to avoid causing damage to, and for extending the life of, your vacuum tube guitar amplifier: SAFETY 1. There are dangerous high-voltages inside the amplifier that can cause shock, injury or death. Due to capacitors which store an electrical charge, these voltages can be present even when the [...]
Editor’s Note – This article is the first in a series on the building of a Martin guitar kit. You may find some useful background information on the kit in our earlier article Martin Guitar Kit First Look. Our author and builder is Bob Moore, aged 60, a regional IT manager for the State of [...]
In this article we cover how to lay out and build the chassis for a vacuum tube guitar amplifier. While this article is intended primarily for the “homebrew” builder, it will also be useful background for the kit builder. With a few essential tools and proper procedures, you’ll find that building a vacuum tube guitar [...]
In this article we’re going to cover how one experienced amp builder covers cabinets in Tolex or textured vinyl. This article is by Casey4s, who’s been active in Harmony Central’s Do-It-Yourself (DIY) forum. Guitar Kit Builder encouraged him to share his experiences and photographs of installing Tolex, and he graciously agreed. “Tolex,” by the way, [...]
There are many electric guitar kits available but some kit builders will want to purchase their own components and just need a parts list to make sure they get everything needed. This article does just that – gives you the parts list needed to build a vintage-style Stratocaster guitar kit. We want to thank Dave [...]
When we’re not writing for GuitarKitBuilder our time is spent running several rock music schools for kids. During a typical day of lessons and rehearsals the guitar and bass students are constantly plugging and unplugging our guitar cables from amplifiers and their instruments. As a result these cables take quite a beating and we need [...]
Here’s a relatively easy modification for your guitar that makes a big difference in its appearance. The AxeWrap guitar skin is a premium-grade glossy vinyl sheet covered with a hard laminate, used to preserve the color and design of the skin. With it you can give your guitar an airbrush-style custom look for under $30. [...]
Back in the 1960s, between ’62 and ’67, an outfit called the Valco Guitar Company manufactured fiberglass guitars under various names including their own product lines Supro, National, Atlas and Valco as well as several house brand names including Airline (Montgomery Ward) and English Electronic’s Tonemaster. These Res-O-Glass guitars have graced the hands of some [...]
TubeDepot.com has introduced a new tube amplifier kit that reproduces the look and sound of the classic Fender Tweed Deluxe of the late 1950s. The tweed deluxe is prized by guitar players as the “go to” amplifier when seeking a great raw Fender tone with easy portability. It’s been used by countless musicians on stage [...]
Robert O’Brien (O’Brien Guitars) is a classically trained guitarist and woodworker with an interest in putting the two arts together to make guitars. The opportunity to do so came in 1997 when he was living in São Paulo, Brazil: “I had the opportunity of meeting Antonio Tessarin, one of the best and most highly regarded [...]
Here’s a nice video of a guitar case build using 10mm (about 3/8″) pine wood for the sides and 6mm (about 1/4″) plywood for the top and bottom. The frame is glued and nailed together, then covered with black textured vinyl and roadcase corners. 25mm (1″) hard foam was used to create a support cavity [...]
This video demonstrates the construction of a homemade guitar humidifier using a plastic soap travel case and a sponge.
If you are not already following the federal raid of Gibson Guitar’s Nashville and Memphis facilities, it may be time to start tuning in. I say that because of the following quote from Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp., at 3:09 into the video below: “According to this law, if you bought [...]
This nice video review of the Cozart SG Doubleneck guitar kit is from The Gospel Guitarist.
Nice video here on the finishing and assembly of a Saga TC-10 Telecaster guitar kit.
YouTuber ecauble posted this nice video showing his MojoTone Blackface Princeton Reverb Style Amp kit. The video also features some of his effects pedals, including a Proton envelope filter, BYOC octave divider, Keeley TS9, and Fulltone DejaVibe, and a BYOC 5-knob compressor. Mojo’s Blackface Princeton Reverb Style Amp Kit features JJ tubes (2 6V6 output, [...]
This is Guitar Kit Builder’s directory of amplifier kits. We try to maintain a comprehensive list of kit makers and sources so please let us know of any needed additions or changes by emailing us at editor at guitarkitbuilder dot com. To read our articles about building these kits please click on the category of [...]
“Hi GKB, I know you are featuring work on the micro cube but wonder if you would have a thought regarding a problem I’m having with the COSM switch on my Roland Cube 80XL. The switch doubles as a tuner which works just fine, but after a bumpy ride to a gig, the amp model [...]
This is Guitar Kit Builder’s directory of guitar pedal and stompbox kits. We try to maintain a comprehensive list of kit makers and sources so please let us know of any needed additions or changes by emailing us at editor at guitarkitbuilder dot com. This directory has two sections. The first is a list of [...]
Here’s a nice video demonstrating the construction and use of a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster Kit clone sold by the Vintage Pedal Workshop (VPW) in the UK. The treble booster was originally a 1960s effect that tightened up distortion sounds by emphasizing higher frequency sounds. The VPW Rangemaster Kit allows the builder to construct an [...]
I was in the market for a two knob Tremolo kit and was about to suggest to MOD kits that they offer one. It was only a few days later that Guitar Kit Builder was asked to try out the brand new “Trill Tremolo”, so this worked out perfectly for me. In my guitar playing [...]
A GKB reader wrote to ask the following: “Hello, I have a question for you guys, I visit GKB often. Can you please tell me where I can find blank aluminum chassis like the one you used in the guitar amplifier chassis layout build? I’ve been searching for blank chassis for too long. Thanks! D [...]
Learning how to troubleshoot electronic circuits is one of the handiest skills to have if you are building or modifying amplifiers or effect pedals. At some point you’ll power-up a circuit and find that it doesn’t work, and then what? For this reason we write “The Repair Bench” section of Guitar Kit Builder about our [...]
“Ampeg – The Story Behind the Sound” was written by Gregg Hopkins & Bill Moore to provide the complete illustrated history of the company to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The book is 288 pages, with 32 in full color, and over 200 photos, and was voted the “Book of the Year” in 1999 by Vintage [...]
Learning how to troubleshoot electronic circuits is one of the handiest skills to have if you are building or modifying amplifiers or effect pedals. At some point you’ll power-up a circuit and find that it doesn’t work, and then what? For this reason we write “The Repair Bench” section of Guitar Kit Builder about our [...]
Learning how to troubleshoot electronic circuits is one of the handiest skills to have if you are building or modifying amplifiers or effect pedals. At some point you’ll power-up a circuit and find that it doesn’t work, and then what? For this reason we write “The Repair Bench” section of Guitar Kit Builder about our [...]
Learning how to troubleshoot electronic circuits is one of the handiest skills to have if you are building or modifying amplifiers or effect pedals. At some point you’ll power-up a circuit and find that it doesn’t work, and then what? For this reason we write “The Repair Bench” section of Guitar Kit Builder about our [...]
We maintain this list of guitar kit building and guitar-making workshops as a service to our readers. We have no information on the quality or customer satisfaction of these sources. If you’d like us to list your program, please send us the program name and website to editor at guitarkitbuilder.com AUSTRALIA The Luthiers Lot BELGIUM [...]
GKB reader Dave F. wrote to ask the following about our review of the MOD 102 amplifier kit and the modification made by Casey4S: “Wow that is really cool how you made the chassis and the fantastic building skills. My question concerns the use of the grounding jack where you stated … “I used a [...]
The increased popularity of smaller amps, which can be cranked for great saturated tone without entirely drowning out one’s bandmates or for studio use where higher volume levels aren’t ideal, has lead to renewed interest in classic models such as the Marshall 18 watt. This amplifier was initially produced from 1966-1968 in three versions: the [...]
