VJ Build

[the_random_hero]

Hey guys, new member here With the help of Kerry and a few other experienced tinkerers, I've recently starting building my own effects as a way of expanding my knowledge while I'm doing my Advanced Diploma in Electrical Engineering. I think it's time for me to move onto something a bit bigger - a VJ build from scratch with top of the line parts on turret board. One of my teachers has thousands of NOS parts - carbon comp resistors, tube sockets, etc - and said I've got free reign to take whatever I want
Looking at the various mods in the VJ threads, I was wondering which you consider to be the best? I'm really leaning towards the Marshall mods with a Celestion Tube 10" (or some sort of Weber/Eminence, it's a 3 month wait in Australia though) and a good OD to get me good classic rock/older metal tone.
Basically, just looking for opinions, experiences, etc.

[jetson]

hi. i take it your form down under. cool.
if this is your first amp build, and you want to build from scratch with "all the best parts". for gods sake look around first at what is available as far as schems and what you want out of the amp. there are so many choices out there for se amps that would blow a VJ away!

[gotdabluz]

hi. i take it your form down under. cool.
if this is your first amp build, and you want to build from scratch with "all the best parts". for gods sake look around first at what is available as far as schems and what you want out of the amp. there are so many choices out there for se amps that would blow a VJ away!

A stock VJ, yes . . . but some of the modified circuits will stand up to the best of 'em IMHO . . . so if you are set on a single ended ear banger I would recommend this approach - Grab yourself a VJ head and tweak it to your liking . . . then build your scratch amp based upon that

[the_random_hero]

A stock VJ, yes . . . but some of the modified circuits will stand up to the best of 'em IMHO . . . so if you are set on a single ended ear banger I would recommend this approach - Grab yourself a VJ head and tweak it to your liking . . . then build your scratch amp based upon that

VJ heads are practically impossible to get in Australia - no dealers have them and there's no second hand market at all. Plus, it seems a tad silly to buy an amp then to build one exactly the same - money is always an issue until I get a job.

[jetson]

ok, first thing you need to do is take stock of what parts you can get your
hands on for gratis. (free). start with the 2 that cost the most. OT & PT.
depending on what you can get your hands on will dictate what kind of
amp you will be able to construct. odds are it will not be a vj. but it could be something much more satisfying. you can do this all with little to no mony. this is how i started.

[Bonfire]

hey man, may i suggest heading on over to ax84.com, there is alot of good info and schematics to look at over there, a modded VJ is pretty much a P1, so you can check that out too!

cheers!

[kerrynet32]

Hey Drew,

Cool to see you here. Good luck with the build.

Kerry

[the_random_hero]

Woo! Finally back! There was some issue in the bulletin software which meant my account got de-activated and I couldn't reactivate it. Thanks to Kerry and Billy who helped me get back online.
The reason I want to do the VJ is it's easy and I know the parts are available, as well as there being a lot of information around about it. Unless somebody can suggest an amp that's as easy and would suit higher-gain playing, I'm going to stick with this one.
After I sell my old amp and restored 4x12", I'll have a few hundred to be playing with. I'm also on the last stages of getting accepted for a job - at $18 an hour I definitely can't complain. I don't mind spending money, as long as the finished product works and I'm happy with it.
I'm not planning to start this build for another few months till I have money and have finished my other projects.
Thanks for all the feedback guys, keep it coming.

[Bulatovic]

maybe you can try with Mark Huss' Beast, or a slightly modified version of that which will provide you higher gain

[nomad100]

a hight octane would support higer gain, and be almost as easy.

[ctams]

a hight octane would support higer gain, and be almost as easy.

I agree that the HO is a great amp to build (it was my first) for several reasons. You have plent of gain on tap, its only 5 watts, there's a MV so you can play it quietly with plenty of dirt, it is fairly easy to build, and the folks at ax84 are great.

[the_random_hero]

H'okay, you guys are starting to convince me. I'm looking at the High Octane from Ax84.
I still want to use carbon comp. resistors (my teachers got a whole heap of high quality ones with 1% tolerance - I have to pay like 10c each for these ones though, I seriously don't mind ). While reading up on the the advantages/disadvantages of carbon comp resistors in an article on Geofex, it says to use them in the stage before the phase inverter to get the most mojo with the least feedback. Now, am I right in thinking that as this amp isn't push/pull (at least I don't think so, I'm still learning my tube amp terminology) it doesn't have a phase inverter? I really need to start reading up more...

EDIT: Another thing - should I be looking to use noval or octal tubes? I'm thinking I might stick with noval as that's what the instructions are following.

[Bonfire]

yep, the HO and VJ are both SE and dont need phase inverters.

stick with the 12A_7's in the preamp, but it is up to you whether you want to have an octal or noval output stage. octal will give you more options, depending on your PT.

[the_random_hero]

Excellent, I love it when something goes right I'm still a bit confused about where it's best to use the carbon comp resistors, other people are suggesting that anywhere in the signal chain works well, apart from using them for the preamp plate resistors. Anybodies opinions on this?

[Bonfire]

I was under the impression that CC's on the plate of the second pre-amp tube work well....or did i get jumbled up somewhere?