Just recently found out this absolutely stunning and beautiful website.
I never made an amp before let alone a stomp pedal, but I am an electrical engineer and confident with reading schematics and understanding it. I also have some soldering experience (just with a few simple circuits tho).
I feel like I want to attempt building my first amp and decided to go with either marshall 18W or a brownface deluxe but I'm kind of leaning towards 18W these days.
I could go with the kit, like mojotones or gds or what not, but I don't want to spend too much on a premium on gathering the correct parts and paying for the cabinets when I can make my own. Maybe just a chasis is what I need?
Ok, without a further due, I just had some quick questions.
1. Inside the downloads section, I was kind of overwhelmed by the different available 18W versions. I like the sound of the original circuit but the volume would be too loud in an apartment where I live. TMB has a master volume but I prefer how the original sounds or maybe it's just the soundclips. Does the TMB version produce a relatively similar sound to the cranked up original even with the master volume very low at bedroom level? Or should I stick to the original and get the attenuator later.
2. Is there a noticable tonal difference between the 18W trem channel and the normal channel? If so, how? I think I like the sound of trem channel but I don't feel like I would ever use the trem at least for recording.
3. Given my newbie status, would you recommend buying the kits and following the instructions (if so is the best kit? I was thinking JMP guitars...) or straight up get my parts together somewhere and start building on my own?
4. If I really wanna nail that classic Marshall sound, what would be the most important parts to spend money on? I heard that Sozo? caps and Heyboer transformers are good (correct me if I'm wrong) and If possible, I would want to put the best parts in my build regardless of the price. (It would be cheaper than buying a built one any way)
Also, what kind of lead would you recommend using?
5. Any instructional posts or videos a newbie can follow while building it? (I'm also reading the pinned posts!)
Re: A Newbie Builder! Needs some advice
Posted: Sun 08/24/25 6:39 pm
by JMPGuitars
Hi, welcome to the site!
the grounding and soldering threads (and watch the videos!!) in my signature.
With your engineering background, I would say avoid the kits and source the parts yourself. However, if you decide to get a kit do NOT get a mojotone kit! Their kits suck. Their cabinets and chassis are good though. GDS kits are good.
I don't normally make kits, but I can if you really want me to. It won't be cheaper than sourcing the stuff yourself though. I use CMF metal film for the common resistors. Sozo are good, Mallory 150M, etc. are good; any good cap is a good cap...and yes, they sound different:
If you're going for the classic tone, take a look at the "Modern Classic" series docs, and go from there.
My vote is to build the amplifier as it was meant to be, and use a good attenuator if you need to crank it to get the tone you want.
I'm sure others will eventually chime in with their thoughts on this stuff too.
Thanks,
Josh
Re: A Newbie Builder! Needs some advice
Posted: Mon 08/25/25 2:37 am
by Bieworm
FWIW build the 18W for sure. I've built some 6G3 Brown Deluxes before.. while they sound great at moderate volume they tend to choke out when pushed. They also lack bottom end and are not loud for 20 watt amps. They lack dynamics when pushed. Great amp for home use, but in a band situation you have a hard time competing with other guitar players. I gave up on them!
The most - marshall -esque Fender is still miles away from the real deal. Fenders don't wanna be pushed too far.. Jim Marshall solved that problem for overdrive players. Some Fenders sound fat and dynamic when pushed and then sound really well, but they only do it in their sweet spot. An 18 watt has a sweet spot all across the dial. Nobody regrets having an 18W, except.. they're loud from the get go and a pretty unusable amp for bedroom practice
Oh and unless you're doing a meticulous job from the start I wouldn't use premium (€€€) parts for your first build. Normal priced stuff goes a long way anyway. And if you're not a tremolo kind of guy I would build the 18W Superlite TMB. Really great amp! A little more complex than the 18W, but not that hard either.
Re: A Newbie Builder! Needs some advice
Posted: Mon 08/25/25 8:43 pm
by Crabman
Agreed .. this is a great website
To answer some of your questions:
I don't find that the TMB master volume gives great results when the master is turned down. I wish this wasn't the case but it is what it is. I tend to max the master and bring it up with the gain control until the sweet spot is reached .. but I live rural. So if want maximum mojo with this amp and you live in an apartment, your neighbours will hate you. Bieworm mentioned that the TMB superlight would be a good option. Perhaps the master works better in that circuit.
Another option is the Lite2b(ish). Basically a single input with the original circuit sans tremolo. Josh (JMP guitars) has done a stellar job with the layout plan which has a good grounding scheme. Very simple circuit, but it will be loud. The normal channel on my Trinity 18W doesn't have the parallel input and the tone stack is taken from the original tremolo channel. Sounds fantastic, but the sweet spot with humbuckers is with volume between 4 and 6... so prepare for liftoff .. even with a single 12" cab. If I was to build this circuit as a simple single channel amp, I would add a switch that gives the option to put a smaller bypass cap on the first stage cathode for humbuckers. I think I reduced mine to 2uF .. really tightens the bass up with humbuckers. You could use the larger value cap for single coils.
Cannot comment on attenuators but you will need one if living in an apartment. Trinity sells a voltage regulator for 56 USD that you wire into your circuit for attenuation ... perhaps a good option?
As far as kits go, I would have to leave comments to others on that one. Trinity had very good 18W kits with many options but it looks as though they now only provide pre built amps. Also if you want to go with a simple circuit as mentioned above then you will have to source it all which can be fun, but you will have to build your own turret board and perhaps get a blank chassis and drill it out.
As far as components go, I agree with other comments ... don't get too hung up on brands of caps etc.. Don't worry about SOZO caps. Any decent quality poly (polyester or polypropylene) cap will work fine. I have swapped between SOZO caps that came with my amp and Asian made poly caps ... I couldn't hear any difference for closely matched values of capacitance. I couldn't be bothered to put the SOZOs back in after this experiment since there was no need. I will be able to use them somewhere in my next build.
As far as tranny's go, Heyboer do make fine transformers for the 18W. There are also other decent options out there but I guess it depends where you live.
Probably the most important component aside from the circuit is the speaker. In some cases you may as well be playing a different amp when you swap speaker types. The cab can also make a huge difference in how the same speaker projects. I have 2 single 12" cabs that I noodle around with. One is a Marshall single 12" made out of baltic birch ply. The other is one that I built out of pine. Mine is quite a bit deeper and has a lot more bottom end and perhaps the note clarity is just a bit better. I tend to stick with Celestion G12M type speakers ... sound incredible with this circuit.
One amazing thing about the basic normal channel is that it's quite versatile in that you can get a decent spectrum of clean and edge of breakup tones with single coils.
No matter which way you go, it will not disappoint.
the grounding and soldering threads (and watch the videos!!) in my signature.
With your engineering background, I would say avoid the kits and source the parts yourself. However, if you decide to get a kit do NOT get a mojotone kit! Their kits suck. Their cabinets and chassis are good though. GDS kits are good.
I don't normally make kits, but I can if you really want me to. It won't be cheaper than sourcing the stuff yourself though. I use CMF metal film for the common resistors. Sozo are good, Mallory 150M, etc. are good; any good cap is a good cap...and yes, they sound different: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUDhBnMSuG0
If you're going for the classic tone, take a look at the "Modern Classic" series docs, and go from there.
My vote is to build the amplifier as it was meant to be, and use a good attenuator if you need to crank it to get the tone you want.
I'm sure others will eventually chime in with their thoughts on this stuff too.
Thanks,
Josh
Thanks for the sincere reply, Josh.
I'll definitely take a look at modern classic. Thanks for the video. From the video, I like the mallory best, lol.
What would be the best place to gather all the necessary parts for the modern classic and is there a bom for it or I can just reference the bom for the original?
I don't find that the TMB master volume gives great results when the master is turned down. I wish this wasn't the case but it is what it is. I tend to max the master and bring it up with the gain control until the sweet spot is reached .. but I live rural. So if want maximum mojo with this amp and you live in an apartment, your neighbours will hate you. Bieworm mentioned that the TMB superlight would be a good option. Perhaps the master works better in that circuit.
Another option is the Lite2b(ish). Basically a single input with the original circuit sans tremolo. Josh (JMP guitars) has done a stellar job with the layout plan which has a good grounding scheme. Very simple circuit, but it will be loud. The normal channel on my Trinity 18W doesn't have the parallel input and the tone stack is taken from the original tremolo channel. Sounds fantastic, but the sweet spot with humbuckers is with volume between 4 and 6... so prepare for liftoff .. even with a single 12" cab. If I was to build this circuit as a simple single channel amp, I would add a switch that gives the option to put a smaller bypass cap on the first stage cathode for humbuckers. I think I reduced mine to 2uF .. really tightens the bass up with humbuckers. You could use the larger value cap for single coils.
Cannot comment on attenuators but you will need one if living in an apartment. Trinity sells a voltage regulator for 56 USD that you wire into your circuit for attenuation ... perhaps a good option?
As far as kits go, I would have to leave comments to others on that one. Trinity had very good 18W kits with many options but it looks as though they now only provide pre built amps. Also if you want to go with a simple circuit as mentioned above then you will have to source it all which can be fun, but you will have to build your own turret board and perhaps get a blank chassis and drill it out.
As far as components go, I agree with other comments ... don't get too hung up on brands of caps etc.. Don't worry about SOZO caps. Any decent quality poly (polyester or polypropylene) cap will work fine. I have swapped between SOZO caps that came with my amp and Asian made poly caps ... I couldn't hear any difference for closely matched values of capacitance. I couldn't be bothered to put the SOZOs back in after this experiment since there was no need. I will be able to use them somewhere in my next build.
As far as tranny's go, Heyboer do make fine transformers for the 18W. There are also other decent options out there but I guess it depends where you live.
Probably the most important component aside from the circuit is the speaker. In some cases you may as well be playing a different amp when you swap speaker types. The cab can also make a huge difference in how the same speaker projects. I have 2 single 12" cabs that I noodle around with. One is a Marshall single 12" made out of baltic birch ply. The other is one that I built out of pine. Mine is quite a bit deeper and has a lot more bottom end and perhaps the note clarity is just a bit better. I tend to stick with Celestion G12M type speakers ... sound incredible with this circuit.
One amazing thing about the basic normal channel is that it's quite versatile in that you can get a decent spectrum of clean and edge of breakup tones with single coils.
No matter which way you go, it will not disappoint.
Hi! Thanks for the sincere reply! I really appreciate it!
I live in Texas! I'd probably go with heyboer but are there any other good options other than them?
Speaking of speakers, I like G12M and G12H,,, I would have to do some research on them, what the best repros are out there but maybe later!
FWIW build the 18W for sure. I've built some 6G3 Brown Deluxes before.. while they sound great at moderate volume they tend to choke out when pushed. They also lack bottom end and are not loud for 20 watt amps. They lack dynamics when pushed. Great amp for home use, but in a band situation you have a hard time competing with other guitar players. I gave up on them!
The most - marshall -esque Fender is still miles away from the real deal. Fenders don't wanna be pushed too far.. Jim Marshall solved that problem for overdrive players. Some Fenders sound fat and dynamic when pushed and then sound really well, but they only do it in their sweet spot. An 18 watt has a sweet spot all across the dial. Nobody regrets having an 18W, except.. they're loud from the get go and a pretty unusable amp for bedroom practice
Oh and unless you're doing a meticulous job from the start I wouldn't use premium (€€€) parts for your first build. Normal priced stuff goes a long way anyway. And if you're not a tremolo kind of guy I would build the 18W Superlite TMB. Really great amp! A little more complex than the 18W, but not that hard either.
Thanks, that makes me lean more towards the marshall. Marshall it is!
I'll definitely take a look at modern classic. Thanks for the video. From the video, I like the mallory best, lol.
What would be the best place to gather all the necessary parts for the modern classic and is there a bom for it or I can just reference the bom for the original?
I tend to like the Mallory the best too. One benefit of the SoZo is that they are the only current manufacturer (that I know of) that marks the foil side of the capacitors. If you have an oscilloscope, you can do this yourself with the Mallorys or most of brands (assuming the type of cap has an outer foil at all).
I get most normal components from Mouser.com. There's a BOM for the Tremolo TMB series that you can use as a reference. Not all values or quantities will be correct for the Modern Classics, but there's enough crossover that you should find most or all of what you need.
amplifiedparts.com is a good source for general amp making stuff. I also like TubeDepot.com as the source for my PTFE 20AWG and 22AWG stranded wire (I don't use solid core).
Heyboer or Mercury Magnetics are the best domestic transformers. MM costs about twice as much as Heyboer. I like both, but I don't feel one necessarily needs to cost more than the other. Some people are far more opinionated on the subject than I am and won't use anything but MM. I sell and use both brands, and have no complaints either way. They both sound great.
Thanks,
Josh
Re: A Newbie Builder! Needs some advice
Posted: Tue 08/26/25 6:38 am
by Bieworm
Transformers from Hammond are at a very good price point. But they’re from Canada.
Soursound will have great ones too, but I suspect them to be way pricey.
Speakers: watch out to get the correct G12H30!!!those 70th anniversary truly suck. Harsh and shrill. Get the Heritage series.
Re: A Newbie Builder! Needs some advice
Posted: Tue 08/26/25 12:34 pm
by JMPGuitars
Hammond are good, but only a few specific models for this application. Though in that case, I haven't heard any of them that made me think Heyboer or MM weren't worth the price.
I prefer WGS to any original Celestion I've played. Speakers are heavily influenced by personal taste though.
Hammond are good, but only a few specific models for this application. Though in that case, I haven't heard any of them that made me think Heyboer or MM weren't worth the price.
I prefer WGS to any original Celestion I've played. Speakers are heavily influenced by personal taste though.
Thanks Josh, I appreciate it. I'll definitely post photos once I get started!
the grounding and soldering threads (and watch the videos!!) in my signature.
