YANABIP - Tweed Deluxe

[DetroitBlues]

I have a really dumb question. What does YANABIP stand for?

[Steiner]

The subtitle for the thread says: "Yet Another New Amp Build In Progress." I'm willing to guess that YANABIP is the foreshortening form. Tear it up blues! It's built like a tank! The flame in that honey colored maple has still got me longing AND logging

[kbp810]

It's alive!!! (and yes, YANABIP stands for Yet Another New... etc, etc... sort of a take on all the posts that start with NGD, NSD, NAD - not that there's anything wrong with that of course!)

 

I hooked it up temporarily through another cab, and she sounds great! Very warm and smooth... and can get rather loud as well.

 

Now it's really just a matter of coming to terms with the finish on the cab, and she'll be all ready to roll.

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

Look at those tubes glow! I can just hear the scream of a few nice licks from my guitar on it!!!

[kbp810]

Despite making a cameo appearance in my recent Family Photo post... the amp was not quite 100% yet.

 

Aside from spending some time playing with the input channel wiring and a few other component values to fine tune her, I had a little bit of speaker drama.

 

I first planned on using a JBL D120, but the speaker was just too bright for my tastes (perhaps a beam blocker might have helped, but I'm thinking that speaker wants a closed cab) so then I just ran the output to the speaker of a few different amps to try...

 

Tried through an Eminence Canis Major and sounded pretty good, but the depth was too deep so it wouldn't fit with the chassis installed;

 

Tried an EV12m (via the one sitting in my 5F1 amp cab) and sounded great, which was good news because I had a spare EVM12 sitting around (though I didn't really want another super heavy amp!), put the spare in, low volume sounded good but flubbed and distorted when pushed (and now it's off for a re-cone);

 

Took the bad EV12m to Alan, left with an already reconned EV Alnico of some sort to try (not sure of the model), but it was just a freckle too deep as well, seemed like it would fit but it was pressing right up against one of the power tubes.

 

Geesh!

 

So, I pulled a Celestion V30 from another amp and tried that, and it sounded pretty good too. So in with the V30, and then I walked away before I pulled the rest of my hair out!

[FredZepp]

OMG... that cabinet.. Drool...

[kbp810]

I'll go ahead and say she's 99.9% done at this point... last variable is the back cover pieces. Originally had some poplar that looked right for the job, but alas the pieced were cupped and brittle; they cracked slightly where the screws went in, and left a small gap between the piece and the chassis.... then tried some other small plywood pieces that worked better, but just didn't look right... but for now, I'm going to stick with the poplar pieces as I contemplate moving to plan "C"

 

Anyways, enough rambling - here's some updated pics:

 

 

 

[H]

You're very obviously a talented guy. Do you make these for fun or is it a business you have?

[DetroitBlues]

Awesome amps. I've played a few of his amps so far. Still waiting to try this one. Hoping early December I'll be able to give a whirl. There is rumors he has is first customer order in progess. No idea who the customer is though.

[kbp810]

You're very obviously a talented guy. Do you make these for fun or is it a business you have?

It's all really just for fun; I've always been into electronics, and being a guitar player that also natually led into being intrigued by guitar amps. Of course my problem now is I finish one and say thats it, thats the last one; then I start day dreaming about another amp, "stumble" across a schematic for it, and the itch begins again (not to mention I happened to recently stumble across el34world.com not long ago... oops!).

[kbp810]

Amp went through the QA process today (as in, took it over to Steiner's)

 

Sounded really good through humbuckers (ala H140/Schallers and a H150/HRW's)... but really seems to shine with P90's (ala H137/lolars, and my H575 with the Manilus Fat Goats).

 

Even got to compare it to another boutique built 5E3 (though I believe it was a 5E3 super with 6L6's), and in most cases they were right on par with each other... in certain ranges there were times where one slightly edged out the other tone wise, and in the end, mine does bow to the other (but we are also comparing 6V6 to 6L6 though...)

 

Either way, I'm very happy with the way she turned out!

[kbp810]

Awesome amps. I've played a few of his amps so far. Still waiting to try this one. Hoping early December I'll be able to give a whirl. There is rumors he has is first customer order in progess. No idea who the customer is though.

More like a creative expieriment at your expense

[DetroitBlues]

That's cool you were able to compare amps. You had your own little shoot out, and what a place to hold it at with all those options at your finger tips. You just might be able to make a business yet out of your amps. We should seriously look at a custom logo for them!

[Steiner]

Oh Yea! KBP810's amp is the Schiz Nitz! I am thoroughly impressed. It had crunch, chug, bottom end boom, gorgeous feedback, blossom sweet as a rose and a lovely disposition.

 

We did play his side by side with a 5E3 deluxe Kendrick; an early predecessor to their Tejas Crude Rig. I never once heard the Kendrick outshine KBP810's work. This man does great work. There was absolutely no indication that he was "trying to get it right." He nailed it.

 

Thank you KBP810 for allowing me the opportunity to put your efforts through the works. I truly enjoyed it.

 

This is probably the point where I confess the burning AAS but that just doesn't sound right. I'm swirling through ideas for an amp because I know he can handle it. Yoslate, you're not the only lucky guy I know.

 

To be continued...