Image 1 — Orange style guitar amp
Image 2 — Orange style guitar amp

Orange style guitar amp

Hello all,

This is my first tube amp build, I have made a few guitar pedals before. It is based on the schematic for Orange Tiny Terror, but with some tweaks for more gain and more low end. The goal was to get some nice doomy fuzz tones, similar to the OR series amps from the 1970's. I also used an oversized Hammond output transformer with more linear frequency response in an attempt to get more low end punch too. The TT circuit is nice because it has the master volume after the phase inverter, which means you get some clipping from the PI already at low volumes.

The housing is made from pine planks purchased at IKEA (I am Swedish after all), the front panel and tolex is quite amateurish but it turned out nicer than I expected. I dont have any workshop so everything is made at the kitchen table. My wife is very understanding and supportive.

I made a very basic sound clip using my phone, sound quality is not great and my guitar playing is even worse, but maybe it gives an idea what it sounds like:

https://canva.link/ek78fvj6570dvr6

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 4 days ago

ADV 160 graphics/styling in Ilocos area?

Hello, I recently bought a Honda ADV 160 to use when visiting my wife's family in Ilocos Norte area.

I really like the Africa Twin style blue/red graphics on a white bike. Also the mighty X-ADV model comes in a similar style that looks really cool.

I have seen sticker kits on Shopee, but I dont know the quality, and I don't trust my abilities to put them on correctly.

So here is the question, does anyone know of a skilled styling shop in Laoag/Ilocos Norte area that do these kind of graphics with professional results?

Thanks in advance

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 7 days ago

EAE model fet "power amp distortion"

I have been looking at the Electronic Audio Experiments fet pedal, its a solid state version of a Sunn model T preamp in a pedal.

They claim to have added also an emulation of the power amp section, to create a power amp distortion sound. It does sound really nice from online demos.

Looking at the schematic there is indeed a transistor based version of a long tail phase inverter, followed by a TL072 op amp that I assume is supposed to represent the power tube section of the real amp.

Now to my question, does anyone have an idea how much if the "power amp distortion" comes from the PI, and how much from the TL072? And does it even work, will you get similar saturation from a transistor PI and an op amp as from real tubes?

Or is this more a gimmick, and the actual distortion is generated in the pre amp section?

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u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 8 days ago

ADV 160 performance upgrades

I am spending some time in the Philippines visiting my wife's family, so we bought a Honda ADV 160 to be able to visit different places.

It's a very nice bike, suspension works well on the quite bumpy mountain roads and its quite entertaining to drive on curvy road.

I normally ride Harleys, obviously this is a 160 cc scooter so I dont expect the same kind of performance, but I'm curious if there are any basic performance mods that would give a meaningful increase in acceleration? I mean bolt on things, not opening the engine for big bore kits or similar. On Harleys you get a quite noticable boost in performance by changing the muffler and air filter to more free flowing ones, does the ADV engine react the same way, or will you just get noise? I actually like how silent it runs so I would only want a louder pipe if it really works, performance wise.

My wife and me are around 125 kg combined, max speed seems to be 113 km/h, and that is actually enough I think, for these roads. I am more interested in quicker overtakes and better acceleration, especially uphill in the mountains.

Any input is much appreciated

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 13 days ago

DIY fuzzy tube amp

Hello all, here is my home made tube amp, based on the schematic for Orange Tiny Terror , but with some tweaks for more gain and more low end. It also has an oversized output transformer for more beef.

This circuit is quite similar to the preamp of a classic OR120, two gain stages using 12AX7, but this amp uses a long tail phase inverter instead of a cathodyne in the OR. It has the master volume after the PI so there is also clipping in the PI tube. All in all it gives a nice fuzzy power amp like distortion, that I think suits well for doom.

Everything is made at home in my kitchen, the tolex and artwork are amateurish, but it turned out quite well after all.

I dont have any real recording equipment but I made a quick little video using my phone. The guitar playing is very basic but maybe it gives an idea of the kind of sound this amp produces. It would be fun with some feedback, how do you like it?

https://canva.link/i1kcr0v2z84ptb1

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 1 month ago
▲ 54 r/diytubes+1 crossposts

diy amp, sound clip, what do you think?

I posted this before, my first home built amp, based on the Orange Tiny Terror circuit, with some tweaks for more gain and low end.

I wanted a simple tube amp with that nice power amp distortion/fuzz you get from a cranked OR120, or a Big Muff into a clean tube amp. A little doom amp :)

I don't have any proper recording equipment but I made a very quick recording with my phone. The guitar playing is very basic but maybe it still gives an idea how it sounds.

It would be fun with some feedback, what do you think?

https://canva.link/i1kcr0v2z84ptb1

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 1 month ago

DIY tube amp

Hello all, this is my first home made amp. Its based on the Orange Tiny Terror circuit with some tweaks for more gain and low end.

The goal was to get a bit of power amp distortion/fuzz character like the classic OR amps, for some good doom tone.

A horrible sound clip recorded with my phone, sound quality is not so good and my playing is even worse, but it gives an idea of the sound:

https://canva.link/i1kcr0v2z84ptb1

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 1 month ago

Home made Orange :)

Hello all, this isn't about a factory made Orange amp so if its not allowed I guess it will be removed by moderators.

Anyway, I wanted an Orange amp for playing doom, but I couldn't really afford a new one and there are not really a lot of second hand ones available here.

So I built one myself. It is a 15 watt EL84 amp based on the schematic for Tiny Terror, but with a few tweaks for more gain, more low end and a smoother phase inverter. I also went with a beefy Hammond output transformer.

This circuit is interesting because it has both tone control and master volume after the phase inverter, so you can push the phase inverter to clipping. The preamp has two triode stages and no cathode follower, the topology is very similar to the classic OR120 style amps.

And it sounds very good, it has that classic fuzzy distortion but at more manageable volumes. More brrrr than fzzzz if that makes sense. Very Black Sabbath.

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

Effect loop and decoupling caps?

Hello, its me again with my Tiny Terror build. Its working great and now its time to add an effects loop. I will use a transistor based pcb from TubeTown for the actual loop, there isnt room for any more tubes on my chassis.

I guess it should go between the second gain pot and the phase inverter, where the 0.047 uF cap is.

So my question is, do I put the loop before or after the cap? Or do I need one more so I get pot - cap - loop - cap - PI?

Thanks in advance

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

Laney TI15 schematic?

As the headline suggests, does anyone have a schematic for the Laney Tony Iommi signture 15 watt combo amp?

Thanks in advance

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u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago
▲ 153 r/diytubes+1 crossposts

Project finished, sort of

My amp project is finished, at least at a first stage. Based on the Orange Tiny Terror schematic, 2 EL84 15 watt, but modified for more gain, more bass, and smoother phase inverter. It can do really dense fuzz, quite close to an Acapulco Gold, but also nice edge of breakup kind of overdrive, very touch sensitive.

Tolex and artwork is amateurish but turned out better than I thought.

Next step is an effects loop, havent decided if it will be tube or solid state.

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

12AX7 effects loop as gain stage?

Hello all, my Tiny Terror build has gone unexpectedly quick, its working and sounding great. So off to the next step:

This amp doesn't really have any EQ capabilities, only a basic treble cut control. So I thought it would be nice with an effects loop, I think an EQ pedal between the preamp and PI on this amp will really open up a lot of cool sounds.

So applying my newly acquired and very rudimentary knowledge I was thinking like this: the PT has enough filament current to heat one more 12AX7, what if I wire the first half as a cathode follower before the send jack, as a buffer and with a pot to dial down the signal level to not clip the pedals. And then the other half as a triode after the return jack, to restore the signal level, also with a gain pot.

So far so good, or have I gone off the rails already?

Because then I thought that a 12AX7 in triode circuit, that is a gain stage, like the gain stages in a modern high gain amp, that can add distortion. So I was thinking , can I configure the caps, resistors and pot for this stage to span the whole range from clean signal recovery to heavy clipping? So that say in the first half of the pot sweep it acts like a typical effect return level control, and for the second half it turns into an increasingly saturated distortion stage.

Does this make sense or am I completely off the rails now?

Thanks in advance :)

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u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

EL84 cathode bias voltage?

Hello all, my Tiny Terror build is working and sounding good, and I did some measurements on voltages. It is a 2xEL84 push/pull with 120 ohm cathode bias resistor shared by both tubes. The cathode voltage is 10.4 V. B+ is 319 V.

I have read that target bias voltage is 12 V, so am I running the tubes too hot? Should I change to a 150 ohm resistor?

Is this mainly about tube lifespan or can I expect some change in the sound if I increase bias voltage to 12 V?

Thanks in advance

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u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

Treble cut control location?

Hello all, I have now got my Tiny Terror amp build working, apart from one thing. The tone control, it has no effect whatsoever on the sound.

It is actually not a traditional tone control, its a treble cut control, placed between phase inverter and power stage, with a capacitor short circuiting high frequencies between the phases, cancelling them out. Vox AC15 uses the same kind of control. Even if its crude I would still want it to work as the amp is a little bit bright sounding.

I can't really understand why its not working, but I assume either the pot or the cap is broken. Im waiting for new parts.

And now, after writing a whole novel again, comes the question:

In the Tiny Terror schematic the treble cut is placed after the master volume pots, but in the schematic for the Dual Terror, that is supposed to have one channel identical to Tiny Terror, the treble cut is before the master volume. Is there any difference in how the cut works depending on the location? The Dual Terror is a newer design so one could expect its an improved design?

Thanks in advance

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago
▲ 181 r/diytubes+1 crossposts

Tiny Terror is alive :)

Hello all, after fixing a few stupid errors my Tiny Terror build is producing sound, yay.

Maybe most silly mistake was to use 100 ohm instead of 100 kohm for phase inverter anode resistors. It actually worked but the sound volume was very low...

Since I was aiming for a bit fuzzy drone sound I have used 120 kohm for all 12AX7 anode resistors, for more gain. It seems to work in the sense that at full gain it sounds quite fuzzy.

A few things I want to improve:

- its fairly noisy at high gain settings. Is there any obvous error in the routing of cables or such that anyone can spot?

- I would like more low end in the sound, its fairly bright sounding. Is there any components I can tweak to get in that direction?

- related to the previous point, the tone control is very subtle in general. I think my next step will be to add an effects loop so I can put an EQ pedal. This would maybe also solve the low end issue.

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 2 months ago

Useful?

Found some components, from a 1970:s HiFi amplifier, are any of these still usable for making pedals?

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 3 months ago
▲ 142 r/diytubes+1 crossposts

Hello all, I think I am past half way done on my Orange Tiny Terror build.

How does it look so far? Any obvious goofs?

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 3 months ago

Hello all, what software are people using for making layouts for tag/turret board builds? To create something like the example image?

Creating good layout from a schematic requires you to move components around to find the best order of things, and it would be very convenient with a software tool that supports that.

The layout tools I have found are either for making schematics and simulating circuits, or for pcb layout.

I have made a few layouts using PowerPoint but that is a completely manual process, and really tedious :)

Thanks in advance

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 3 months ago

Hello all, a question on how to wire the speaker out jack on a tube amp.

I am using a switched Cliff jack, there are two more lugs that are connected to tip and ring as long as the jack is unplugged, but get disconnected when you plug in your speakers.

I was thinking maybe I can do something clever to protect the output transformer. If the amp is started with no speaker connected, an open circuit, the OT will be damaged.

If I understand correctly its safe to put a higher resistance than the rated speaker impedance, you will just lower the power output, nothing will break.

So here is my idea, I have a left over 150 ohm, 5 watt resistor. What if i connect that between the two switched lugs? Then if the amp is started with no speaker connected the OT will see 150 ohm, very little power will be output but the OT will not be destroyed. The amp is 15 watt so quite small.

Would this work or am I missing something?

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u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 3 months ago

Hello all, I have started building my Tiny Terror, and realised I made a mistake in ordering one of the capacitors..

It sits across the AC input, in the bridge rectifier. Its supposed to be .01 uF but I bought. 001 uF, 1 nF.

So the question is, what does this cap do, is it important? Is the value critical or could i use anything larger than .01 uF? Or could I even use the 1 nF one?

Im guessing its there to reduce ripple?

Thanks in advance

u/KirkIsOurLemmy — 3 months ago