I built me something today... - Guitars101

slapshank · 06-18-2006, 08:13 PM

Bout a year ago I built a little one watt amp from a schematic I found online... I put it in a box and called it a microhead... cool, but not terribly practical...

Today, I pulled it out of the box and built something I can actually use...

Two days ago I found an old train case at the Salvation Army store for $2

So I stuffed it with the amp and a Weber 8" speaker I had sitting around... and left enough room in the case to stow away my RP-80... also battery powered...

Now I have a full blown travel solution

...sounds very good with the RP-80 driving it...

I figure if I'm careful about how I pack the thing, in addition to the RP-80, I can get a brush, pit stick, soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste in the thing... hell... I might even be able to get a beer in there as well...

pfslik · 06-19-2006, 02:22 AM

lol!!!...thats awesome

Edaholic · 06-19-2006, 02:32 AM

Have fun splainin that through airport security.

Pretty cool idea.

Drak_nyen · 06-19-2006, 02:54 AM

Nice!

Is it a transitor or tube amp?

Do you still have the schematic or a place we can get hold of it??

slapshank · 06-19-2006, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drak_nyen

Nice!

Is it a transitor or tube amp?

Do you still have the schematic or a place we can get hold of it??

It runs on a IC chip and a 9 volt battery... got everything I needed to make the amp at Radio Shack... I've got the schematic... I post it up later today...

As far as amps go, it's as simple to build as you'll find...

As for how long the battery life is, I couldn't tell ya... I've had the same battery in the thing for a year now and it's not dead... and I've got not less than 10 hours on it.

stratomatic · 06-19-2006, 03:54 AM

That's cool. It just needs a little disco ball and some lights to hang from the lid in front of that mirror.

slapshank · 06-19-2006, 04:15 AM

I tell ya what... never know when you're gonna need a mirror

As for amp schematics that would make this sort of project happen in a big damn hurry... Here ya go...

If you've got a Radio Shack close by and $20 in your pocket, you probably have enough to build two amps...

http://www.runoffgroove.com/ruby.html
http://www.runoffgroove.com/littlegem.html

DannyBoy · 06-19-2006, 04:38 AM

cool lol. you dig those RP-80's ?. I use an RP100 myself.. so i dont have the expression pedal. Looks neat. I've always liked the idea of having a little amp strapped to my belt and wandering along with my guitar playing out of it. But the tone would always be a bit crap i thought. Maybe if i stick myself an RP unit to the other side of my belt... HA.

Cool.

POD GOD · 06-19-2006, 05:00 AM

Cool idea. Lets hear some clips

slapshank · 06-19-2006, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyBoy

cool lol. you dig those RP-80's ?. I use an RP100 myself.. so i dont have the expression pedal. Looks neat. I've always liked the idea of having a little amp strapped to my belt and wandering along with my guitar playing out of it. But the tone would always be a bit crap i thought. Maybe if i stick myself an RP unit to the other side of my belt... HA.

Cool.

The RP is ok... no better than that though... it's too easy to hit both buttons and the pedal when trying to change patches...

As a modeller for recording purposes, I think it sucks monumentally... cab sims aren't good and you can't mix cabs and amp sims...

As a front-end to a guitar amp, I think it sounds pretty good... it's got decent amp sims, a wide array of effects and an uber-basic drum machine... ... Unfortunately, it doesn't play well with other pedals and it's got no master volume knob...

Adjusting the overall output is a button pushing pain in the arse... It can't be done on the fly unless you set the pedal to act as your volume control, but then you can't use it for wah... it's irritating... by adding adding a gain knob and an master volume knob, it'd be a whole lot better.

I've had mine for several months now... I've spent as much time 'not minding it' as I have hating it... I spent $80 on it... it's certainly worth no more than that...

If it got lost or stolen, that'd be fine

slapshank · 06-19-2006, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POD GOD

Cool idea. Lets hear some clips

Gimme a few days on the clips... I still have a rattle I want to get rid of... then I'll post a clip...

D.i.n.o · 06-19-2006, 05:14 AM

Now THAT's what I call creative!

Great job.

METAL MELTDOWN · 07-07-2006, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapshank

Bout a year ago I built a little one watt amp from a schematic I found online... I put it in a box and called it a microhead... cool, but not terribly practical...

Today, I pulled it out of the box and built something I can actually use...

Two days ago I found an old train case at the Salvation Army store for $2

So I stuffed it with the amp and a Weber 8" speaker I had sitting around... and left enough room in the case to stow away my RP-80... also battery powered...

Now I have a full blown travel solution

...sounds very good with the RP-80 driving it...

I figure if I'm careful about how I pack the thing, in addition to the RP-80, I can get a brush, pit stick, soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste in the thing... hell... I might even be able to get a beer in there as well...

Clever!!! The TSA might think its a bomb, though!!!! DONT FLY!!! HAHAHA

slapshank · 07-12-2006, 08:40 AM

a bomb eh? ...nah ...well ...in the event someone thinks it is housing a bomb (or any other sorts of contraban), the whole thing can be entirely disassembled in about a minute so 'the man' can see what's inside... then it's reassembles in the same amount of time...

**supercharged 350** · 07-12-2006, 02:08 PM

Very cool!