Princeton Reverb Build

[Bruce Weldy]

Finally decided to build an amp from scratch. Two of the guys in my band play through the Fender 5E3 Circuit (Tweed Deluxe) that they built from Mojotone kits. Both have been modded quite a bit - they are all hand-wired and sound great.

I'm happy with my Boogie for the band, but I play country shows sometimes and I really want an amp that shines for that, so I've started building a Princeton Reverb kit from Mojotone. They really do a great job with the kits. Everything is labeled and in separate compartments in the parts boxes. I elected to build my own cabinet and supply my own speaker.

The Princeton is an odd-shaped amp with an angle to the front of the amp and then another angle for the control face. I could have just built it straight with only the face angle, but I wanted to buy a cover for it, so I built it to spec.

I decided to build the cabinet first as it's way easier to use the blank chassis to check out the angles and alignment than to try that with all the transformers sticking out and the added weight.

So, here's the beginning.....the cab comes first.

Pieces are cut out along with the baffle. I'm going with a 12 in. driver even though the standard Princeton has a 10. There's room for a 12 with no change in the cab size.

To keep everything lined up, I used biscuits. As you can see, I'm using 1/2" BB instead of 3/4 Pine. Trying to keep it light....although I'm not sure that the BB isn't as heavy as the solid pine. Anyway, I had BB scraps - so that's what's happening!

Used the trusty corner braces to keep it squared up. Best 10 minutes I ever spent building these.

All put together....you'll notice that the top overhangs the sides. I made the angle cut to the front and put the cab together first.

After that was dry, I set the angle on the table saw and made the final cut to the front face on the entire cabinet at once.

[Bruce Weldy]

The good news is that the cover fit!

[Bruce Weldy]

I put a new Gibson-scale neck on my Tele (something I've wanted to do for years). Bought it from Warmoth. Put 10 coats of Tru-Oil on it and hit it with 0000 steel wool every 3 coats. Added new Gotoh tuners and put it all together. Took it to my Luthier friend to check it out and he found a couple of problems so I had him set it up correctly.

While I was there, he showed me the 5E3 amp that he was building. He had build a cool little jig that holds the chassis while soldering. And it was adjustable to find the right angle. I thought that was a great idea, so while I was doing woodworking, I cobbled one together pretty quickly....it's down and dirty, but it will be really valuable while putting the electronics together. It could have been prettier, but I doubt it will ever get used again....

Still a little work to do on the cab. The back panels are built, but there's a bunch of sanding to do, then paint and duratex.

So, let the soldering begin!

[Seth]

:handsclapping:

Shoot! that didn't work... Too lazy to look up the actual code for the clapping hands emoji.

My hat's off to you Bruce... And I'm clapping my hands. Well done buddy.

[Bryan Cox]

Looks great, man! I'll be watching this closely. I have a few build I want to do myself; mainly the Champ, Liverpool, and Express. Those are years away though. BFM cabs come first since I already have a late late 60s/early 70s era JMP 50 clone and an Egnater Tweaker 15. Those are all the tube amp I need at the moment.

[Bruce Weldy]

Decided to completely finish the case so I can concentrate on the amp build. Got the chassis lined up and mounted to make sure everything was right.

Tired of having feet come loose or spin when you tighten 'em, so I used T-nuts on the feet.....

Started the grill frame by doing a rising cut on the table saw. Went ahead and routed the edges at this point before I finished the cuts.

Finished the frame with the jigsaw and added a top and bottom cutout to make room for the speaker..

Installed the back panels ......

[Bruce Weldy]

At this point, the cab is complete except for paint and the grill cloth.....So, I took everything back off.

Now that part that ruins every build for me.....they look so great with all of those wood joints showing....but, then we have to go and paint 'em...

Couple of coats of flat black......tomorrow the duratex....then slap it together and start building the amp.....I've put it off as long as I could.

Stay tuned....

[Seth]

(found it)

[Bryan Cox]

You're doing a phenomenal job, Bruce. You wanna build my amp projects for me?! Haha

[NukePooch]

Loving it.
Sweet grill frame, I usually build mine out of pieces like a picture frame....

[Grant Bunter]

I've always enjoyed your build threads Bruce.
This one is no different.

Where's the popcorn...

[Bruce Weldy]

Loving it.
Sweet grill frame, I usually build mine out of pieces like a picture frame....

It's just way easier and much stronger to use a full piece of wood as the frame. The insides always get used for something.....I have BB scrap out the wahzoo.....and use 'em all the time.

[Bruce Weldy]

And now - the continuing saga of "As The Amp Turns"....or "What The Hell Did I Get Myself Into?"

Don't know if I've ever mentioned (this week) how much I love Duratex....

Put it on its top and did a few coats on the bottom and sides, then came out the next morning and flipped it over - did a few coats on the top and more on the sides.

[Bruce Weldy]

Now it's time for the dreaded grill cloth..... I used a piece of leftover grill cloth from my Boogie combo build a couple of years ago. It just barely was wide enough. It's important to keep a nice straight line along the weave so it doesn't look crooked when it's installed.

The real test though was whether it would fit snugly in the cab and fit under the chassis.....

Pulled out the chassis, put on the feet and set it aside until the speaker comes in tomorrow....

[Bruce Weldy]

Well, I started with the cab building....because that made the most sense.....and it let me put off the actual amp build a little longer.

But, I guess it's got to happen - so here we go.

Lot and lots of pieces...every one of those little compartments in those plastic cases had something in it. Along with some bags and boxes of stuff.