Ceriatone Forum

Hey guys, i got my box of bits Lol (its an S&M), from Nik and im gonna have a good local amp tech put it together. My other builds were done by Niks crew but I thought this time I would get a local guy (been workin on amps/ audio electronics for over 30yrs) so he would know the circuit inside out and so could repair/ mod it pretty easily.

Anyways I was just wondering how long you guys thought it should take him? Assuming he sits down and does it in one sitting.

Every tech has their own skill level, assembly speed, and level of sticktoitivness. I don't think it's something that can be quantified without getting into string theory and particle physics...


Gregg

Between 20-30 hrs if he has done this type of amp before.

I'd say closer to Erwin's estimate. 2-3 hours is really, really rushing it.

hang on ive heard its 30hrs if you're a noob?!

45-60 hrs if you're a noob. This isn't a fender champ kit!

Indeed, Erwin is correct.
It took me a hour to wire up my 3 way HRM bypass, and it's basically 2 wires and drilling a hole. It usually takes me an hour to carefully adjust the PI trimmer if I change PI tubes doing experiments. Patience, and taking your time are your friends on these amps. They look simple on paper and in photographs, but when you dig into em, they clearly aren't. The lead dress on the preamp sockets alone can take hours to get right.

Gregg

I'd say I took about 30 hours when i did mine. It wasn't my first kit build, I'd done an Ampmaker kit before and this is in a diffferent league. However I do have considerable soldering experience and I am very practical and have a very wide collection of useful tools so I reckon i did OK. I would be quicker if I built another one. If you are not terribly practical and have to make do with makeshift tools yes 45-60 hours , easily.

hey guys thanks for the responses. The guy from Marsh Amps (which use ceriatone as their basic starting point) reckons an experienced amp tech could do it in 3-6 hrs deprending on his level of experience with this design.

3hrs  :o  Sorry I have a hard time believing that...

Are you paying the tech to build your amp by the hour?
I would atleast try to get a fixed price quote for the completed ( working )amp from this tech so you dont end up paying for many more labor hours than he expected.
Building these amps is very time consuming if done right.

Todd

That sounds bogus to me. An actual experienced amp tech might be able to get the basic thing assembled in 6-10 hours, if they've done it before many times and have everything set up and ready to go. The actual final set up and fine tuning would take a while longer. I don't think a real, experienced amp tech would be boasting about unrealistic times like that. But a good one could probably knock it out in a day if they were good.

ok the guy was from marsh amps and i would assume two things

1. he knows what hes doing with amp builds cause its his whole business
2. he is familiar with the circuit as he uses Niks kits as his basic amps

if hes wrong what would he gain by making these claims?

ok so I guess we were all correct! I picked up my OTS SM50watt and it took my amp guy about 12hrs to build it. He said he went a bit slower than usual to learn the circuit and make sure it was spot on. He said he was really careful with the lead dressing and it also seems to be quieter than the other 2 OTS's ive had. (im not knocking niks builds, its just an observation).

its all good, and my initial impressions are that this amp seems more "me" and my style than the FM ME. Like others have said the OD is a bit more aggressive and the amps overall a bit brighter. Im really happy with it! With my nos tubes its magic!

now anyone want to buy a Two Rock Gainmaster 35!

Seriously, its got nothing on the S&M!

after spending a few hrs with the S&M im consigning the Gainmaster into the store I bought it from.

The ceriatone is the better amp, really!
 
Nik thanks a heap!!!!!

There's no way on earth that an OTS could be done in 3 hours.  I've done several, along with some of my own amps, and would consider myself reasonably experienced. An OTS 50 takes me 12 hours from start to finish, before burn in. I'm not the fastest in the world by any means but 3-6 hours just seems unbelievable.

It took me 60!  15 of it was just trying to figure out where to start and how to plug in a soldering iron...

How long does it take Niks' guys?