Ceriatone Forum

So I got this kit through abraxascabs. Im still thinking whether to get the Mercury Magnetics trannies or not. Right now I'm procuring all needed tools and supplies while I do final planning/ review for the build. This is my first kit build ever except a little amp I did way back in HS. So I might be needing (a lot) help here and there. But I certainly will document pretty much every step of the way to be able to be sure and possibly help others and most importantly have the most fun out of it.

Some photos of sorting the parts. Most will be organized on those plastic containers so I can have an organized work flow and more virtual memory to use on other things while building.;

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4123.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4124.jpg)
You can see the nice new metal faceplate here..

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4129.jpg)

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I got 200uF yay as all the others now. Nice colors huh?

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4137.jpg)

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Grinding the paint out of ground contacts. Pretty much self explanatory.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4156.jpg)

Did the front controls. After this and testing, I'm much more confident with my first build.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4185cropstrd.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4187.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4186.jpg)

Buss bar was a bit tricky but very satisfying to finish.

Looks like your making good progress.
Thanks for taking the time to document the build.
It will be helpful for others to reference in the future.
Good to see complete pictures of the new chassis.
I see Nik has updated with some new holes. (e.g. LNFB switch)

Good luck and look forward to your build.

Henry

Oh are those the holes between the socket holes? I see. I'm well halfway on the build but I gotta get the trannies lol. I have more pics to post.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4192.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4194.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4196.jpg)

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One quick question, does it matter which 3.15 lead from the power tranny goes to which terminal of the pilot ligh and side of heaters? I mean is it interchangable? Just to be perfectly sure lol.

No, I don't think it matters - it's AC anyway.

Cool pics! Looks like things are moving along. I really like the white chassis - is that a special order, or do they all come that way now?

And you probably know this by now, but Nik is (or at least was a while back) a mercury magnetics dealer - he can get you the dealer price on your trannies and have them ship it direct to you (if you're in the states that is) - great trannies for cheap this way! Send him an email about this.

Hopefully you'll have as good luck with your build as I did - mine worked perfectly at first power up, and still works perfectly!

Hahah well why shouldn't your amp work perfectly. Yes I am a bit nervous for the first power up. Did you check voltages before putting tubes? Or use something like a variac or light bulb device?

Yeah I will probably get the MM from Nik. I have been exchanging emails with him and he's always quick to reply. One of the best things about Ceriatone..

The chassis now comes like that - Metal for more strength and powdercoated cream

No, I just put the tubes in and powered it up, set the bias and went from there. I figured that if there was a problem I could check all the voltages, but it works and sounds fabulous, so I'm happy!

Hahah thanks you made me feel less nervous.  8)

Looks like you are coming right along!! Looks very nice so far.

 ;D Means a lot! Thanx I like too keep things as neat as I can.

Trannies are coming in! I can move along now. I got  a Classic Tone 40-18025 marshall style OT and choke 3h and Nik's PT.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4283.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4287.jpg)

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I decided to go ahead and mound the PT. Next up is the OT, then the main boards. The sockets and heaters will be last.

Building an amp is pretty sweet. I like to mount the boards to see what it looks like. Saweet! Anyway I am still to receive my Classic Tone OT and still browsing cabs. I have my G12-65 waiting already.

Looks really nice!

Thanks man!

I got the 40-18025 from Classic Tone. I'm pretty psyched about it cause its supposedly a "tone monster" Check this demo out;

http://www.classictone.net/PaperVsPlastic.html

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I trimmed all the wires going from the boards beforehand. I then wires the two boards together then wired the incoming leads to the power board. I wired the board then wired the incoming wires to the main board.. Lastly I wired the main board.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4319.jpg)
Used the drill method for the heaters and put them hanging on top of the tube sockets.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4336.jpg)

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4322cropbox.jpg)

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(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4329.jpg)

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Put in a mullard in V1.  THe tone gets big and girth clean when I turn up the volume up to about 9 where the cabinet cant handle the bass anymore haha. Is this the case with all other tubes in v1?

Thanks for posting your build pictures.  I noticed early that you used a Dremel to remove paint at grounding points.  The chassis is painted?  Did you remove a lot? (start grounding posts, pots, switches,...)  We cannot see it in the following pictures. 

I cannot wait to receive my HRM100 kit... I just learned of a delay this morning.

Yes you have to make ground contacts for almost everything. Also for the trannies. All the pots, switches, for the ground of the IEC, etc etc. The european whatchamacallit input jacks are plastic and doesn need ground. Better check with Nik too!

After some tweaking while waiting for the cab.. here's a last look at the chassis. No mods yet but I'm happy with the tone. Low preamp vol and bright on for blackface type clean works very well as well as that TR clean with the vol halfway.

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4370.jpg)

The cab! Oh the cab..

(http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/captainbackfire_jr/IMG_4366.jpg)

Here's a demo of the sound. But its webcam mic. Nice tone anyway I think, minus the capture distortion. And as you can see the master is barely on 1 lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkZFHUAzags

Hey, super cool build!

Could you give us an idea of how long it took you to build the amp? Any hiccups along the way? Where did you look for answers if and when you got stuck?

I'm thinking of maybe going the same route. Helluva way to save money and have fun!

Thanks, yes it should be tons of enjoyment as long as you know  what youre doing heheh which i suppose what this forum is for.

Took me a laid back 2 months but that was because my output tranny was delayed. Had time to read 50 pages of this forum. Didnt need to read TAG. Felt lazy tommake an account.

im a new member and i really enjoyed this build up of yours it has really inspired me to buy and build my own !
love the tone yours has congratulations and very well done cheers!

Thanks for those detailled pics of wiring an OTS, captainbackfire.

Even if my Serial Tone Killer is a bit different, it may help to see what's done in an original model  ;)

A+!