I have a Ceriatone 36-watt TMB and am building a Weber 18-watt TMB as well (basically the same thing but lower wattage so that I can use fewer speakers for reduced volume). Both amps are based on the Marshall 18-watt amp but with the Tremolo circuit removed and the TMB added in its place.

One thing to keep in mind here... If you want authentic Marshall tone, you may be considering the wrong amp...

The amps that most people associate with the Marshall name are the JTM45 and the Plexi. It is commonly known that the JTM45 is basically a modified version of the Fender 5F6A (Tweed Bassman circuit) and the Plexi is evolved from the JTM45.

The 18-watt Marshall, on the other hand, is commonly thought to have been derived from the Watkins Dominator.

There are some big tone differences, and, if I were to sum them up in short, I would say that the 18-watt Marshall is really more VOX and less Marshall if that makes sense. It's a great design! I love it! But you aren't getting Plexi tone in an 18-watt package really. You are gonna get tones that really are closer to the Vox stuff.

If you are looking for what most people consider the Marshall sound, you may want to consider the JTM45 or Plexi clones. If you are looking for Vox tone that has been "Marshallized", then you may want to consider the 18-watt variants.

That's my $0.02.

Justin

PS - You mentioned you dig clean tones. Because it was practically lifted out of the 5F6A, the JTM45 clean is closer to a Fender clean and is generally thought to have the best clean tones of any Marshall ever made. Something else to consider.

The 5F4/5E5A/5E7 group of amps are all essentially identical. Same PT. Same OT. Same choke. Same circuit. Same tube compliment. The main difference is that the 5F4 (Tweed Super) used 2 10-inch speakers, the 5E5A (Tweed Pro) used 1 15-inch speaker, and the 5E7 (Tweed Bandmaster) used 3 10-inch speakers. It was very common for Fender to take identical amplifiers, change the speaker configuration within reason, and then market each of those amps as different combo amplifiers (you can see this practice occur in the blackface era as well). Aside from that, there is a single resistor (R34) that varies in value. For the 5F4 and the 5E7, R34 is 56K. For the 5E5A, R34 is 100K. Notice that 5F4 and 5E7 both use 10-inch speakers and 5E5A uses a 15 incher. So, the variance of R34 is certainly due to the different size in the speakers used.

Hope that helps.

Justin

ramblin.

Welcome to the forum.

Can you provide any pictures of your build? Pictures always help in diagnosing problems like this.

Justin

Sure thing, Cat. I'll be sure to let you know when I post the entry about the finished amp with the new pics. Thanks for all of your advice from before too. I made it through this first project and I didn't even die or anything. Hehe.

Anyway. I'm looking forward to your build and I'm glad you're gonna keep a journal of the process. Lemme know when you start it up. I'd love to follow it.

By the way... you're gonna love your Champ. This thing sounds amazing. And I don't even have NOS tubes in there yet. Hehe. Those will be here very soon.

Justin

I just finished my first build (a 5F1). I kept an online journal regarding the process of putting it all together. I talk about the process and there are pics as I made progress. Please check it out. There will be finished pics, audio, and video up there soon.

justinaudio.blogspot.com

Justin

Thanks Cat! I really appreciate that you took the time to warn me and point me in the direction of some good safety resources. I'll be sure to do as you say. Thanks again!

Justin

So, I just ordered this amp kit today from Nik. This will be my first attempt at building an amplifier. I'm looking forward to receiving it. I'm very excited but also a little bit bemused. I have some minimal electronics experience (wiring guitars, that kind of thing) but that's it. Any advice? or would anyone like to point me in the direction of a good resource site for the DIYer? I hear that you can experience really bad electrical shock if you don't know what you're doing. So, any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Justin

Hi everyone!

I just would like to introduce myself. My name's Justin. I've been playing musical instruments since shortly after birth (^_^), but guitar has been my main fascination for the last 15 years or so.

Like most of you on here, I love amplifiers! I've owned many from companies big and small, and, like most guitar players, I am always searching for good tones. Recently, a friend suggested that I try my hand at building my own amplifier. The idea is very appealing to me for many reasons (DIY aspect, $$$, customization, knowledge and experience, etc). So, I look forward to trying it soon. I hope that y'all will be patient with me. Any advice you have to offer is always welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Nice to meet you all!

Justin