WezV Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 had a little fun electronics project this weekend It a mkII noisy cricket from beavis audio http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/NoisyCricket/ cheap as chips to throw together and actually quite nice sounding... i reckon this could be a good amp to build into a travel guitar - if i ever get around to doing something like that here it is with the others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 had a little fun electronics project this weekend It a mkII noisy cricket from beavis audio http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/NoisyCricket/ cheap as chips to throw together and actually quite nice sounding... i reckon this could be a good amp to build into a travel guitar - if i ever get around to doing something like that here it is with the others Well, I don't have much to do...... It sounds like the perfect project for Pete. Be sure to point it out to him when he comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 I built one of those a long while back for a friend of mine, tweaked a few things about it, but remember really liking it. Built it into an old stereo speaker enclosure (although I replaced the speaker with one suited for guitar). Fun little amp. I like playing with chip amps. They sound remarkably good if you run them through a proper guitar cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 thats a pretty cool idea for an old speaker... something like that would make a good workshop amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Soon as I saw it mounted into the old speaker I knew I had to build one. And Wez just gave me the perfect excuse to use for my wife. I've want put an amp out in the garage, but she won't let me spend that kind of money. I even have the old stereo speaker set around, and she doesn't need to know about getting a new speaker for the guitar in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 So when do we get to hear sound clips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Alright.... I'm on my way to Radio Shack with a printout of the spec sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Alright.... I'm on my way to Radio Shack with a printout of the spec sheet. I'm curious as to what it will cost in parts. Let us know what the total radio shack bill is, will you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 there are some clips of you tube - havnt done any of mine yet http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2178773507860258243 cost is small, obviously stuff like enclosures adds to the price but you dont really need them anyway this is the one i saw that convinced me i needed to build one for myself http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/inde...p?topic=17237.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 That sounds ridiculously good. I bought enough bits to make two of them. 1) If I dork up a component, I have a spare, and 2) if I don't, I'll put one in a guitar. I only bought one enclosure, which was $5, and they only had one of the resistors in a $6.50 pack which contained nothing else needed for this job. Jeep this $11.50 in mind that probably $9 can be eliminated if you look for the resistors. The total bill for parts to make two came to +/- $60. I'm quite sure that you can go a LOT cheaper than this with frugal & dedicated internet searching. Still, $30 each in parts doesn't seem unreasonable. Looking at the spec sheet, it says the speakers need to be 4-16 ohms. I stopped at a car audio place and talked with them about small speakers. They have a pair of 3" 4-ohm Pioneers for $50 that might work. When I get a working model together, they'll let me bring it in and test it on those speakers. If those don't work, he suggested external computer speakers. I'm having crazy visions of a mini-combo amp in a cab made from some exotic wood instead of ply & tolex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Well, I picked up pretty much everything, except parts vr1 2 and 3 cause I wasn't sure what they were. It just hit me now that those are the pots. DOH!!!! So, I'll probably get everything wired up soon and just leave the pots til I get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 wow! What a cool little amp, i may even have a go at building one of these. They sound Great. Make sure you post a pic up of your complete mini stack John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Ok, bookmarked. You can never have enough projects. Even if I don't finish half of them. Those sound clips sound fantastic; very very shocked. Now, I don't know that much about electronics, but would it be advisable for one to hit the front end of this tiny little amp hard with a tube screamer or some other pedal, like he did in the video? I want to be that guy on stage getting fantastic tone out of a $30 amp and a full stack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 That sounds ridiculously good. I bought enough bits to make two of them. 1) If I dork up a component, I have a spare, and 2) if I don't, I'll put one in a guitar. I only bought one enclosure, which was $5, and they only had one of the resistors in a $6.50 pack which contained nothing else needed for this job. Jeep this $11.50 in mind that probably $9 can be eliminated if you look for the resistors. The total bill for parts to make two came to +/- $60. I'm quite sure that you can go a LOT cheaper than this with frugal & dedicated internet searching. Still, $30 each in parts doesn't seem unreasonable. Looking at the spec sheet, it says the speakers need to be 4-16 ohms. I stopped at a car audio place and talked with them about small speakers. They have a pair of 3" 4-ohm Pioneers for $50 that might work. When I get a working model together, they'll let me bring it in and test it on those speakers. If those don't work, he suggested external computer speakers. I'm having crazy visions of a mini-combo amp in a cab made from some exotic wood instead of ply & tolex. You can salvage the transistors, caps, and resistors from dead electronics. I ravaged a DVD Player for the transistors and caps. I am using an old logitec mouse wall wart. Dead pedals can provide pots and jacks. As for the car speakers... they are probably not going to sound good. You need a stiff cone with a shorter throw than a car speaker. You probably would do best going to a pawn shop or swap meet and looking for some old Jensen 8" loud speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Did you get the parts in the uk Wez? How much did they set you back? It sounds so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 i got the parts from banzai effects - think they are german. not sure how much teh pedal cost to build because i brought enough for a few different projects at the same time probably not much more than £10-15 for the electronics gubbins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 ABRA Electronics I just priced it all out at this web store. Without shipping, it would cost $50 for everything to make 5 amps, but no circuit board. You'd still have to get that at Radio Shack. All told, that would be $57.50 + tax/shipping for 5 of these silly things. If they're easy to make and I can find an inexpensive speaker, I can easily see myself making mini-cabs and putting them in local shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) When I saw that pic, first thing that came to mind was a new project to go into the box that I had built my "tube screamer" into years ago (it died, plus it was too "over the top" sound-wise). Was originally one of these Escort radar detectors Cast aluminum, with plastic front and back (which I replaced with aluminum), and little shallow "tracks" inside where a circuit board can be suspsended if made the right size to fit. A little bigger than 1x4x5 (inches), and of course a long-shot any of us can find any, but a good head start if you can get a free one. Edited May 28, 2009 by soapbarstrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 i got the parts from banzai effects - think they are german. not sure how much teh pedal cost to build because i brought enough for a few different projects at the same time probably not much more than £10-15 for the electronics gubbins Nice store! What did you use instead of the "radio shack printed cicuit board"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 somebody offered to etch me some circuit boards following this version here http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/NoisyC..._BuildGuide.pdf here is a guide to making a circuit board http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nuyzj1huuvx there is also this layout you can use on stripboard http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php..._serialNumber=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 Great stuff, thanks Wez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) Hey guys, Had abit of time this week to have a play with this little amp. Bought enough parts for two which set me back 60 bucks. One is complete and works and the other just needs the LED connections soldered. Its really quite fun to do and they sound pretty bloody good! The one thing ive found is with the volume full and gain full it sounds great, but flick the grit(boost) switch on and things turn messy. Not sure if its a dodgy pot or shotty wiring, anyone else getting this? But it does sounds great with the vol at 2/3rds, tone 3/4 and gain full with the boost on. Quite a crunchy blues tone in the neck p/up position and abit more snappy 70's rock in the bridge, nice! Pics Controls from left to right: Power, Vol, Tone, Gain and Boost. The second pic shows the set out of the guitar in(left), dc power adaptor(rear) and speaker out(right). To finish these off im gonna make a template with writing for the controls and spraypaint onto the enclosures. If anyones interested i will take a photo of the insides. Chad. Edited June 5, 2009 by chops1983 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 To finish these off im gonna make a template with writing for the controls and spraypaint onto the closures. If anyones interested i will take a photo of the insides. Heck yea I want pics of the insides! Stenciling the control labels isn't a bad idea either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 i had a weird interaction between grit and gain control but not like you described. It is still very usable though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kully Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hey guys, Had abit of time this week to have a play with this little amp. Bought enough parts for two which set me back 60 bucks. One is complete and works and the other just needs the LED connections soldered. Its really quite fun to do and they sound pretty bloody good! The one thing ive found is with the volume full and gain full it sounds great, but flick the grit(boost) switch on and things turn messy. Not sure if its a dodgy pot or shotty wiring, anyone else getting this? But it does sounds great with the vol at 2/3rds, tone 3/4 and gain full with the boost on. Quite a crunchy blues tone in the neck p/up position and abit more snappy 70's rock in the bridge, nice! To finish these off im gonna make a template with writing for the controls and spraypaint onto the closures. If anyones interested i will take a photo of the insides. Chad. hey where in WA did you go for your parts? jaycar or altronics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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