DIY AMP WORKSHOP
Recalling the struggle with his first self-build kit, Chris Fantana offers a limited number of amp-building courses. Those keen to try it will visit Rift’s premises where Chris mentors the creation of a small tweed combo.
“It has to be a simple design, so it can be built in a day,” he says. “When I first built that kit amp, I didn’t have anyone to ask in order to get the answers I needed. All I wanted was someone to stand over me and offer advice and tips on the building, without being patronising. This is what I offer on my beginner’s amp-building course, so you can walk away with a completed, working amplifier that is both safe and great sounding.”
Needless to say it wasn’t long before the idea surfaced for one of the Guitarist team to have a go at creating their own little piece of Rift tone heaven. Neville promptly offered himself as the guinea pig and set about discussing what amp it would be…
“Usually on Chris’s day courses customers build a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, as it’s not only a straightforward circuit but also represents a supremely giggable combo. Next year, Chris is going to start two-day courses offering a more complex build, so since I wanted something a bit gruntier that would look and sound awesome in the Guitarist Tone Lounge, we opted for his Tweed Vee, a remake of Fender’s 6L6-powered, V-fronted, 5B4 ‘Super-Amp’ from 1946.
“Of course, I didn’t actually build and cover the cabinet myself (Chris has these
components made in Welsh pine and covered in 1947 spec tweed). Also, due to time constraints, our photographer Olly helpfully loaded up the chassis with valve bases, transformers, jewel light, the four input sockets, fuse holder and on-off switch while I got on with drilling and installing eyelets and populating the circuit board with components.
“Following Chris’s clear direction, my legendarily bad soldering improved immeasurably, and while the level of concentration was admittedly pretty draining, it really was a thoroughly exhilarating experience that I’d recommend to any keen do-it-yourselfer.
“Once the caps, resistors and so on were correctly loaded, it was time to install the board and wire up the valve bases, transformers, inputs, pots and other main components. The key here is neatness and Chris likes the wiring to flow through the chassis as tidily as possible – I’m a little obsessive when it comes to these things, too, so I enjoyed giving it my best and I have to say it didn’t look too bad.
“Chris was there to offer advice, boost morale, check progress, plus make the occasional ‘course correction’ should concentration slip. The diagram I followed was not to scale and, since the build was (for me) an electronics version of painting by numbers, I did get my metaphorical undies in a twist here and there.
“Quite rightly, and for obvious reasons, Chris wires up and safety checks the power end of things (and drains off the potentially lethal residual HT) before fitting valves (two 6L6 output, a 5U4GB rectifier and three 6SC7 preamp), sound testing and loading the completed chassis into the cabinet.
“Connecting my virgin amp to the 2x12 test cab, the 5B4 roared into life. All the controls worked perfectly and plugging in my ’52 Reissue Tele revealed a dark but glistening and musical tone. Classic tweed, indeed. It’s almost shocking how right Leo got it first time, and how superbly Chris has emulated this more than 70 years later.
“It was extremely hard to contain both my surprise and my pleasure once we tried the fully assembled combo – I was sure it would either not work at all, be beset with noise and buzzes or simply sound like a bag of spanners. Instead, the Warehouse G10C ceramic and G10A alnico drivers dished out a throaty but articulate set of sounds that no guitarist could fail to adore. Chuffed? Moi?”
Many thanks to Chris Fantana at Rift Amplification (www.riftamps.com) for his patience, help and knowledge
“Chris was there to offer advice and boost morale – plus make the occasional ‘course correction’”