NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Amp tinkerers and people who aren't afraid of 700 volts or so in here....

Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black

Post Reply
User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

Yesterday I made a little breadboard guitar amp - <0.5W of solid state power from a LM386 Chip, powered from a 9V battery.
I followed the instructions from:
http://www.ampmaker.com/infocentre/forum-37.html

I used an old Sony bookshelf speaker. I removed the top two speakers leaving just the larger bottom one. The guitar input goes where the top speaker used to be, and the LED is where the small tweeter used to live. The 9V input is on the lower left when facing the amp. Not as retro looking as cigar box amps, but still up-cycling!
The breadboard showing the huge number of components!
ADD_DESCRIPTION
ADD_DESCRIPTION
Mounting the board.
ADD_DESCRIPTION
ADD_DESCRIPTION
The finished product :)
ADD_DESCRIPTION
ADD_DESCRIPTION
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
Single coil
BANNED
Posts: 10050
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:35 pm
Location: Public toilet
Has liked: 1110 times
Been liked: 485 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Single coil »

Dank

Is it any good?
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.

User avatar
rickenbackerkid
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 6700
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:52 pm
Has liked: 206 times
Been liked: 651 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by rickenbackerkid »

very cool!

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

Single coil wrote:Dank

Is it any good?
Yeah - surprisingly good for what it is. And louder than I though it would be.
It is a bit raspy (which I like) but also cleans up a bit with the guitar volume wound down. Sounds best playing some crunchy blues or big Malcolm Young style open chords.
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Very cool, maybe high freq tone cut control would help.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

sizzlingbadger wrote:Very cool, maybe high freq tone cut control would help.
Thanks - a fun little projects, especially for those of us afraid of 240V!
Yeah - there is an option for the NoSo Plus which includes adding a pot and JFET boosting (?)
That actually has an option to add a switch to the bass frequencies... (not the highs.?)
http://www.ampmaker.com/infocentre/thread-161.html
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
codedog
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 6705
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:44 pm
Location: Christchurch
Has liked: 3476 times
Been liked: 1083 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by codedog »

Wonder if it sounds anything like https://smokeyamps.com/

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

codedog wrote:Wonder if it sounds anything like https://smokeyamps.com/
Yeah it does a bit. Just looking at the circuit board of those amps online - looks very similar
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

codedog wrote:Wonder if it sounds anything like https://smokeyamps.com/
Added a short (16sec) clip on the tube. (It's about as long as I can play before making a mistake...)
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
Danger Mouse
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 11459
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Jafa Land
Has liked: 351 times
Been liked: 661 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Danger Mouse »

Shimmer wrote:
codedog wrote:Wonder if it sounds anything like https://smokeyamps.com/
Yeah it does a bit. Just looking at the circuit board of those amps online - looks very similar
If you trawl the forum Shimmer posted in the first post, they actually point interested people in the direction of the smokeyamps vids for tone clips.
The older I get, the more disappointed in myself I become.

User avatar
sty
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 2945
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Christchurch
Has liked: 207 times
Been liked: 264 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by sty »

Shimmer wrote:The finished product :)
small20180410_164101.jpg
Well done, that's probably higher quality and better sounding than my first practice amp from the early 80s ;)

(my old amp was all plastic, a small spearer and a couple of transistors. Mind you the Kay catalog guitar wasn't really much better)

User avatar
Danger Mouse
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 11459
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Jafa Land
Has liked: 351 times
Been liked: 661 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Danger Mouse »

I'm really impressed! Did you order a kit, or just source the components locally?
The older I get, the more disappointed in myself I become.

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

Danger Mouse wrote:I'm really impressed! Did you order a kit, or just source the components locally?
Thanks - I was pretty please with how it turned out.
I just bought the bits locally but followed the instructions on the ampmaker website (pretty cool imo how he provides all the necessary info there for free) .
The components were pretty cheap - the little breadboard was the most expensive. I didn't have any solid jumper wires, so I actually used those paper clips you can get with a plastic-y covering snipped to size :)
I want all the pedals!

User avatar
Danger Mouse
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 11459
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Jafa Land
Has liked: 351 times
Been liked: 661 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Danger Mouse »

Shimmer wrote:
Danger Mouse wrote:I'm really impressed! Did you order a kit, or just source the components locally?
Thanks - I was pretty please with how it turned out.
I just bought the bits locally but followed the instructions on the ampmaker website (pretty cool imo how he provides all the necessary info there for free) .
The components were pretty cheap - the little breadboard was the most expensive. I didn't have any solid jumper wires, so I actually used those paper clips you can get with a plastic-y covering snipped to size :)
Nice! I may have to try the same.

I say try because it most likely will end up as a bag of components tucked away in my drawer next to the bag of components that is the FuzzyBro tube screamer kit that I bought several years ago and will "get around to building eventually" :lol:
The older I get, the more disappointed in myself I become.

User avatar
Shimmer
Ashton
Ashton
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:47 am
Location: Lincoln
Has liked: 296 times
Been liked: 90 times

Re: NoSo (No Solder) Amp

Post by Shimmer »

Danger Mouse wrote:
Shimmer wrote:
Danger Mouse wrote:I'm really impressed! Did you order a kit, or just source the components locally?
Thanks - I was pretty please with how it turned out.
I just bought the bits locally but followed the instructions on the ampmaker website (pretty cool imo how he provides all the necessary info there for free) .
The components were pretty cheap - the little breadboard was the most expensive. I didn't have any solid jumper wires, so I actually used those paper clips you can get with a plastic-y covering snipped to size :)
Nice! I may have to try the same.

I say try because it most likely will end up as a bag of components tucked away in my drawer next to the bag of components that is the FuzzyBro tube screamer kit that I bought several years ago and will "get around to building eventually" :lol:
At least with this one, there are so few components. And using the breadboard means there is potentially no soldering - just plug and play :)
I want all the pedals!

Post Reply