Just Bought one of your kits!

[Ahudelson]

I could not pass up buying the 50 watt Plexi kit. I have been playing in Classic rock bands for the last 30 years. I have alot of gear, but never had a "real" plexi. My concerns are that I will be able to build it correctly. I can solder, and have replaced pickups and wired guitars, but have never built something with this level of power and potential to get shocked. From what I've seen on this forum though, it seems that there is this initial trepidation followed by greater joy with many of the members. So I am excited, and it seems that there are many members willing to help out when needed. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Al

[Smokin Tone]

Read the build guide thoroughly a couple of times before you start. Double check every connection you make as you go. Print out an extra layout and mark things off as you complete them. Look at some of the build pics that are posted here from some of the veteran builders and try to follow them. The guide has excellent pics as well. Take a magnifying glass over you solder connections and double check them. Make sure they look good and that there are no bridged connections. Especially on the tube sockets. Measure all of your components with a meter to verify the proper value before you install each one. This will help you from possibly misreading a resistor or capacitor and putting one in the wrong place. Follow the rules for safety and you should not get hurt. Always ask questions when in doubt. Good luck with the build.

[thousandshirts]

Take breaks. Go for an hour or two, or a convenient length of time, maybe four hours, I don't know. But don't do it all at once. Force yourself to go do other things -- anything -- while you're at it. Chances are, like many of the rest of us, you will have a hard time not thinking of the amp while you're away from it. That's a good thing. You'll be able to think hard on what you have to do next while you're saying "yes, yes, I know the Garbage has to go out on Friday" to the Wife, or as you head down to the bank to pay some bills. P

Print out the instruction manual, if you want, but for sure print out the layout to have close at hand at all times. Take it with you and study it.

As for safety with electrical current, and not getting shocked, there are a lot of posts here on that. Making yourself a good bleeder cable to drain the caps (usually two alligator clips with a nice 2 or 3 watt resistor in the middle, something like a 220K is nice, to ensure the power doesn't drain all at once, but nice and slowly) is a necessary tool, maybe make two, as the parts are cheap. Always probe with your multimeter using one hand only. Try to wear sneakers. Use an insulated bench material like wood. The lists go on, the info is all here. Maybe post some more questions with specific cloudy areas regarding safety, so we can be sure to address them individually.

[Ahudelson]

Thanks for the help! I haven't got my kit yet but I have been looking over the instructions for the 50 watt plexi kit. A few things I don't understand is the wiring on the input jacks, it is kind of hard to see in the photo where the wires from the board are attached to the specific lugs on the input jacks, I am assuming that the one photo of the set of input jacks with the resistor is identical for the other set? Also there is a paragraph about negative feedback and the wiring of the impedance selector, I am assuming that this wire should be attached to the middle lug, but it says there are options, I'm wondering what was stock, and what the difference would be by attaching this wire to the impedance points.
Thanks, Al

[VelvetGeorge]

Many thanks Al! Hope you'll love the amp.

Check out the full amp wiring diagram in the appendix for an alternate view of the jack wiring.

George