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Yo, After finishing my DIY Benson Monarch, the only real issue was how loud the amp was. I was using a Weber attenuator but wasn’t happy with it. I rolled the dice on installing a power scaling unit from London Power. The “Could be Better” - The PCB layout. Maybe personal preference, but I’m...

The neck was also a bit too chunky for my tastes, so I took the opportunity to shave down the neck. It was stained with vinegar and steel wool, then sealed with oil. Feels much better now.

So, I was never happy with the purple, especially how the pre-cat laquer cracked. I refinished it with faded sonic blue, cut a new pickguard from cognac smoke tortoise shell, and stole some knobs from a fuzz build.

I’m not sure what happened to the file I used, but it seems to be missing. Hopefully this can help. If you resize this image then you can use the ruler measurements to ensure that you have it the correct size. I used Apple pages to resize it. You may be able to find other software or methods...

Funny you ask. I was trying to find it a few weeks ago to plan another build. Im going to take another look and if I can find the file, I will post it here. Currently, that guitar is in pieces. I’m refinishing it and cutting a new pickguard. The laquer should be fully cured and I’m going to...

Outstanding!

My favorite, so much so that I bought the materials to build a second, is the Carmine overdrive. Cranked, it sounds amazing, but when it’s adding just a little grime and fizzyness, it’s magical. That pedal is a sleeper, especially with a little tremolo and reverb. I have a Sunflower Fuzz...

I’m in the same boat about volume. I’m using a Weber Mini Mass attenuator to keep it down to home levels. Next build will probably be a Princeton 5 watt. If you want the documents, send a private message. Also, for anyone taking on a similar project, some of the resources that helped me in...

Final product… I did all my testing with Chinese Genalex 12ax7’s that I bought on sale. I was honestly a little worried, because there was way too much headroom and output. I swapped V1 with a Mullard, and V2 with a Tung Sol, and now sounds like the amp it’s supposed to be. Over the next few...

Another mod, which was probably me going overboard in an effort to mechanically isolate the reverb tank, I made a little box to house the tank, and lined it with more of that foam. Probably overkill, but at the very least, it looks clean. I did swap out the tank to a Ruby brand. Somewhere along...

I recapped (with the exception of the reverb circuit) with Jensen caps. I also swapped out the pots for CTS. I did get a little creative with mounting the chassis. Rather than holes through the top, I used L brackets mounted inside. Four 4mm bolts with lock nuts mounting the chassis, and four...

I will say this, when I started building pedals, I didn’t know my ass from a hole in the ground. In some ways, I still don’t. But the knowledge I was able to gain from the experience, from online, and from lurking on this forum, ended up being great preparation for an amp build. The biggest...

I’ve got a few of those details to wrap up this weekend before I can say it’s finished. I saw an interview with Mr Benson where he said that he wants to build things, not run a company. I can respect that. The financial freedom to focus on being creative and building, without having to worry...

The send and return is for the reverb tank. It’s a accutronics 8EB2C1B. In my brief test, the reverb was great too. Very usable and not over saturated. Hidden back in the cabinet is a jack for a reverb foot switch.

I hooked it up to a Celestion greenback that’s mounted in a Fender cabinet, and it sounded awesome. The description of the Monarch being somewhere in the middle between Fender/Marshall/Supro is accurate. I briefly plugged in my PedalPCB Pillion overdrive, and it was magical. In the meantime...

Hit me up on a private message and I’ll send the layout and schematic I used.

Simultaneously, I’m working on the cabinet. Solid pine. The plan is to go with tweed fabric, and shellac it to give it a nice amber. Then an Oxblood and gold grill cloth. I’ve never upholstered anything, so wish me luck.

It lives! After a few rookie mistakes, it fired up and it’s fully functional with the exception of a bad tone control. To minimize my financial risk, I used cheap alpha pots and Mallory caps. Now that I know I haven’t thrown my money down the toilet and electrocuted myself in the process, I’m...

Now, here’s where I could use a little help. I made a change to the original layout and flipped the output transformer so the leads that go to the power tubes and the output jack (which I also moved from the original) would be closer to each other and the output jack leads wouldn’t be running...

The front and back are water slide decals, and those preppy stripes are hiding a seam between the two transfer sheets. I’m also just realizing that PedalPCB beat me to the punch with the “Viceroy” reference.