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I used OPA 2134 op amps in mine, and it's very clean sounding. If you have any, try plugging them in, or just one, as a replacement for the RC4558; if that doesn't clean it up, at least you'll know it's not the op amps. I generally don't like the way that 4558s sound, except in distortion...

And, just like with transistors, if the leads are a bit thin, you can pass a loaded soldering iron over them to give the socket more to grab onto.

Well, I’ve always been a sucker for grid based point to point. It’s lovely to see an example that I could attemp.

Weird! Alcohol really shouldn’t have any effect on powder coating. Makes me think it wasn’t properly baked, or that their powder was a bit off. (But you knew all that!) I doubt mineral spirits will do much of anything, but might be worth a try. Maybe on the base plate first. I’m looking forward...

Are the holes (in the bridge plate) for the main (through body) strings large enough to allow you to deal with the offset? Otherwise I can’t figure out how you got your strings through, and the new bridge plate in the correct location. But.., that’s not important since it looks like everything’s...

No, from my memory the saddle holes and the bridge plate holes will not line up if you switch the entire “upper” assemblies; the bridge plate you’re using has the holes aligned with the straight across tele standard, and the Gotoh staggers them. This I do remember.

I added a shim idea after you had replied… Looking at your photos, I don’t see an issue. I took off an octave part and measured it, to see if you can spot sizing issues. Forgive the quick drawing.

Now I wish I had taken some photos of that Amazon bridge… the Gotoh octaves are the correct height, but I’m not sure if the screw locations will work out. I even thought about doing that switch when I had them both here (before sending back the Amz one) and there was a reason (which my 75 yr old...

My whole frame of reference for the LA2A is my Effectrode LA1A, which is about the most perfect pedal I've ever used. But I'm always amazed at how close I can get the General Tso to sound to it (at least for the settings that I usually use it at, which is very low compression and just a hint of...

This is a favorite pedal of mine, especially at 18 volts. (The sag doesn’t work as effectively at this higher voltage though.)

Most of the soldering I’ve done has been for stereo equipment I was building or modifying. Low noise was always a major priority. Along with minimizing phase issues. Layout and shielding are top priorities. I’d say that having multi layer boards with ground planes, and using surface mount...

Your comment about line of sight is right on the money, at least for me, and I hadn’t thought of that regarding that Accugroove cabinet. I’m really used to having my amps on the ground, about 6 feet away, facing right at my face. So I’m getting the beaming from my combos. That cab I’ve never...

It’s complicated! A bunch of years ago I built a small battery powered 1/2 watt amp, and used a 6 inch MOD speaker in it as a compromise in size. I always felt guitar sounded a bit emasculated through it, but discovered that my 5 string fretless bass sounds great (albeit at fairly low volumes…)...

You’d want to use a printer than can work with higher heat filaments—even with great soldering technique, I’d imagine that PLA wouldn’t do well.

I’ve always “rolled” short pieces of wire between two flat boards to get them straight. Something like MDF scraps is perfect for this. Very neat work!

At this point (and for the first time in my life!) I have 3 amps, but for pedals I first go with the most "neutral" (in this case meaning "blackface", even though I get that there's a mid scoop there)—which is the Allen Encore that I built from a kit about 5 or 6 years ago. (More our less a...

At least for me, I have greater expectations with more expensive items—pretty much with anything. And no matter where it falls on the “expensive” scale—one persons bargain is another’s stretch, to an extent. That said, I think that we’re closer to having some sort of parity (between true...

If you’ve got them around, I’d try a 12AT7 or 5751 first, and see how that feels/ sounds. The 12AY7 will have about half that amoun5 of gain, and then there’s the 12AU7 that’s only got half of what the AT has—so plenty of room to experiment. And yeah, it’s a bit like algebra…. Sorry. ;~)

That’s absolutely worth a try, it should give you a longer sweep in the lower gain range. I’ve done that with a number of amps over the years. A 5751 is just a hair lower gain than that, and my also have some noise benefits. Oh, wait! Is your V1 normally a 12AT7, or AX7? I was thinking AT7 when...

You’ve come to the right place! Don’t be shy about posting problem builds. Take a clean close up of both sides, with any description of what’s happening (or not happening) and our team of sharp eyed investigators will toss out observations. We’ve all been there, and I for one, still visit...