I think we all can relate to this...

Wife: Honey? What's Russian Soviet Military spec D9L and why is it so expensve?
Husband: Uh....weed killer, the good stuff.
You reminded me of an episode of Married With Children where Al has a massive AC unit (maybe it was a heater?) that was some old soviet machine that he was super proud of (at least I think it's MWC). I went to try to find an image of it and instead discovered that there is a show in Russia called Happy Together that is a Russian MWC remake and my mind was blown and I couldn't go any further.

happy.jpeg
 
guitar pedals - quickmeme
 
Would you believe there are some of us here who started building pedals hoping to SAVE money?

Little did we know..
*thinks to self*

I could spend $200 and buy ONE pedal, or I can spend $200 and build 3-4 pedals!

If I built an amp I would probably wanna do a brown face/blond like an Allen amp. But it's not in the finances for a coin drop like that...unless Allen just sends me one lol
You may not want to hear this, but you can grab a BOM for just about any amp and can use it to purchase parts little by little as your budget allows. That's how I build my amps! Buy what I can, when I can..
 
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I now feel guilty when I buy a pedal... “I could’ve built this, damn it!” :)
Well, you can still build one too!

Since I started building in 2017 I've bought a couple tuners and an EHX Super Ego.
There aren't PCB's for those...YET
 
You reminded me of an episode of Married With Children where Al has a massive AC unit (maybe it was a heater?) that was some old soviet machine that he was super proud of (at least I think it's MWC). I went to try to find an image of it and instead discovered that there is a show in Russia called Happy Together that is a Russian MWC remake and my mind was blown and I couldn't go any further.

View attachment 12108
Great, now all I want is to watch an episode of this show.
 
I really want to build an amp too but that feels like a slippery slope to me having absolutely no money at all 😂
I've got no money, but...

I'm building my amp on a shoe-string budget. (2nd amp build, but first that's mine)

Source parts over time, as and when you can afford to buy the next bit... If you've got more time than money, then you can better wait/hunt for deals. Obsess over details so when a deal does come up you know if it's the right bit for your build — it's not a deal if you thought it was the right part but it wasn't.



You can do it, it just takes longer.
 
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I've got no money, but...

I'm building my amp on a shoe-string budget. (2nd amp build, but first that's mine)

Source parts over time, as and when you can afford to buy the next bit... If you've got more time than money, then you can better wait/hunt for deals. Obsess over details so when a deal does come up you know if it's the right bit for your build — it's not a deal if you thought it was the right part but it wasn't.



You can do it, it just takes longer.
Now you have me browsing through mojotones website. My wife will be so pleased.
 
browsing through mojotones website.
Bear in mind, they may be backordered indefinitely was the word used, on transformers. I sourced the small parts and chassis there (18wTMB) , but got MM transformers. They (Mojotone) are located just a few hours from me.
 
75% or more of the $$$ is in glass and iron (I'm not including the cabinet). If you find a used amp to cannibalize, that can save some bux. Cost and weight are roughly proportional to power, so it helps to set realistic goals.

If you want 100W or more, Bruce Rozenblit of Transcendent Audio published a design for a low-cost high-fidelity 150W tube power amp in his (OOP) book Audio Reality. It could easily be adapted for guitar or bass amp use. It uses Hammond transformers.
 
Yeah, I meant to mention TUBES is where the ¢₳$₶ outlay is; as CDB pointed out it's that AND the transformers, money-pits in disguise...

I'll have to check out the Rozenblitzkrieg 150w, thanks for that info CDB! I like Hammonds.
That modded out 6G16 thewintersoldier mentioned sounds like a way cool idea, beyond my skillset and bank-account for the moment.
HamishR's mentioned some cool ideas in other threads I'd like to try, too.s

I got a deal on a couple Hammonds for Champ/Princeton builds... Probably take me a while to build those, as my pocketbook will need a break after finishing the 5E3.

Wait for the deals JamieJ, wait for the deals like a Great Northern Pike hiding in the weeds waiting for the frog-dealio to swim by...
 
I put Merren Audio transformers in my 50W Plexi and I think it cost more than everything else put together. Price of quality, amp sounds amazing and will blow my head off when I crank it up.
 
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