DEMO Tube build - BlackVibe!!!

This post contains an audio or video demo

Dan0h

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
UPDATE: check comment #5 for build report. Comment #6 for sample.

I’ve been tinkering with bread boards and tubes for the last month or so and finally landed on a tweaked circuit that I fell in love with. Today I committed and drilled the holes. All the hardware fits like a glove. Only thing left is to add the last few components, solder and wire this bad boy up.

The WIP nature of this post is really that I’m just super excited it’s almost done, and wanted to share with someone. Goal is to have it completed with sound samples this weekend. The power module sits on the bottom so there will just be one set of wires going from top to bottom.

It’s basically a Fender that goes from blackface glass to tweedish drive. Sounded perfect in breadboard version with regular caps and 1/8 watt resistors. Not sure if the Orange drops, Jupiter’s, and 2 watters will make a difference but they sure look cool. And we all know if it looks cool….

60BE6C60-FC22-4F03-BCB0-29C53BC86CCC.jpeg 4203BFEE-A4B7-4008-A1B0-87A0F18E1AF4.jpeg 7B35A2B1-BD21-4447-A9D7-8121BB58ED8C.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Well that was a lot of mental lifting and 1000% worth the effort. It sounded cool in breadboard form with regular components, it sounds amazing with big boy components and my worry about noise/hum/squeal was washed away in a heartbeat because this thing is rock solid no noise at all.

This is basically the preamp section of the Blackvibe amp schematic which is a tweak on the AB763 blackface Fender. The changes I made were internal dip switch for the bright switch, internal trim pot for the bass pot. And additional 1M volume pot right before the output. I kept both Hi and low inputs which does make a difference if you are running pedals into this or going straight from guitar, just like the real amp. My 70’s West Amp is almost this exact circuit as well.

At the last minute I decided to skip the footswitchable signal bypass, this whole thing was a learning process prototype build so I learned as I went and didn’t think about the fact that building from an amp schematic there is no bypass switch so I had already soldered the resistors on the in and out jacks so having a bypass would not bypass those resistors. So the switch is just cosmetic and just turns the Led on and off which is fine by me.

I am super stoked that it fired right up after assembly zero issues and now feel I could knock out a full amp with no hesitation.

It’s way to late to rip thing at volume so I will do my best to grab some audio samples ASAP. But it does the thing and sounds great. Pretty diverse range of sounds from pure glass clean to the tweedish breakup. Pretty cool and it’s got all the highs and clarity my rig was missing (Pre Equilux that is).

I might make another one just to take what I learned and make it nicer including actual bypass… but I’m going to enjoy this for a while first. It was an adventure. And again huge thanks to @Robert for letting me try out one of these HV power boards. I landed on 212v to the plates fyi. I hope he starts to sell them because if not I’ll have to hit up the frog nixie board instead if I do another one of these. Or Sushi box has a nice power board too.

Anyway. Proud papa tonight. My new baby.
9AAF9F94-D376-4BBE-B5CF-3588DD20CCCE.jpeg 69CCA640-DC0B-446C-BF0B-C844907CE803.jpeg 6DC595F2-36DB-4128-A2CB-615C1FE6714D.jpeg 207753FD-8F38-466E-8C73-85D7DB38D1D9.jpeg 1EDF9F07-0CDB-44C4-AC51-419F8CD50821.jpeg
 
Yessssss! You got it done before the year! Dude this is amazing! Looking forward to the demo!

EDIT: Just saw the demo link haha
 
I have to say, after spending some more time with this thing I am super stoked.

I have been trying to replicate the sound of my old West Tube amp for the last two years. It just has a clearity and fullness that I have not been able to find anywhere else. Just recently got to the point that I was 90% happy with my board. By using a Boost, into the Pro-10 Blue side with very low drive and then into the Equilux I was able to get very close to the clearity and spanky-ness I was after.

But now I am realizing I should have just replicated the actual circut in the first place, but when I started this journey I had no way of understanding things to the level of making that happen. Thanks to @vigilante398 and his Sushibox BlackEye and Spaceheater, I was able to dip my toes into the HV world of pedals and get a glimpse into how to actually make it happen. The BlackEye is still on my board and I don't see it leaving anytime soon, Epic.

Thanks to @PedalPCB for gifting me one of the ProtoBoards and the HV board. I started to tinker and breadboard circuits and started to get a much better understanding on how things worked, and now I have this crazy pedal that is pretty much part for part the preamp section of my Old West - less the insane 100watt power section and plus a few tweeks that alow me to overdrive the tube and get breakup.

Thank you to everyone on here that has shared knowledge, it has been two years now and I feel like I have gained so much knowledge in this realm. The cool part is there is so much more to learn.

Just wanted to show some appreciation. Thank you dudes and all the other gurus on here as well. I'm going to spend the rest of the year just jamming on this thing.
 
Do you run it straight into a power amp? Cool stuff! I never heard of west tube amps ima go look into that : )
I run it right into the front of my amp or other pedals just like a normal pedal. If you have an effects loop you could go direct to the power amp. West Amps are no longer around. The founder passed away. Grand Funk used them back in the day.
 
I run it right into the front of my amp or other pedals just like a normal pedal. If you have an effects loop you could go direct to the power amp. West Amps are no longer around. The founder passed away. Grand Funk used them back in the day.
have u tried running it into an effects loop with one of the sushi box pedals 😏
 
Seriously considering taking this guy apart and redoing a few things so I don’t have to build a second one. But I sorta want to do a second one with the blacked out 1456 enclosure and make it nice and tidy inside.

1. Move input resistors off jacks and to the board so I can wire up the bypass. Right now it’s always on.
2. Add the switchable high pass filter I used on my breadboard version but left off.
3. Remove bright cap & switch. Won’t use it. Standard treble gives full range.
4. Add bass pot instead of bass trim. “Turns” out I do want to play with the knob….

Other than these few tweaks this has the best end all clean tone for my tastes. And also gives that fun rock crunch when the gain is maxed. It also sounds cool with a rat or the Mojito slamming into it.
 
Final update on this one. Re-wired it so the bypass FS is in circuit and got the bass trim perfect. This thing rules now. And plays well with the rest of my board.

Have a great Christmas everyone. Happy building to all.
 
It is a fun pretty straight forward build. And sounds insanely good. It’s basically the preamp section of the Blackvibe with just a Master volume pot added at the end before the mixing resistors. Blackvibe
First, absolute AMAZING build! You nailed the blackface tone without breaking the bank or your back carrying those things!
Looks reasonable enough and I can make most of the schematic out but I'm not intermediate yet...still working on that badge! Like, uh....where / how do you do the power section would be my first question?
Thanks for sharing!
 
First, absolute AMAZING build! You nailed the blackface tone without breaking the bank or your back carrying those things!
Looks reasonable enough and I can make most of the schematic out but I'm not intermediate yet...still working on that badge! Like, uh....where / how do you do the power section would be my first question?
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I’m stoked that you can hear what I hear!

The power section is handled by an adjustable HV board which I placed as far away from the audio section as possible (which isn’t very far considering it’s an enclosure, but even that amount of separation helps avoid potential oscillation). I’m using one of PPBC’s HV boards which allows you to dial in the DC voltage from between 100v to about 250v. That ability to adjust the DC lets you bias the tube to sound just right. Robert isn’t currently selling those boards but it’s basically a version of a nixie power supply which you can purchase elsewhere or vero yourself (lots of schematics floating around the net) you just have to be very careful as Hv is not something to play with and can cause harm if you get zapped. Sushi box does sell a HV board, But again you have to be very careful working with tubes and HV. I recommend giving sushibox’s Space heater and Black eye a try. I’ve built both and they are pretty straight forward builds and both sound great. Those are the boards that opened my mind up to this world of tubes in boxes. And it doesn’t hurt that I have done a small amount of work on my old 100W tube amp which runs over 500V.

I’m currently about half way through my second build, this time for a Marshall JCM800. Fingers crossed it sounds as good as the Blackvibe does.

Good luck, and if you are not comfortable messing with HV you can also get pretty close to that same fat spanky clean tone using a boost, pro-10 blue, and a Equilux. At least on my rig those three together get me in the same ballpark of tone. But there is something magical about having a tube do that work.
 
Back
Top