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maybe a single 10"The bands you mention didn't get where they got with a one-Ten cab. That wasn't enough when the WHO were starting out. Big sound needs big air-slappers.
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fear of bringing down the wrath of Marshall?Marshall started by building pretty-near copies of Fenders, with UK parts, avoiding UK import taxes on US gear. While there are differences, and Marshall has produced many different things, most of their stuff does not fall that far from Fender's tree.
And Fender: most of a Fender is descended from W.E. papers filtered through RCA and GE tube manuals. The classic 12AX7 100K 1.5K stage found all through Fenders and Marshalls and 95% of all tube guitar amps is taken directly from a GE datasheet.
Gibson was in the racket even sooner, and always followed their own course, but the differences are a matter of slant, not topology.
I'd thought the Fender Long-Tail was novel in its details, but recently found a Premier using the same plan built when Leo was still fixing radios, long before his LTP amps appeared.
Fender had several Tremolo patents, most never commercialized, all the classics long-expired.
The first couple SUNNs -were- DynaKits repackaged in nauga-skin.
Ampeg also had their own designs, but the best Ampeg amp I know, the "good" channel -is- the same GE values that Fender used.
Everybody used everybody else's ideas. They had to: there isn't anything really new in audio.
You will not get in trouble making one copy of a commercial tube amp's schematic, even using the same parts layout. Many boutique builders sell obvious copies of classic amps.
You may not go so far that it would confuse customers. "Confusion" is something lawyers and judges can argue endlessly.... just don't go there. You build a
Josh amp, with "Josh" in different script than Fender or Marshall or Gibson use, dressed-up your way and not based on someone else's trade-dress.
There IS a thin line here. Especially since many 1950s classics are "reappearing" as "re-issues" from the same-name company. An uncle-nephew project is unlikely to draw attention.
Look at
http://www.tedweber.com/ go to Amp Kits, and you probably want "Classic 60's British". You will see the difference head cab combo, you will get a general idea of cost and complexiy and size. And, if you care, you see how he can hint at classic Brands/Models without stepping on toes. It may even be worth getting a Weber kit as a starter. Weber's kits tend to be very cost-competitive, meaning sometimes the parts are a buck cheaper than the parts you would prefer to use. But his chassis and irons are fine, and the little stuff is always fodder for tinkering and upgrading.
December 27, 2004, 12:28:23 PM