Official Utilitarian Gear Thread (NON-Pimped DIY Thread)

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

northsiderap

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
223
Location
Michigan
I'll start it off with my graceful early DIY projects. Well, most of 'em are a little while back now.

1) Soon-to-be non-invasive interface for #4. This is an old hinged toolbox. Oops, ran out of switches and 1/4" jacks again :?
2) Two Melcor AML-27 inside of an old filing cabinet drawer with a goodwill +/-12V PSU.
3) Two Dukane preamps utilizing a PSU and case from an old sync generator. The faceplate was cut from a throwaway VCR. From what I understand these preamps are for medical communications. Hmm. That's why they sound so sterile.
4) See my other thread for this one :green: An old Denon head amp.
5) Eight channels of Fairchild 692 discrete inside of a 386 computer case. Yup. Skimped on switches too, only 4 phantom switches for 8 channels. This was actually my first rack job, and you can probably tell.

Not very pimped, but total cost for all was well under $350 finished.

Beat that for NON-PIMPED!

GhettoRack.jpg


And here are my DIY API 312 preamps in a similar fashion... Leaving room for a summing bus - as always. The PSU is an old l +/-15V at @3Amp from re-bay. The top plate was again cut from an old VHS deck.

APIDIY4.jpg
 
Here is my 'NLA-001a' prototype single pattern condenser mic, somewhat similar in topology to the Sony C-800G.

The tube is made from a vintage fire hydrant, some perforated metal from a vintage electric heater, and $4.00 in brass stock. The 'guts' are made from (again) a throwaway VCR and a castaway Wollensack tube reel-2-reel. Oh yeah, and a perfboard from Rat Shack. It's big! The electros are for power filtering only! Well... there's that K cap...

NLA001b.jpg

NLA001d.jpg


The PSU is the [well sort of] Wollensak PSU housed in some kind of powder-coated metal thingamabob box. This one kind of scares me. Anyone know where I can get affordable multi-conductor cables with connectors in the U.S. for these kinds of projects? I'm not too fond of multi-cable cables :roll:

NLA001c.jpg
 
Here are exhibits (1) and (b) :wink:

Exhibit (1) is my prototype ribbon mic. Yes, more junkyard stuff. Transformer, neodymiums, and ribbon off of Re-Bay for a grand total of: $24. I just have to get it to sound better. This one was only prototype B, prototype C should be a bit more refined.

GTRAmp1.jpg


Exhibit (b) is a solid state amp I rescued and built a box for! Unfortunately I blew my 65 watt speaker within five minutes and am seeking a 100w replacement. :cry: Oh.. But you should see the noisemaker I made with the blown 65 watt and an old filing cabinet :twisted:

GTRAmp2.jpg
 
[quote author="northsiderap"]Now I'm wondering what the 'Hash Out Crack' switch does.[/quote]

Distortion modes. :razz: Hash is soft germanium distortion and crack is harsh silicon distortion. Off is just.. off!
 
Beat that for NON-PIMPED!

My early stuff could not even be considered utilitarian, certainly dangerous though. My first tube amp from all those years ago.

amp1.jpg


It cost me nothing to make, built from a Heathkit scope that a friend gave me, an Eico waveform gen that was given to me and the output transformer from an airline amp. The aluminum was found somewhere and it was far to thin, the top sagged and when you played loud, low notes it bounced. The layout lines never got removed. There were no sides, or bottom. It only had one knob since the other knob was still stuck on the Eico, but that did not matter since I never made a tone control for it, could not leave a hole in it. It is a 6V6 SE amp, with a 6sn7 driving a 12ax7 for the preamp in this incarnation, had a 6SJ7 in place of the 6SN7 for awhile, and just the 6SJ7 for abit as well. The tiny output transformer is hidding behind the 6V6. I still have both the chassis and output transformer if anyone is interested.

adam
 
Great subject :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

If guitar amps are allowed here:

Excuse the crappy photo.
A old baking pan painted silver (high temperature zinc spray) with open bottom, OT (inside) and PT from a radio, PCB mount can caps soldered to the chassis :shock:,
AC30 top boost channel with the first stage replaced by a EF86 driving a EL84, resulting in way too much gain..
 
This one is made from a PSU and power amp section of a home stereo. I cut out a discrete tape-head driver from an old 8-track player and put it in the box after gutting out the radio parts. I added a bypass switch for channel select and bridged the output.

The faceplate is wooden.

@30 watts with very heavy transistor clipping.. Sounded like Black Sabbath.

BlackBox342.jpg
 
I consider myself a utilitarian as well...Who has time for knobs?
here's the amp I play now:
http://mhumhirecords.org/Spitfire.htm
 
Ha! That thing Jaakko posted also has a switch labeled "LESS/MORE"!

Love it! :thumb:

Peace,
Al.
 
[quote author="northsiderap"]The tube is made from a vintage fire hydrant, some perforated metal from a vintage electric heater, and $4.00 in brass stock. The 'guts' are made from (again) a throwaway VCR and a castaway Wollensack tube reel-2-reel. Oh yeah, and a perfboard from Rat Shack. It's big! The electros are for power filtering only! Well... there's that K cap...[/quote]

There can be only one. Northside rap is indeed.... the Big Mojo Daddy of Unpimp.

fire hydrants, electric heaters and VCRs... the GENIUS!

Kiira
 
Well I sold them! These are ok I guess. Nothing special, unless you don't have any eqs. Fixed top and bottom and two selectable mids. Nice to add mids to vocals or guitars. Pretty transparent, which is neither good or bad. If you have colored preamps, these might do the trick.

I have some melcor's with less functionality that get used a lot more. They just sound bigger, phatter, warmers ect. I have own quite a lot of McCurdy gear, and always sell it. Same with Ward Beck. I want to love it, but just don't.

The exception to the rule (I hope) is a early WardBeck EQ I am waiting on. It is discrete transitor based. This one should be interestng. But the Ward Beck 462B I just racked are not real insperational. They can do the precision thing nice with no color. But I like color.

Joe
 
Here's my ghetto-style V272 above an A-Designs preamp.
dualV272.jpg


Although the A-Designs pre was considerably more expensive, I love my ugly kid just as much. :roll:
 
Back
Top