First you find your desired amp's schematic and chassis layout.
Then you figure out how to read a schematic diagram.
Then you put together a parts list for the electronics and the hardware needed to build your amp. Here's a sample list for my 5E3 project:
Electronics:
Resistor, 250, 5 watt
Resistor, 820, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 1.5K, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 4.7K, 2 watt
Resistor, 22K, 2 watt
Resistor, 56K, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 68K, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 100K, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 220K, 1/2 watt
Resistor, 1M ohm, 1/2 watt
Capacitor, 500pF, 500 volts
Capacitor, .0047uF, 630 volts
Capacitor, .022uF, 630 volts
Capacitor, .1uF, 630 volts
Capacitor, 25uF, 25 volts
Capacitor, 16uF, 450 volts
2 x 6V6GT Vacuum tube
2 x 12AX7B Vacuum tube
1 x 5Y3GT Rectifier tube
All about Fender amps and tubes...
Mounting and Chassis:
1 x Metal chassis to mount all the parts
2 x "Point to point" fiber tag boards like in the
original Fenders
1 x Brass grounding plate
Hardware:
3 x Tube socket, octal with clamps
2 x Tube socket, 9 pin
3 x Black "chicken head" knobs
1 x Fuseholder with 2 amp fuse
1 x Pilot light, with red jewel
2 x Toggle switches, panel mount, SPST
5 x Phone jacks, shorting, chassis mount
1 x Phone jack, chassis mount
1 x Phone plug, cable mount
3 x Potentiometer, 1 meg audio
1 x Cabinet
Assorted:
Nuts, bolts, spacers
Cloth covered wire
Power cord
Solder
Basic electronic kit building tools
Transformers:
Power:
Primary: 117 volt, 60 Hz
Secondary: 325-0-325 V, 70 mA
Output:
Audio Watts (RMS): 25
Primary Impedance (Ohms): 6,600 CT
Secondary Impedance (Ohms): 8
Speaker:
1 x 12" Weber Signature with Ceramic magnet
(I chose this over the more traditional "Tweed" style speaker because I'm building the amp for my club where players play modern rock, blues, old rock, jazz, punk, funk, and fusion. The Signature 12 ceramic seemed like a good balance of old and new.)
Then you read up as much as you can on building tube amps and try to figure out what all these parts do, and how they work to create a sound. (**Which is something you need to figure out yourself.)
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