Another Amp Project - the Dino Deluxe 5E3!

Back in February I finished my first Amp project, a 5F2-A Tweed Princeton. It is an amazing amp and has taken over upstairs / family room duties as it sounds great and the volume isn't loud enough to scare everyone else out of the house. Eventually I'd like to build some higher end amps, like a Hiwatt DR-103 as used by David Gilmour, but those are notoriously difficult builds. I wanted to get a few intermediate builds under my belt before moving on, and I went in search of another project. I ultimately decided on another Tweed style amp - the 5E3 which has been used by many amazing guitarists including Neil Young and Billy Gibbons.

Quick 5F2-A Update!

Late last month I posted my first amplifier build - a Mojotone 5F2-A Tweed Princeton. I've got to say, a month in and I'm absolutely loving that amp. I decided to put it in our upstairs family room and sell the Fender Champion 20 amp I had up there (and to be honest had rarely played because I honestly didn't like the amp that much). With the Tweed upstairs, I've actually been splitting my practice time a lot more between my downstairs office (where most of the guitars and amps live) and the family room (where I only have the one amp, no pedals - gasp! - and one guitar). That being said, there was one detail missing from the amp...

Upping the Amp-erage - Building the Mojotone 5F2-A Tweed Amp Kit

I've been building pedals for several years now, but like any gateway dru... errr... hobby, I soon discovered that there were people who built their own amplifiers as well. Much like with guitar pedals, being able to build your own amp opens up options that may not normally be available because the amplifiers are rare, expensive, or likely both. Even if it is a more common amp style, building one yourself can often be cheaper. It also allows customization and choice of components to create a unique sound. I'd started my first amp project about 1.5 years ago, but sort of got bogged down and intimidated by the scope. I decided it would be advisable to maybe try a slightly more entry-level build to understand the ups and downs of the process a bit better. Mojotone offers a variety of kits with good documentation, wiring diagrams, and schematics. They aren't incredibly cheap, but all of their designs are well-proven. Their easiest kit is the 5F1 Tweed based on the 1950's vintage 5 Watt amplifier. This was a little more basic than I wanted to go as it only has a volume with no tone knob, so I went with the 5F2-A Tweed Princeton, which was first introduced in 1957 (and should pair up really well with my '57 American Vintage 2 Stratocaster). 

A David Gilmour Inspired Strat - Redux

A little over two years ago I put together a parts-caster using the EMG DG20 pickup set. This set of pickups was used by David Gilmour starting in around 1985 at the Live Aid concert. He'd continue to use the active pickups through about 2005 when he would return to the Black Strat and it's traditional single coils. When I first got the EMG DG20 together, it sounded good - by itself. Unfortunately most of the Gilmour sounds and pedals I'm trying to emulate are from the earlier albums, and the active pickups didn't stack well with my amplifiers and effects pedals. So given I have many guitars and this one wasn't being played - I had two options. I could try and sell it (the market for parts-casters as a unit is not good), or I could pull out the active pickups and re-wire it with single coils. After some unsuccessful attempts at the former, I settled on the latter, and I'm very happy I did!

Jazzmaster Wins Warmoth Guitar of the Month!

Earlier this month I entered my Fender Noventa Jazzmaster build into the Warmoth Guitar of the Month competition on the unofficial Warmoth forum. I'd previously entered the StG 90, my Gibson SG tribute, in the March contest where it came in second. This time, and for apparently only the second time ever, there was a tie, with the Noventa Jazzmaster tying for first!

Jazzmaster in Warmoth Guitar of the Month Competition

I made it in just under the wire and got my Noventa-style Jazzmaster entered in the Unofficial Warmoth Forum guitar of the month contest. This month is the "Warmoth or Professionally Finished" category, and since Warmoth finished mine it works. Voting is now open (HERE) and goes through July 19th. A lot of really awesome entries this time around!

Noventa Jazzmaster - Steggo Style - Finaly Done!

I made it by the Five Star Guitars to pick up my freshly set up Noventa Jazzmaster clone. A couple of months ago I'd gone through the full construction article of how I built this beauty, but I also related that I'd unfortunately gone as far as my tools and skillset would allow. I'd purchased a new neck directly from Fender, and the nut wasn't set up yet - it just had pilot grooves for the strings. I lacked the proper file set to finish the work, so I (wisely I think) decided to hand it off to the professionals...

Noventa Jazzmaster Project!

Last year Fender came out with their Noventa series of guitars - a Statocaster, Telecaster, and Jazzmaster. Each was armed with single coil (P-90) pickups. The Telecaster made do with one (bridge), the Stratocaster had two (bridge and neck), while the Jazzmaster had three (bridge, neck, and mid). I really loved the idea of a triple P-90 guitar, and played one of the Jazzmasters at my favorite local guitar store - Five Star Guitars. The feel and sound of the guitar was absolutely amazing, but there was only one major problem. The Noventa series guitars by and large harkened back to the 50s and 60s Fender paint schemes - when the current hip auto body paints were frequently used - for at least one or two of the three available colors. The Telecaster was available in Fiesta Red (too orange for my taste), Vintage Blonde (meh), and a pretty nice 2-Color Sunburst. The Stratocaster was available in Daphne Blue (nope!), Surf Green (double nope!), and a Crimson Red Transparent that was actually absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, all of the Noventa Jazzmaster colors fell firmly into my "nope" category with the Fiesta Red shared with the Telecaster (below) being the least objectionable. There was also the Surf Green shared with the Stratocaster, and something they called "Walnut." I've worked in actual walnut. This color wasn't walnut. It was brown - plain, boring brown.

EMG DG20 Partscaster Build

Fender electric guitars - especially the Stratocaster and Telecaster - by virtue of their construction lend themselves easily to modification. The necks bolt on, and in many cases the pickups are housed within the pickguard itself - so any modifications required fit a new pickup or even a totally new style of pickup don't require the skills of a high-end luthier. This fact quickly led to the birth of the "partscaster" - any Fender guitar that has had parts swapped, or even guitars built from parts from the outset. 

Prior to this build, I owned one Stratocaster - an overall black one with cream pickups - and yes it looks a lot like "The" Black Strat. As I'm (obviously) a David Gilmour fan, I also wanted to have a strat with the EMG active pickup set he started using in the mid-1980s. That being said, my existing strat is a special edition, and I kind of want to keep it stock. I therefore started looking for a way to build my own "partscaster" centered around the EMG DG20 electronics.