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Post subject: PTM's 5E3 Deluxe build (warning: image heavy)
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:01 am
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Ok, I’ll try posting this again. With respect to Snowy, he's already well documented the build process so I won't go through a blow-by-blow. Instead, I'll talk about my experience building it, and of course photos!

On Friday, I picked up my Mission Amps 5E3 D’luxe kit. Everything was excellently packed and arrived safe. I just have to say that the quality of cabinets that Mission uses for their kits are amazing. The attention to detail – the tweed pattern even matches going from the cabinet to the rear panels.

I’ll start by saying that this kit is not a “paint by numbers” sort of assembly. The Mission kit contains all the parts you’ll need in labelled envelopes. You have a diagram, a schematic, and some printed photos. Bruce does email you a zip file containing about 100 photos of various points of the assembly, but there is no step-by-step manual. For example, I’ve looked at the assembly guide for the Tube Depot’s kit and there is nothing near as comprehensive as that here. However, Bruce is amazing with his support – he answers emails very quickly and is very encouraging and offers several tips and detailed advice. This is a great kit, from a great company, with great support, but if you’re not someone who can figure things out for themselves or enjoys the challenge of a puzzle, then this is not the kit for you.

The hardest part was actually getting started. I sat there looking at this pile of parts with a diagram in front of me and it was a bit overwhelming at first. Even the photos looked like gobbledygook because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. I started with where the kit recommends and after I got going I gained momentum and confidence along the way. Wherever I got stuck or wasn’t sure, I’d snap a photo and email it to Bruce. In some cases, I’d actually even figured it out by the time he emailed me back. So really, once I got immersed in the build, it became easier to interpret the photos from the kit.

I started things on Friday and finished up late Saturday evening. Actually, I decided to wait until Sunday morning to do a first power up test because it was late and I was tired and I figured probably best to wait and go over everything once more with a fresh pair of eyes. Good thing I did too! When I sat down and started tracing out all the connections I discovered I’d accidentally wired the lead from the board to pin 1 of the power tubes instead of pin 8.

Once that was corrected and I was satisfied, I turned the power switch on and then plugged it in with no tubes installed. Pilot light and no smoke or explosions, so unplugged it and then inserted all the tubes and then powered it up again. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, so I plugged in a cable and turned up the volume just to check that there was sound. Again, all good!

It sounds great! The speaker is a bit tight sounding and the compression at higher volume is a bit much, but that’s to be expected of any brand new speaker. I figure it will get nicer as it breaks in. I’m in awe of how early this amp breaks up. You get it above 2 and it’s already starting to overdrive. The kit did ship with a 12AY7 for V1, but I swapped in a 12AX7 because I want that lower breakup threshold. I really find the Bright channel is sweeter sounding than the Normal channel. Another thing is that you get about all the volume you’re going to out of the amp by about 2 on the dial. After that, it just gets dirtier the further you turn up.

All in all, an enjoyable project! I know there’s those that debate the cost of a kit versus buying a used clone, but really, you buy a kit for the challenge and experience of putting it together yourself, not to save a buck on assembly. If your only interest is the end product (the amp), then by all means buy one used (or new). I do recommend the Mission kit and I’d definitely buy from them again if they offered another kit that I was interested in building.

Now, the photos!

*edit* I think I discovered why all my previous attempts to post this "errored out". If I try and post more than 3 images at a time I get an error page when I hit "submit". So, I'll just keep posting photos 3 at a time.

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Last edited by Powdered Toast Man on Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:56 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:04 am
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How I sorted my resistors
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Adding resistors to the 6V6 sockets:
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:06 am
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Beginning to populate the chassis:
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Control plate setup:
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Hmm, where to begin?
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:09 am
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Just roughly laid out (no solder yet - and yes, I know I was missing 2 resistors - added after the photo)
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Power Transformer installed and starting to wire it up:
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Rectifier and power tube sockets mostly wired:
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:12 am
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Close up detail:
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Back of the board with the leads in place:
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:14 am
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Top with the control plate wired up
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Folded and ready to go into the chassis
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Getting more crowded now!
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:16 am
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Preamp tube sockets all wired:
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Speaker jacks. Left is 8 ohm, right is 4 ohm.
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Input jacks:
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:18 am
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Control pots:
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Fuse, power switch, and pilot light assembly
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:20 am
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Board close up:
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Speaker with back panels removed.
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:22 am
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The completed chassis:
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Mounted and ready with the tubes installed
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Final shot of the power tube sockets
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:23 am
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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E5 Deluxe build
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:24 am
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DONE!

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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E3 Deluxe build (warning: image heavy)
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:31 am
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Lovely job PTM congrats on building that baby.

Having a few probs with the one i built a couple of months back (in a different thread )after some pedal troubles, otherwise im happy with mine from tubedepot.

. . . Al


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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E3 Deluxe build (warning: image heavy)
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:08 am
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Al 87 wrote:
Lovely job PTM congrats on building that baby.


+1000!

That thing just oozes cool!

8) 8) 8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: PTM's 5E3 Deluxe build (warning: image heavy)
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:50 pm
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very, very nice!

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