Songcrafters.org

General Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Wartime Novelty on April 05, 2011, 03:15:20 PM

Title: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 05, 2011, 03:15:20 PM
hey guys, it has been quite some time since i have really had time to post on any forums as i've been very busy with a few things, mainly work and band stuff.

however i have now started building a clone of a Soldano Super lead Overdrive clone.

Thought some people may have interest in this so i'd post it up

www.sloclone.tk
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Flash Harry on April 06, 2011, 03:12:09 AM
Looks like a very nice kit.

I used to make my own stuff, but it always looked like I'd made my own stuff, this looks professional and I wouldn't be embarrassed to use this in mixed company.

It will be good to know how it sounds when you have completed it.

Good post.
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 10, 2011, 02:06:10 AM
Hey Harry, it isnt really a kit as such and takes a fair bit of hopping around mouser,farnell, bluebell audio etc to get all the components.

Rob @ C3 amps has actually put together an extremely high quality kit though but it comes to about £1100 which is mental for a DIY project.

I have managed to source everything myself so far other than the chassis which i got from c3
(just got the transformers left now)

And its only come to £240 so far + £294 for the PT,OT & choke and it will be £534 for a almost 1:1 replica of the real SLO (but 50 watt) without spending £3000 on it.

Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Ferryman_1957 on April 10, 2011, 10:57:00 AM
Impressive work. The guitarist in my band at University used to build his own amps and effects pedals, I'm always blown away by people that have the tal;ent to do this. Please post some stuff when it's done so we can hear it!

Cheers,

Nigel
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 10, 2011, 12:09:26 PM
The easiest way to get into this kind of stuff are the BYOC kits.

They are so easy it should be criminal not to do it with the quality of the outcome and the price.

They have very clear step by step instructions with them and its virtually impossible to go wrong.

Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Geir on April 16, 2011, 12:38:13 PM
hmmmm dead link .... moved?
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 12:54:03 PM
ahh yes try

www.infocus.ho8.com/sloclone

the .tk link will be back up shortly
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Geir on April 16, 2011, 01:02:47 PM
Much better ... except the pictures won't show :( maybe some firewall thingy on my computer ???
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 01:04:36 PM
hmm theyre all working fine at this end.

its pretty much useless without the pictures though i can try direct linking some if you want
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: 64Guitars on April 16, 2011, 01:43:01 PM
Quote from: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 01:04:36 PMhmm theyre all working fine at this end.

its pretty much useless without the pictures though i can try direct linking some if you want

Just replace "http://www.blog.infocus.ho8.com" in each picture's URL with "http://www.infocus.ho8.com/sloclone".

Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 01:47:00 PM
Quote from: 64Guitars on April 16, 2011, 01:43:01 PM
Quote from: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 01:04:36 PMhmm theyre all working fine at this end.

its pretty much useless without the pictures though i can try direct linking some if you want

Just replace "http://www.blog.infocus.ho8.com" in each picture's URL with "http://www.infocus.ho8.com/sloclone".



aye it was an error that happened during the wordpress update earlier today.

i've fixed everything now hopefully
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Geir on April 16, 2011, 01:57:51 PM
yes ! I can see them now !

WOW look really professional. Looking forward to hear the result !!

Crank it up to 11 when it's done and give us a taste of the beast !
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on April 16, 2011, 03:49:50 PM
I definitely shall do.

hoepfully it shouldn't be too long now i got an email with my tracking number for the transformers & choke. So say a week or so at best to get from chicago.

The 8 week wait time on the transformer build has been a killer. Damn high end equipment lead times.
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 04, 2011, 01:28:41 PM
Its been absolutely ages since ive been on here but i've got some finished pictures.

(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/227043_10150182136186560_515751559_7646568_749744_n.jpg)

(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/248770_10150199104701560_515751559_7810031_5090936_n.jpg)

Im going to hopefully go over it all and rewire it this weekend and tidy it up.

i had one minor problem with the build that affected the channel switching.

I placed a 47k resistor where a 47R one should be and vice versa.

Not bad for what is apparently one of the most complex amps to build and i got it right first time minus the above issue.

Also this thing is super quiet its great.

I have a few clips but they arent the best so i will also do some decent ones this weekend too.

I hope all is well and now that work isn't so damn hectic i can get on with my second build.

Which will be the same but with some different capacitors in the power section with a really low ESR rating.

Also i am doing the 100w version this time with a black chassis & white headshell with black corners and the black grill still
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Geir on August 05, 2011, 08:02:26 AM
That's awesome WN !!! Your an electric hero !!!

Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 05, 2011, 08:42:15 AM
Cheers Geir
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Flash Harry on August 05, 2011, 09:05:21 AM
How sweet is that? Very tidy indeed. It's a shame you can't run it uncovered, I know from bitter experience what happens to gear on the road, regardless of how much care you take.

And now for the 100W!  Man you're ears will be ringing!
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 05, 2011, 10:27:13 AM
I've actually decided against the 100w as i dont need the extra headroom as this already has a ton and i cant justify an extra £100 on the transformers.

I shall post a full build log when i start the next one and also my modded jcm800 that im doing p2p
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: guitarron on August 05, 2011, 01:56:18 PM
absolutely stunning work-i bet she sounds as good as she looks-
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 05, 2011, 02:58:11 PM
Thanks guys ill snap some internal shots tomorrow whilst i have it open.

Gonna do some experiementing with elevating the heaters and DC heaters.

There is a guy on another forum i visit who has done a very similar circuit using both of the above methods and has got the amp to be almostsilent on the OD channel with the MV & gain up full.

How i have it not it is already very minimal but i just cant help but experiment when its just a few resistors and a capacitor and is quickly and easily reversed
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 20, 2011, 12:11:02 PM
Hey guys i finally got around to isolating the cab properly and doing a quick recording.

http://soundcloud.com/wartime-novelty/test-1

This is the lead channel with the gain around 3/11

at just over talking volumes with JJ E34L in the power amp and Jan Phillips 5751 in v1 and JJ ecc83s in v2-5
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Flash Harry on August 20, 2011, 03:47:23 PM
Sweet holding Martha Farquhar.

That sounds fantastic. 

I have all the fender schematics somewhere, really simple stuff, I may even have the bass amp schematics, I'll have to have a look.
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 20, 2011, 04:11:07 PM
Quote from: Flash Harry on August 20, 2011, 03:47:23 PMSweet holding Martha Farquhar.

That sounds fantastic.  


Quote from: Flash HarryI have all the fender schematics somewhere, really simple stuff, I may even have the bass amp schematics, I'll have to have a look.

are you getting the DIY bug Harry?

Be careful with some of the schematics out there some of them are intentionally incorrect to stop cloning.

I think the fender ones are generally ok though.

Weber has some great layouts/schematics that are fairly accurate and get the vibe of the amp down very well.

They also do some extremely well priced kits
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Kevin Mammoth on August 21, 2011, 07:08:30 AM
wow - that sounds sooooooo good!!!
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 21, 2011, 08:24:35 AM
Quote from: Kevin Mammoth on August 21, 2011, 07:08:30 AMwow - that sounds sooooooo good!!!

thanks man
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: T.C. Elliott on August 21, 2011, 12:13:13 PM
Yeah, wanted to let you know that sounded wicked good. I'm not sure what I was expecting but that was killer.
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 21, 2011, 12:37:27 PM
Thanks hopefully soon i will have the motivation to record something and mix it properly.

I have about 5 new songs that i've wrote but i just can't get the motivation or time to sit down and do a decent recording.

Also i will be fully documenting the next build if anyone would be interested in that sort of thing?
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: T.C. Elliott on August 21, 2011, 02:08:16 PM
I was interested at one time and began doing some research, but I don't have the knowledge or patience to build my own. I looked at the Weber kits, but I'd have to have someone a lot more knowledgeable than me help me select the right build and I'd need a kit with step by step instructions. The Webers look like they are less beginner friendly.

And not to fool myself, it would have to be pretty inexpensive and in the middle of winter before I'd actually tackle a project like that.
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: Wartime Novelty on August 21, 2011, 02:10:35 PM
Quote from: T.C. Elliott on August 21, 2011, 02:08:16 PMI was interested at one time and began doing some research, but I don't have the knowledge or patience to build my own. I looked at the Weber kits, but I'd have to have someone a lot more knowledgeable than me help me select the right build and I'd need a kit with step by step instructions. The Webers look like they are less beginner friendly.

And not to fool myself, it would have to be pretty inexpensive and in the middle of winter before I'd actually tackle a project like that.

What kind of amp are you looking for?

Some of the weber kits are pretty beginner friendly if you get the basics down.

The reason i will be documenting this is as a favour to Rob @ C3amps as he helped me a lot.

So i am going to take a lot of photos and create an online build guide bit by bit like the BYOC kits have
Title: Re: Soldano SLO clone Build in progress
Post by: T.C. Elliott on August 21, 2011, 08:30:48 PM
That's super cool. Helping out like that is awesome.

I'd love an old bassman amp clone with reverb. Or a twin maybe? I've not got the basics down, though. It's been at least 5 years since I did my reading and I've not done much with electronics at all.

Thanks much, though. I really do want to hear another recording of your amp.