DIY Guitar Amp - Amazon Parts

[@chrissiemilnarskii]

Super cool build. Truthfully, this sort of stuff has always intimidated me, but I've always wanted to learn, and you made it really easy to follow along!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Great, this project is a good starting point for DIY amps!

[@restlessascension3260]

​@FrankOlsonTwins is it the speakers of the chip configuration that doesn't allow for a crispier sound . I've seen the spark go and cannot for the life of me figure out how that small speaker is so damn clear

[@caseyholford]

Very nice build. Would using a slightly larger speaker significantly change the sound?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks! Yep, in this case a 3" or even 4" speaker can dramatically improve the sound. You can drive up to a 4x12 half stack if you add a little output jack to the speaker...it would be pretty loud too!

[@lawrencealexander1578]

Great design. Thanks for sharing.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@clicks59]

Another awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@ServingMyJesus]

That is great. Can you please say what I would need to build a bass version, please?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks! I'll check into it!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Ok, so I plugged in my bass guitar and it seems like the only requirement would be a bigger speaker. You could wire up a an output jack in stead of a speaker to try out different cabinets. Good luck!

[@synastershred2269]

I would like to add a 1/4" jack where the current jack is ( So I can position it where I want to inside the amp) so would I just remove the jack that comes on the circuit board? and solder the 1/4" jack into the circuit board? If so...which pins should I solder into? I believe there are 4 pins on the one that comes on the circuit board, just trying to figure out where to solder the 1/4" jack once the other one is removed, hope that makes sense, really interested in learning electronics, great videos by the way.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hello! Unfortunately a 1/4" jack is too big to fit on the board, which is why I used the 1/8" adapter for the video. If you decide to take the mini jack off the board and solder your wires directly to the board(which you can see at 3m19s in the video), you'll find that the center pin of the jack was ground, and the corner pin was "+" for input. The multi colored wires(3m19s) are going to "+" and the shield is going to "ground." You'll see it says "IN" on the board next to the "+" hookup. I suppose you could make long extender pins for your 1/4" jack and insert those into the board sockets when you remove the mini jack. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@shilohwoodcrafts2955]

Got it!!! Thank you, I somehow missed that at the end of the video, appreciate the help!

[@loicflb]

To be sure, I have to buy a mono jack and cut one side to have a black and red wire to connect to the female jack 6.35mm ?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, mono plug (mini) to trs jack 1/4" jack

[@loicflb]

Thanks a lot💪🏻 I think you should have a look at the 6j1 preamp board, I've tried a project with it but didn't succed as I'm a beginner.. with your videos I'm sure I'll make it!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for the tip! I've made tube preamps in the past. They look easy but the power supplies are the hard part. And the enclosures... they are a LOT of work! Good luck!

[@gianni777m]

Would connecting the ring to battery negative to act as a switch mean that it wouldn't power on with when a trs cable is plugged in? Thanks for the cool video

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, correct!

[@gianni777m]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thanks for the reply!

[@noravitz]

Cool video - I’ve been wanting to build a mini amp powered by a usb battery pack. Any tips on making something like this running off 5v?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks! This unit works fine down to 5v. It can also run as high as 24v. No need to change anything but I do like to short the lm386 pins 1 and 8(gain pins) on the board. It will kick up the gain by about 5 times. If there's a cap there(probably is) you can just short the pins together or remove the cap and insert a little jumper. Good luck! Let me know how yours turns out!

[@gianni777m]

I made one and im really happy with it thanks. If I want to increase the gain can I just short pins 1 and 8? The data sheet says that putting a 10uF capacitor between them gives a max gain of 200. Would you happen to know what just shorting them would do? Thanks again

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Cool, glad that you got one going! Yes, shorting those gain pins will get you to 200 also. Here's a vid I made a while back, just shorting pins 1 and 8- no cap. You can hear what it sounds like: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3Wwk5KAjq6kfrM I think simply shorting the pins could lead to oscillation, but I've never experienced that. Sometimes using a gain pot without a cap can add a little static/noise as you adjust the gain. To me, removing the cap and shorting the pins has a bit more "bite" so to speak. It could be that gain is the same with or without the cap, but it just sounds different enough to notice. They're cheap enough that you could buy a second one to experiment with if you don't want to dismantle your working one.

[@gianni777m]

@@FrankOlsonTwins awesome, thanks a bunch!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

@@gianni777m you bet!

[@peterdoylemusic]

I really enjoyed your video, I will have a go at making one

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Great! Good luck with the build!

[@rossbuchman2570]

Did you short the gain pins on this one like your short video. I got it to work, but stopped working once I shorted those pins.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I've done it both ways with this kit. As it comes, there's a capacitor between pins one and 8. You can remove the cap for low gain or remove it and short the pins for full gain. If you leave the cap, it'll be about 75% gain, which is pretty good, too.

[@randomuselessguy3009]

could i put any speaker in, and how could i do multiple speakers

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes multiple.speakers are fine, wire them in series or parallel

[@randomuselessguy3009]

@@FrankOlsonTwins what is the requirement for watts or ohms the speaker has to be?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

With this particular amp, there really is no "requirement." You can use any speaker. If i was going to buy one, i would get a 3" or 4" speaker, 4 or 8 ohms, about 5 watts. I'd look for an old speaker out of a clock radio or something. But this amp will drive any speaker you can plug it into with no problems- even 4x12" guitar cabinets. So get the speaker that you think will work best for you, either large or small. Good luck!

[@jeffgossett9701]

hi, I'd love to build this but not being familiar with the trs mono jack with shunt I found it hard to follow your video wiring. It appears you bridge two positives with a jumper wire but that is not in the diagram. A more explicit diagram would be much appreciated!🙂

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey, the diagram is correct, but so is the video! That red wire is coming out of the cable jacket, it is not jumpered to the other lug. Look closely before and after the red soldering scene, you can make out that the red wire is only soldered to one place.

[@jeffgossett9701]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Great thanks for the clearing that up! Since the amp input is the aux cord, could I assume that if I've wired two speakers, a left and a right that this will also work. Also, we are using a similar class d amp with a TPA3116D2 chip 5-27v so hoping this will also work. building speakers with students but have one student that loves electric guitars so picked up one of the mono trs output jacks so they could use this as a guitar amp. great idea using the jack as an on off switch!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Sure, you can wire as many speakers as you want, but you must do so either in series or parallel since this is a mono amp. There will be no left or right, just mono through all speakers. The hookup will be more or less the same with any chip amp board- Input to board, output from board and power supply.

[@onionsalled5376]

I just built one of these today! I plan on making the enclosure tomorrow. Two questions if you don’t mind. What wood/material are you using for your enclosure? I tried looking for something similar and bendable but I couldn’t and opted for a different design. Where would you recommend someone wanting to learn about this stuff do next after this project ? I’m a complete newbie and didn’t know anything about electricity or soldering before this video. I would love to learn how to make some pedals and regular amps someday but I’m sure there are some steps I should be taking before then

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Cool! Did the amp work? The wood i used is from the Cricut brand. It's actually 2 plies with a layer of strong plastic in between. That's what makes it bend so well. Regarding amp making, i think pedals are a great way to get deeper into the hobby. Pedals are often 9v and you'll learn a lot by making them, including reading a schematic and soldering. Also,

[@onionsalled5376]

@ yes it worked! I am having this issue where the amp only sends receives sound when the 3.5 jack is pulled out slightly. Also the listing on Amazon was wrong and said mono jacks when they were actually stereo jacks so I messed up a few times trying to get it started, but I have sound now and am so happy with it. Thanks for the suggestions!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Also, check out "runoff groove" for lots of small amp builds that can match whatever level you're currently at. Stick with the battery powered stuff until you have a solid grasp of how electricity works and how to safely handle and wire-up projects. Find a person to talk face to face with about electricity, they will help you get familiar with safe handling. Also, watch lots of videos, and try to read simple schematics of amps/pedals you might want to build. You learn a lot just by looking at what parts are used where, and trying to understand what all the parts do. There a lot to learn, but pedals and preamps are very satisfying to build!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, it sounds as if the the stereo plug is too long for the mono jack, so pulling it out slightly would be the right thing to do. And it seems like you figured out the wirinng to the plug, since it's too long, it will contact the grind at a different point. Once you get the"+" and "-" figured out, it's not really an issue. I'm glad it worked!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Also, you can try lots of different speakers, better speakers will sound better overall!

[@livecanal4754]

Wow! Just wow! The best video I have seen. Is it possible to short the Pam8403 board as well ?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I just checked the data sheet. I'm not sure. I don't think it works the same way as this chip, I didn't see any gain pins. It might already be set to 100% output.

[@livecanal4754]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you. Anyway, I will follow your steps.

[@meloman1551]

what are the requirements of the speaker because i want to try different speakers. The one you recommend is too expensive in my country

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Absolutely any speaker will work with this amp. Pick your favorite!

[@meloman1551]

@@FrankOlsonTwins any portable.speaker recommended for bass?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

@@meloman1551 If you're using a very small amp like this, try to find a paper cone speaker with no foam surround. If you're using a bigger amp, I'd try to find one that's 6 inches wide or bigger.

[@yoyofargo]

Shove an OrangePi in there and run NeuralAmpModeler on it and you have a modeling amp.

[@brunogino1916]

We think of Pignose, I think it sounds good too; However, you had to have some basics in electronics, I don't think it's sold in kits like guitars.