Guytronix Amp Kits [Archive] - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums

Phil O'Keefe

05-04-2006, 02:23 PM

Well, this forum didn't exist when I started the "Pro Reviews" of the Guytronix amp kits, but the kits are a nice DIY project, and my reviews may be of interest to some of the forum folks over here, so here's a link if anyone's interested:

Guytronix Gilmore Jr and Ardmore Tube Amp Kits Pro Reviews. (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1112454)

dan-o-guitar

05-04-2006, 03:59 PM

+1 on the Ardmore--a fantastic amp and I got to build it myself.

I usually play with a two amp rig, and more often than not, the Ardmore is one of them.

Brian Marshall

05-04-2006, 06:30 PM

Ive had a gilmore sitting here for a couple months.. i need to get working...

just from looking inside the box, i can tell you it kicks the doberman kit i bought previously. In the same price range, and you actually get SUPPORT. Doberman just tells you to google it.

dan-o-guitar

05-04-2006, 06:52 PM

Phil O'Keefe

05-04-2006, 08:27 PM

just from looking inside the box, i can tell you it kicks the doberman kit i bought previously. In the same price range, and you actually get SUPPORT. Doberman just tells you to google it.

Woah. :(

Yes, you DO get serious support - actually, the support you get is pretty mind-boggling. Rich has the customer service thing down as well as, if not better than, anyone or any company I've ever seen.

Build it Brian, and let us know what you think. :thu: I think you'll be impressed with not only the kit iself and the support, but the quality and tone of the finished product.

Ancient Mariner

05-05-2006, 04:34 AM

Danocoustic

05-05-2006, 06:10 AM

Originally posted by Brian Marshall
Ive had a gilmore sitting here for a couple months.. i need to get working...

just from looking inside the box, i can tell you it kicks the doberman kit i bought previously. In the same price range, and you actually get SUPPORT. Doberman just tells you to google it. Brian, I know nothing of Doberman---but Guytronix' customer service is second to NONE. I had several questions before I ordered my Gilmore Jr. kit; Rich called me on his dime and we had a lengthy conversation about it. Not a high-pressure sales rap, just good solid info. Then when I got the kit and started building it, I had some questions. I'd e-mail Rich, he'd usually answer the same day, never longer than the next day. After I built the stock version, I added a couple mods; same Q&A situation. I wanted a spare tube socket, different color knobs, a replacement tube for one I clumsily broke; Rich sent them gratis. And the shipping never took more than a few days.

Oh---and the amp itself is a solid, high-quality, great-sounding unit that I had a lot of fun building.

I can't say enough good things about this company. I will definitely be doing more business with them in the future.

dan-o-guitar

05-05-2006, 08:08 AM

Originally posted by Danocoustic
Brian, I know nothing of Doberman---but Guytronix' customer service is second to NONE. I had several questions before I ordered my Gilmore Jr. kit; Rich called me on his dime and we had a lengthy conversation about it. Not a high-pressure sales rap, just good solid info. Then when I got the kit and started building it, I had some questions. I'd e-mail Rich, he'd usually answer the same day, never longer than the next day. After I built the stock version, I added a couple mods; same Q&A situation. I wanted a spare tube socket, different color knobs, a replacement tube for one I clumsily broke; Rich sent them gratis. And the shipping never took more than a few days.

Oh---and the amp itself is a solid, high-quality, great-sounding unit that I had a lot of fun building.

I can't say enough good things about this company. I will definitely be doing more business with them in the future.

Hey, do you still have our checkbook? I can't seem to find it.

Danocoustic

05-05-2006, 08:24 AM

Originally posted by dan-o-guitar

Hey, do you still have our checkbook? I can't seem to find it. I've been meaning to talk to you about these debit card charges--- :mad:

;) ;)

dan-o-guitar

05-05-2006, 08:27 AM

Originally posted by Danocoustic
I've been meaning to talk to you about these debit card charges--- :mad:

;) ;)

Well, since we last spoke months ago, I'm pretty much done on the whole guitar and amp acquisition binge. Now I'm building pedals. So don't worry, it is way cheaper to build pedals than to buy guitars .

Danocoustic

05-05-2006, 08:34 AM

Originally posted by dan-o-guitar

Well, since we last spoke months ago, I'm pretty much done on the whole guitar and amp acquisition binge. Now I'm building pedals. So don't worry, it is way cheaper to build pedals than to buy guitars . I'm STILL trying to suss out the neck angle on this @#!!*^& Tele/Bigsby project :mad:

Gathering parts for the Squier 51 project :)

Quite excited about this upcoming Guytronix thing that turns the Gilmore Jr. into a booster for a bigger amp :cool:

Brian Marshall

05-05-2006, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by Ancient Mariner

Ever heard of AX84.com?

Talk about mis-representation. Chris Hurley (and a lot of other very knowledgeable guys) all contribute to helping builders get the best from their amps.

Maybe you simply didn't understand what you were buying? :freak:

You know what, you are right, to a point.

The whole point of the kit is to build off of the website... Which would be great, if the kit, and the schematic on the website at the time were the same.

I had a number of issues.

1. a number of parts were wrong. When i emailed doberman their attitude was along the lines of "we dont make mistakes" Some of the parts that were wrong were resistors, many of which i had in stock, but some of them were 1w and 5w resistors which i dont keep arround, and my local radioshack did not stock. I also received one pot that was wrong. I aked if i could use a 1/4 watt pot, and i was told NO, but when i received the replacement a few weeks later I got a 1/4 watt pot which i already had in my own stock.

In the end it took them 3 weeks to get me the replacement parts.

2 things had been changed that were not noted in any of the build notes, or schematics. The output transformer wire colors did not match any of the listed transformers on the website. If i remember right two of the secondary side were different. The kit included three out put jacks instead of an ohm swich. I would much prefer to have a swich and two parallel outputs. The power tube had aslo been changed, which doesnt really hinder building the kit, but you would think they would tell you what you are getting.

3. hardware provided for building is some of the cheapest rickety stuff i have ever seen. The ceramic power tube socket i received had chunks falling out of it, and ceramic chunks stuck in the socket plugs which i had to dig out. The chassis has no bottom cover, and is physically twice as large as it needs to be.

Ancient Mariner

05-05-2006, 03:43 PM

Brian - sorry in that case. That's pretty darn bad, and I'm both disappointed and embarassed. Chris seems a stand-up kind of guy in discussions. I wonder if the real issue is that he prefers designing and building to actually making kits.

tennisdude

05-05-2006, 06:02 PM

Guytronix rocks way hard. Rich is a great guy, and my gilmore jr. is a sick amp.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/tennisdude/P1010047.jpg

i recommend this amp to all. its sweeeeeeet!

Danocoustic

05-05-2006, 06:10 PM

Originally posted by tennisdude
Guytronix rocks way hard. Rich is a great guy, and my gilmore jr. is a sick amp.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/tennisdude/P1010047.jpg

i recommend this amp to all. its sweeeeeeet! Hey, that's nice lookin' :thu:

I'm about to start the next phase of mine---going to build a cabinet for the head, and a cab for the two 8" Webers Rich helped hook me up with, out of #1 pine. I've got to do all the machining outside, since I have too little room in my house to run my big saw. Got the lumber just yesterday---I'll try to post pics when it's done.

tennisdude

05-05-2006, 09:17 PM

awesome man! i cant wait to see how it looks. you gonna leave it natural? stain it?

Danocoustic

05-06-2006, 05:08 AM

Originally posted by tennisdude
awesome man! i cant wait to see how it looks. you gonna leave it natural? stain it? This pine is really nice---straight-grained and clear. If my joinery comes out well, I'll probably put a transparent finish on it; if I hack it up, there's always Tolex--- ;)

Bruce Bennett

05-06-2006, 05:19 PM

My Gilmore Jr rocks, and was sold less than a day later after finshing the build...

Heck I could probably make a living selling the completed amps and cabs!

and I didn't even tolex or "finish" it! the buyer wanted it just "as was"

Richard Guy

05-06-2006, 05:46 PM

Hello to All,

Thank you for the kind comments and support. You guys rock :thu:

Danocoustic

05-06-2006, 05:49 PM

Originally posted by Richard Guy
Hello to All,

Thank you for the kind comments and support. You guys rock :thu: You brought it all on yourself, Mister :mad:

Keep it up and you'll get more of the same!

Richard Guy

05-06-2006, 07:03 PM

Danocoustic,

Thanks for the tough love ;^)

Brian Marshall

05-06-2006, 11:01 PM

Originally posted by Ancient Mariner
Brian - sorry in that case. That's pretty darn bad, and I'm both disappointed and embarassed. Chris seems a stand-up kind of guy in discussions. I wonder if the real issue is that he prefers designing and building to actually making kits.

You know, in the end i ended up with a pretty nice sounding, albiet akward amp. Eventually I would like to rehouse it. I almost think i could fit it in to a 1590DD.

Either way, I know plenty of people who have had a good experience with doberman.

I should also say that the design its self is very good, and if you want to dive right in on the AX84 site there is a lot of information there. Possibly even too much.