Guitar and Bass Amps Blackface Amp Clones Weber 6A20 Build Chronicle
Weber 6A20 Build Chronicle
Friday, 18 September 2009 10:59 | 
Written by MarkE | 
MarkE has recently completed his build of Weber's 6A20. This is basically a Blackface Deluxe Reverb clone. The only real difference is the inclusion of two bright switches.
A nine section detailed construction article follows...
Weber 6A20 Build Chronicle
Welcome to my 6A20 build chronicle. I will attempt to do a detailed blow by blow on building this great amplifier sold by Weber. I hope that the information is useful for anyone looking to build, or is building one. I'll try to get as many photos as I can.
Before I begin with the first installment I would like to mention Ted Weber for a moment. Without him this would not be possible. Sadly, Ted passed away last week.
Ted Weber is well known throughout the amp building community as a teacher, musician, electronics guru and overall really great guy. In addition to helping countless amp building noobs like me, his company (Weber VST) sells a variety of affordable amp kits, speakers, attenuators, tube, parts, you name it. Everyone in the amp building community will simply miss the hell out of this incredible human being. My biggest sorrow is not having known him better. Rock on in Heaven Ted....you will be sorely missed. Okay, on to happier tasks...
The 6A20 kit finally arrived today. There isnt much to write about as yet so I will let the pictures tell the story.
The group shot right after unpacking. The kit was packed extremely well and there was no damage to anything.
The chassis is laser cut. I examined it closely. It appears extremely clean as far as burs and sharp edges go, which is a relief as I hate metal work. Well, I don't hate it, Im just not very well equipped for it.
The reverb tank. Im really looking forward to getting a "real" reverb up and running after years of dealing with the digitally synthesized variety.
The speaker is a Weber 12" Alnico. They ship the speaker mounted (smart).
My first impression is extremely positive. The quality seems excellent given the price of the kit. I can see right away this build will be a lot tighter than my last one. There are a lot more components fitting into a much smaller space. I'm up for the challenge and am really looking forward to getting started. I'm thinking of building the kit stock, as is, but I'm considering an orange drop cap upgrade. I'm on the fence on this decision. I don't really care about the expense I'm just wondering if you can hear a significant difference in the sound. Its times like this when my lack of experience with tube amps shows. I'm leaning toward a stock build.
I guess the first step is to inventory everything and get everything separated out by category. If there is something missing I want to get it on order now.
Edit: Nothing missing. Go Weber! I decided that it couldn't hurt installing orange drops. They are on order. Well, they look pretty cool if nothing else.
NEXT: Starting the build......
Last Updated (Friday, 25 September 2009 15:25)
Erik