Building an all-tube-powered 5.1 channel surround sound home theater system is probably the most ambitious project I have attempted. My goal is to build a surround sound home theater system using all tube amps, and to do it without bankrupting myself in the process. To pull this off I had to set a few guidelines that would keep this project under control:
One day my friend Frankie picked up a Hammond M103 organ from the side of the road. It didn’t work, but all the parts were there. After looking at how much work it would take to get it running again, he stripped all the useful parts and gave them to me. This project is NOT made from the Hammond organ parts. Well, not exactly.
Originally I planned on building an integrated amp and subwoofer, and I even built the enclosure. But a few things happened that made me rethink that plan… My living room layout and furniture changed, making me realize how large and impractical the size and location of the sub would be. The preamp I ended up with didn’t put out as much voltage swing as I originally expected. The subwoofer I intended on using fell off a 6ft shelf onto a concrete floor, bending the frame possibly beyond repair. And some testing indicated that the speaker/cabinet resonance was likely to cause...
When it comes to the semi-hollowbody electric, the Gibson ES-335 is the standard by which all others are judged. When I think Gibson, I think ES-335. That’s because it’s awesome. Unfortunately a proper ES-335 or similar variant is incredibly expensive, starting at over $2,000 and running up to $5,000 for a new one, and the better-made old ones are just as pricy. So like most people who respect their wallets I went looking for the best clones. The Epiphones are cheaply built and it really shows. Plenty of modern semi-hollows are 335-ish but look funky and don’t sound anything like...