How to Make 9 Volt Portable Guitar Amplifiers

155 Pages·2010·7.79 MB·English

by  Tim Swike

Please Read This FIRST

Terms of Use
This Guitar Amplifier Electronics book is Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted by any means; electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording or
otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holders. You do not
have any right to distribute any part of this paperback book or electronic book in
any way at all. Tim Swike, Mike Melvin, and indyebooks are the sole
distributors. Violators will be prosecuted.

Adjusting, changing, soldering, adding, or removing the electronics in any
device can be dangerous and can cause injuries. The authors of this book
assume no responsibility for personal injury or property damage caused by
the use of this guide, or products we use or sell, whether by accident,
negligence, or otherwise. Please note that this book is intended for
educational purposes only. Only qualified personnel should carry out any
electrical work. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Please send questions or comments to: [email protected]

Several trademarks are used in this book for narrative purposes. Each trademark
is the property of its respective owners.
COPYRIGHT 2010
ISBN: 1453728139
EAN-13: 9781453728130

This book is dedicated to my wonderful daughter,
Madeline Grace. She reminds me every day how beautiful
life is.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4
Tools and Parts You Should Have 5

Tools and Parts You Need to Get 20

Building a Basic Amplifier 85

Downloading the Color Ebook on 132
Your Computer or Smart Phone

Checking the Website for Updates 133
Introduction

Right now you might be thinking to yourself “There is no way I can build a
portable amplifier all by myself. And definitely not one that sounds good. And
even if I could, it probably would cost a fortune. Boutique stuff is expensive!”

Now that might have been true in the past, but nowadays parts are easy to find,
either online or at the local Radio Shack. You can even find new parts and used
parts on auction sites like Ebay.com or Ioffer.com. And best of all, the
components are pretty cheap. So not only can you make an amp that sounds
great miced in the studio, but you can make an amp that is easy on your
pocketbook. Best of all, you will be able to fine tune this amp to perfect your
very own sweet sound. Sound good? Ok, now let’s get started and discuss just
what a 9 volt amp consists of.

In a nutshell, the portable amplifier is basically some type of box (wood, plastic,
metal, paper, etc) that contains a breadboard, or grid style PC board, an 8 Ohm
speaker, an LED light, a potentiometer, a mini toggle switch, some wires, a 9
volt battery, and an LM386 audio amplifier chip. That’s all there is to it. You can
find most of these parts and info at your local hardware store, or online at Small
Bear Electronics or Radio Shack. Check out the links below.
http://www.smallbearelec.com

http://www.radioshack.com

http://www.ebay.com

Tools and Parts You Should Already Have

Let’s take a look at some of the tools and parts that you will need to build your
own amp. I am going to start by discussing some of the items you should already
have in your shop. If you don’t, then you really should go out and get these items
before doing any electrical work on guitars or amplifiers. These tools will come
in handy for all of your electrical projects.
Soldering Iron

A soldering iron is essential for this and any audio application. The liquid solder
you buy in the tube just won’t cut it, and it will ruin your sound. Below and on
the next page are two common types of soldering irons that you can use for your
guitar projects. The one directly below is a 30 Watt iron that has a “pencil” tip,
which is perfect for working on small parts in tight areas. It will remain hot until
it is unplugged, so it is recommended that you get a holder for it so you don’t
catch anything on fire. Often, the holders come with a sponge used for cleaning
the tip in between solderings. Xytronic and Weller are my two favorite brands of
soldering irons. You can find them online at smallbearelec.com.
smallbearelec.com part number: 2900

The picture below is a “gun” style soldering iron from Weller. When you pull
the trigger, you will get up to 350 Watts of power (700 degrees). When you
release the trigger, it quickly cools down. The gun soldering irons have a larger
tip, so they work best when heating large amounts of solder for applications
where solder joints and wiring is larger and there is sufficient space to work with
the gun style soldering iron.
If you don’t have a wet sponge or solder station, you can always use wet paper
towel to clean off your soldering iron tip in between soldering applications.

60/40 Rosin Core Solder

You will need 60/40 rosin core solder for your guitar wiring projects. Every
hardware store or Radio Shack should have rosin core solder in stock. Below is
the.032” diameter solder sold in a plastic tube or on a roll.
smallbearelec.com part number: 2905
Desolder Braid

A desolder braid, or wick, when heated absorbs old solder left on your switches
and potentiometers. So if you reuse electronics parts
often like I do, this stuff will keep your work neat and clean. Once a portion of
the braid has been used to absorb solder, then that part of the braid is used up,
and should be cut off and thrown away when it’s cool. Desolder braid can easily
be found online.