Marshall 18 Watt combo

[Lesterman123]

Hi I have been looking at purchasing a small Marshall 18 watt combo but because i dont seem to be able to afford the real thing I am looking into purchasing a kit. I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere or anyone I could purchase one of these from and how much it would cost. This would also be my first amp project, is it very hard to put one of these together? assuming that i have the proper tools and instructions.

[Saul Koll]

Hi Lesterman,

If you have not already, you need to check out:
http://www.18watt.com/

Everything you need to know!

Cheers,

Saul

[Bluedawg]

I bought the handwired 18 watt 1974X Marshall and love it.

Plenty of the kit builders swear there 18 watt is even better then the Marshall.

I would like to try building one of these "better" amps myself just to compare, but I don't seem to have the time.

Good Luck

[Budman2k]

Check out GDS

http://elektro.cmhnet.org/~graydon/18wattmain.html

[Lesterman123]

Thanks for the webpage, have you Budman2k or anyone else for that matter ever built one of these amps and if you have, do they sound good? Another issue is that they only sell the chasis and cuicuit board etc. I would still have to find a way to get the cabinet. I guess my question is do the people that make these kits make their own cabs? or is there a place where I can order one.

[Budman2k]

I haven't built on myself but I'm seriously considering the GDS kit. There are several people making cabinets for the 18 watt heads and combos. Check the 18 Watt forum for recommendations. I also heard that Gerald Weber was going to have kits available soon with the cabinet included. Sorry, I don't have a link to his site handy.

Budman

[tralfax19645]

Hi,
The Bacinos are pretty sweet sounding of you want to forgo the kit route.
Rob

[mrmojorisin]

I've been througjh every 18 watt amp know to man, including kits, etc.

My favorite is the Blockhead Forst Born 18, but its pretty pricey.

However the Reinhardt 18 watter was the second best in my opinion. It sounds fabulous and is a great value. I think you can get a head from Bob R. for under $1500. By the time you buy everything you need for a kit you'll have at least $1000 into it (lots of hidden costs). And then there is all the time...

Drop Bob R. a line and talk with him. I am sure he'll help you out. He's a great guy to work with...

Carl

[Mastervolume]

I just built a GDS 18 watt head from his kit.

It took about 7 hours to build and was fairly simple. I do know my way around the inside of an amp though.

As far as tone goes. I love it. sounds great.

I have played a handfull of 18 watt marshall style amps and honestly I really think that the player will make the amp and not the other way around.

as for costs. I paid 820 for the kit and then have another 300 into a head shell from swanson (you can get them cheaper I just wanted the best)

so for 1120.00 I have my own amp.

For a combo figure

750 for the kit
300 for a trinity combo cab
100 for the speaker of your choice.

1150 - and you have the amp and the pride of building it yourself.

If you have a decent soldering iron and know the difference between hot and ground I'd say go for it.

If I were going to do it again I would source my own parts and build from scratch

[pirateflynn]

I have only played 1 Marshall 18 watter style amp. I own a Blockhead First Born and it sounds very good. I wasn't in the market for one but it was for sale at an excellent price and I bit. Really having fun with it!

[slide man]

I purchased a 18 watt clone on Ebay a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say I am pleased. The auction was 7312475876 the auction is closed now so you will have to do search. Basically I won the auction for $395 and had him build it into a one ten combo and the total cost was about $460 including shipping! Basically the amp is a giant killer it only weighs 23 pounds, looks like a homemade piece of crap, but it sounds great. The master volume is not very good but the pentode triod switch will Knock the volume down a little if you are too loud for certain gigs. I really bought the amp as a cheap back up amp but some of the clubs I play the stage is so small and hard to load into that I have been using it regularly. My bandmates are astounded at how good it sounds.

Slideman

[gkelm]

I was in the same boat a couple years ago, and while contemplating a build, I found one on ebay that was put together by a guy from 18watt.com. Ended up with a great amp for only a couple hundred more that the kit & parts. It's a 2x12 so it has a tad more headroom & volume, but still breaks up nicely. Had it up for sale a while back (too many amps!)...but keeping it for now. If you're ever in the Dallas area you can give it a spin.
Greg