Building a Hamptone

general questions, comments and ideas about recording, audio, music, etc.
ramchandra
alignin' 24-trk
Posts: 54
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 9:48 am

Building a Hamptone

Post by ramchandra » Mon Jan 24, 2005 8:55 am

I'm in the market to by a hamptone DIY kit. I'm wondering how many of you out there own one of these pre amps? is it worth it? and is the diffculty of assembly high for I am a novice? :oops:

User avatar
trodden
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5651
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:21 am
Location: C-attle
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by trodden » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:01 am

Talk to Trashy, He eats breakfast with his.

User avatar
Huntlabs
pushin' record
Posts: 287
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2004 1:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by Huntlabs » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:07 am

I have the tube pre. Love it.

It was a fun project to build.

Well worth the $'s
"Add water, makes its own sauce"

www.CRACKERTONES.com

User avatar
heylow
george martin
Posts: 1265
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 2:27 pm
Location: The Dreadful Midwest
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by heylow » Mon Jan 24, 2005 11:46 am

I built a JFET.

It's the shit....it really is. I had no problems whatsoever with the assembly and I'm no trained EE. I can't even read a schematic. I do have a lot of soldering experience and a small bit of common sense though and they help. :wink:


heylow

thethingwiththestuff
george martin
Posts: 1296
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:00 pm
Location: philly

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by thethingwiththestuff » Mon Jan 24, 2005 1:01 pm

i feel like i'm in the same boat as you, heylow, but what about having to use a multimeter and such? i'm not experienced with them.

User avatar
trashy
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2128
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:30 am
Location: Red Bluff, CA
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by trashy » Mon Jan 24, 2005 1:23 pm

here's my advice:

Build a guitar pedal - or something similar - first. You'll get out all of your jitters and wtfs on that thing.

It's not easy to build a Hamptone - it takes time, patience, guts, and the ability to weather storms of "I fucked it up!." But I had next to no experience and figured it out and I love love love it.

Also, Scott Hamptone is the coolest motherfucker on the whole fucking planet.

Do it.
Last edited by trashy on Mon Jan 24, 2005 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Russian Recording
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 752
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 2:28 pm
Location: Bloomington, IN
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by Russian Recording » Mon Jan 24, 2005 1:35 pm

I built both the JFEt and the Tube. They are awesome preamps, well worth the money. If you are careful when assembling, read directions carefully and use the website to solve questions, you will o a great job.

mtar

User avatar
heylow
george martin
Posts: 1265
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 2:27 pm
Location: The Dreadful Midwest
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by heylow » Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:48 am

thethingwiththestuff wrote:i feel like i'm in the same boat as you, heylow, but what about having to use a multimeter and such? i'm not experienced with them.

Well... I can use a multimeter for simple tasks. I'm no stranger to that but I can't really get too silly with em. I dunno. I've been really lucky with electronics stuff though I do it more via intuition than real knowlege. I built an Allen Old Flame guitar amp as well (another excellent source for kits) and had no problems. Half luck, half intuition.....that's how I roll.

Come to think of it....that IS how I roll and it can be said for way more than my electronics experience. :wink:



heylow

Coco
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 767
Joined: Mon Sep 27, 2004 2:13 pm
Location: Somewhere in Canada

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by Coco » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:18 pm

I inquired about one, and due to my lack of electronics knowledge, Scott offered to send me some old circuit boards to practice soldering on. Thought that was a good idea, and a cool gesture.
I know enough to know that I don't know what I am doing.

Generals and Majors http://www.myspace.com/generalsandmajors

User avatar
trodden
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5651
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:21 am
Location: C-attle
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by trodden » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:41 pm

Coco wrote:I inquired about one, and due to my lack of electronics knowledge, Scott offered to send me some old circuit boards to practice soldering on. Thought that was a good idea, and a cool gesture.
damn, Scott is the coolest motherfucker on the whole fucking planet!

User avatar
trashy
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2128
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:30 am
Location: Red Bluff, CA
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by trashy » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:44 pm

trodden wrote:
Coco wrote:I inquired about one, and due to my lack of electronics knowledge, Scott offered to send me some old circuit boards to practice soldering on. Thought that was a good idea, and a cool gesture.
damn, Scott is the coolest motherfucker on the whole fucking planet!
EXACTLY!!!!

User avatar
eeldip
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2139
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 5:10 pm
Location: NoPo

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by eeldip » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:49 pm

hey T-Bag,

do you need a multimeter and an oscilloscope for reals? or can you build one w/o?

User avatar
Huntlabs
pushin' record
Posts: 287
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2004 1:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by Huntlabs » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:51 pm

The assembled kit is only a few hundred more and you get a warranty. So if you are worried about the soldering.... Some of the soldering is a bit tricky and tight. You do need a good good soldering iron, volt meter, strippers! Don't forget the strippers.... big wet ones for $50 bucks cause their dad is waiting in the tool shed and they need to get home. Plus it take 8-12 hours if you don't fuck it up.

Scott IS the coolest mofo on the whole planet!
"Add water, makes its own sauce"

www.CRACKERTONES.com

User avatar
trashy
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2128
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:30 am
Location: Red Bluff, CA
Contact:

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by trashy » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:13 pm

eeldip wrote:hey T-Bag,

do you need a multimeter and an oscilloscope for reals? or can you build one w/o?
multimeter = yes. oscilloscope = no. You don'ty need a variac, either.

Maybe you could do it without a multimeter.... I dunno. It seems stupid not to own one. Rat Shack charges like 12 bucks for one or something. They might trade for a bedroll.

User avatar
eeldip
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2139
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 5:10 pm
Location: NoPo

Re: Building a Hamptone

Post by eeldip » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:16 pm

oh... mr. rich man. has $12 lying around on top of his grand piano.

my name is trashy and i have $12 to spend on a multimeter while i am off to buy some monets for the solarium.

ok ok, i'll buy a freakin multimeter!

Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 44 guests