It Lives!!!!

[Mark]

Got my Mission 5E3 fired up and running for the first time tonight!! What a freakin cool sounding amp! No blue smoke, no buzz and no hum just sweet toneification. It is really impressive the different flavors you can get by tweaking the tone and the volume of the channel you NOT using be it the normal or bright channel, the bright is becoming my favorite. All I can say is wow. My strat, an EC sig with Kinman Blues pups in it is just out of this world now and my ES-335 Dot RI with 57 Humbuckers just sings with this thing. Blues Deluxe RI might just be for sale real soon there is just no comparing the two. This project was well worth the time and effort. This is the best amp I have ever played plus the guy that built it is just a real good dude! LOL Heres a link to the of the whole build, starts out as a spaghetti factory and turns into a sweet amph!

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a291/Bigredhog/Amp Build/

 

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Congrats Mark.....beautiful job , be proud , very proud , the components look to be top notch as well , what speaker did you choose ..excellent pics as well , i like the way you had your tools laid out , just like a surgeon lol .. again great job , if it sounds half as good as it looks then you are in sonic nirvana .. ....6S9L

 

[Mark]

Thanks!! I am still amazed with the sounds it can make, right now there is a Weber Alnico Sig 12 in it and I also have a Jensen C-12-Q. Out of the box I like the C12 real nice voice to it but neither one is broke in so Ill keep experimenting. This amp IS that 57 Tweed RI I wanted originally but just couldnt justify 2 grand for plus its the perfect wattage for my use 15-18 watts. Another cool thing is I switched out the 6v6 tubes for 6K6 tubes which brings it to around 7 watts which is real nice, no loss of tone and reasonable for home use.


Funny you mention tools being layed out. Everyone who sees these pix comments on that being a Plumber for all these years doing service work in peoples houses I a bit anal about keepin them tools in order neat and clean no matter what I do so I dont even notice it but others sure do LOL.

 

[Plank_Spanker]

Really clean job on the build, man!

 

[Mark]

Thank you Plank! Plus no electrocutions occured before during or after!

 

[Plank_Spanker]

Was your pulse and BP spiking right before you threw the switch?

 

[duhvoodooman]

Clips!! Clips!! Clips!! .... R

 

[Nelskie]

That is a very cool-looking amp there, Mark - and even cooler that you put it together yourself. The cab has a nice, vintage Fender vibe to it, and probably a sultry, delicious tone to match. Nice work.

PS - Enjoyed the photo-set, too!

 

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Mark I've been kicking around the idea of building a kit 5e1 tweed champ and putting it in a head .. never built a kit amp before , but i am no stranger to a soldering iron , what were your impressions of building the kit and how would you rate the completeness of the mission kit ..any advice ...6S9L

 

[Mark]

What I like about Mission is the extra assistance. Most of the other companies give a schematic and a lay-out thats it. If your an experienced builder cool but for a first build I wanted better support. So what Bruce does after you buy the kit he has a web page you can go to with photos of a build so between the lay-out sheet which is color coded and the photos I was able to get past any difficulties. There isnt any instructions per say but attention to detail and common sense you have the info you need to make it happen. Also Bruce is fairly accessible be it by phone, email or this forum here..

http://music-electronics-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10

I did a lot of research on this and for a first build I think this is a good way to start, Bruce sends all quality components his trannies and chassis are custom made to his spec and he has been building these things forever. Oh and the big safety net is if after a good honest try you cant get it working. You can pack the chassis up ship it to him and he will get it working for $75.00 plus any parts you might have nuked. I gotta tell you Im still in awe of the way this thing sounds this is the sound I have been looking for and hearing along with the little voices in my head.....no I have no mental problems LOL

If you do some research on these take your time and check your work then check it again you can do it. Invest in a good Digital Volt /ohm meter as well. I read everything I could on all the amp building forums so I could be forewarned of possible mistakes and to get good tips. After building this I can honestly say I just dont lust after any other amps anymore for my needs this fits the ticket. Best of all I know every single part in it and I know it was custom built by me with TLC with my own two hands. That my friend just cannot be purchased. If you do go for it let me know Ill shoot you my ph# if ya need any help as well.R

Edit for Disclaimer/warning!! Building amps can be dangerous there are voltages over 400 volts in charged up capacitors! This is enough to kill you or cause you to wake up on your floor in a puddle of Pee. Do your homework before building and use caution when building.