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How to Make Your Own Guitar Preamp

Amplifiers have three stages: preamp stage, power stage and output stage. The preamp processes the signal and influences the tone of the instrument. When recording an instrument directly to a recording device, such as a mixer or audio interface, the tone of the guitar can sound quite flat. Stand-alone instrument preamps allow you to process the signal before recording, to add the warmth and character that you'd get from a guitar amp. Building your own enables you to create a fully customized preamp, with the added benefit of knowing the spec of each part should you wish to make upgrades later.

Things You'll Need

  • Guitar preamp self-assembly kit
  • Power wire
  • Soldering iron
  • Solder
  • Melting-pot (old ashtray or soda can cut in half)
  • Phillips screwdriver
  • Wire cutters
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Instructions

    • 1

      Inspect your parts. A self-assembly kit contains everything you need, including the chassis, circuit board, resistors, jacks, potentiometers, capacitors, transistors, transformers and diodes separately. The benefit of a self-assembly kit is that the parts come predrilled and precut.

    • 2

      Prepare the chassis. Slot the input jacks into their predrilled holes on either side of the chassis enclosure. Slot the power supply unit through the predrilled hole on the rear of the preamp chassis.

    • 3
      Push the connector pins through the turret in the circuit board.

      Place the blank circuit board face-up and slot each board-mounted component into its relevant turret. Start with capacitors, then resistors, transistors, transformers, diodes and potentiometers. Push each part into the turret so that the connector pins protrude through to the base.

    • 4
      Never touch a soldering iron tip when turned on.

      Clean the tip of a soldering iron with a damp sponge. Wipe it dry with a clean cloth and turn it on.

    • 5

      Place the populate board face-down. Gently push the connector pins down so they sit flat against the metal conductor strip.

    • 6

      Put a small amount of solder on the tip of your soldering iron. Hold the tip above the melting-pot for a few seconds to let excess solder drip off. Press the tip of the iron against the connector pin and the metal conductor strip simultaneously for three or four seconds to fuse the component to the board. Repeat for each component.

    • 7

      Mount the circuit board. Screw it into the base of the preamp chassis enclosure using the screws supplied and a Phillips screwdriver.

    • 8

      Cut two, one-inch pieces of wire and one piece for each potentiometer. Trim the tip of each end of each piece to expose the braided metal.

    • 9

      Solder a piece of wire to the output terminal of both jacks and all potentiometers. Solder the other end of the wire to the corresponding eyelet. Each eyelet is typically marked to denote the relevant component, for example "100k Potentiometer 1." If unmarked, consult the schematic for further instruction. Solder the preconnected power supply wire to the "positive" eyelet. Solder the black, ground wire to the "negative" eyelet.

    • 10

      Screw the chassis enclosure shut.

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