[Emohawk]

It's a great little amp. I've built all of their kits and this one was the most surprising. No 1x12 6V6 combo has any business sounding that good. I couldn't find a speaker it didn't like...even Vintage 30's sounded great with it.

Too bad I built it for a friend and it's now with him in Ontario. Building one for myself is on my (long) to-do list.

 

[Emohawk]

The instructions from Trinity are about as good as you'll find in any kit anywhere. There's no such thing as an idiot-proof electronics kit. If you get stuck or have a question, they monitor their forums regularly. I've contacted Stephen directly many times and he's always willing to help you along. Customer support second to none. Lots of great knowledgable folks on their boards too.

I think the Deluxe is a great beginner kit. IMO it's even easier to build than the Tramp - just a simple straight-up design with no fancy options. When I built it (it was my 8th or 9th build) I had it up & running in just a few hours (started on a Saturday morning & it was rockin by supper time). Just take your time, read the instructions, triple check everything, and you'll most likely have success. If not, the Trinity gang will help you out.

 

[Emohawk]

Glad to hear you got it up & running! It really is a very nice amp.

It shouldn't be noisy. The Trinity Deluxe I built was very quiet. Chances are it's just a ground somewhere. Is it a buzz or a low pitched hum? If it's a buzz it's probably either the input jack grounds or the volume pot grounds (or the shielded cable on the volume pot). If it's a hum it could be one of the other grounds, likely with the filter caps.

Of course, there's plenty of other things it could be (like lead dress), but I find these are common ones.

Keep in mind too that sitting open on a bench it's more open to interference from external sources. If you shield the open side of the chassis when you mount it in the cab (I use shielding tape in the cab or on the back panel to close in the open side of the chassis) it will get rid of even more noise. However, I didn't do that with the Deluxe I built and noise wasn't an issue.

 

[Emohawk]

I think there's some discussion of lead dress in the builders guide Trinity provides. Stuff like keeping power leads away from the signal path as much as possible, if you have to cross wires try to separate them as much as possible and/or cross at right angles, keeping the signal wires away from heater wires as much as possible, etc.

One trick builders use is using a chopstick (or other non-conductive "stick") to move wires around with the amp powered up to see if you hear any difference in noise levels. Just remember to keep your free hand away from the amp when you're doing it, just in case.

Just remember to be very careful when messing around in there. As you're heard 1000 times I'm sure, the voltages in there can kill.

 

[Emohawk]

Fender used that "elevated heater" approach in a lot of their stuff. I did try it when I built my Deluxe Reverb, but it was just a PITA to work around so I re-did it the other way. It works just fine the way Trinity does it (and most Marshalls did too) and it's easier to build that way so that's what I do - or I run the heaters "Hiwatt style" - still flush to the chassis but they run the wires directly from one tube socket to the next in a straight line.

Point of interest - some builders don't twist heater wires at all in some amps. Positioning is key there I'm sure. Most (maybe all) PCB designs don't twist them either. I have two PCB tube amps & the heaters are just straight runs (though on opposite sides of the board).

Another thing about lead dress - it helps to keep wire runs as short as possible. Less wire means less possibility of interference & induced noise.

And thanks - we like to think we're good people.

 

[Emohawk]

You got that cab for $125? Nice. Looks great man.