I've had real good luck building this Valco 510-11 circuit. For those who would enjoy retrofitting old and good looking vintage cabinets, this design fits the bill. The sound is fat and stuffed to the brim with harmonics. What one could call a "bedroom" amp.

I would be willing to assist in sourcing the 3 common tubes, transformers, and related components. Total cost will be somewhere around $200+ however this circuit is fairly forgiving and used power transformers, sockets, knobs, & chassis not only make the amp look better, it's cheaper as well.

Uses a 5Y3GT, a 6SL7, & a single 6V6. The last one I built went into a suitcase. The preamp section was biased well below maximum, but acted so hot that with the modd'ed preamp volume when turned up added a vibrato. This design is extremely sensitive, simply hammering the neck plays loud. 

In this small venue (Cigar Box Nation) I will be glad to share my schematics & links to the most reputable parts suppliers. This amp will not only fit a small foot print, but will preform well with a standard guitar & will allow you, the tube novice (and experienced builder alike) to enjoy the amp that Jimmy Page used to record Stairway To Heaven with. 

Search the web for Valco 510-11 images. The drawing is tilted slightly, that's the one.

If there is some interest, I'll post a couple of pics of what I have, maybe a youtube clip as well.

Rest regards, Doug

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I think that's the ones I touched , I have touched 110 a few times in my life and that little thing was way stronger!.....right now I just stick with battery power hacks cuz I am a bit scared ...but I do want to throw my hat in the ring and try some ...I have taken apart a lot of tube radios, just never tried to make anything tube driven.

The hardest thing to know is what you don't know, & even harder to say. Hat thrown in acknowledged. With safe practices and use of a variac, microclip type measuring probes, make basic good sense practices, including unplugging the chassis when working on it. Successful construction should not involve getting shocked, and should not occur if basic practices & rules are followed. Knowing what to do with the Off switch and waiting for measured voltages to subside makes good safe sense. Following these rules along with accounting for every movement of your hands when & if you work "hot" (which in this project I will never recommend) will allow you to be successful and work safe at the same time and not discover that you forgot to monitor voltages before you preform work inside your Amp chassis.

When the time comes to turn on the "juice", I will be making a video and will show you the basic practices involved and what to look out for. You will understand what is in front of you and how to manage this environment to best work safe. It will be up to you to control your work area and remove the hazards from others that may enter your work area. I cannot be held responsible for your safety at any time. I will show you what works for me & why I think it does. Safety does not exist, you have to invent it when you need it.

Thanks Beetlejuice for bring up this most important topic. -Doug 

Very cool!!!

Agreed. In one thread I am already better informed, and with good recommended reading to learn even more! Thanks again!

Hey Doug, Thanks for posting this. I'm very interested in building one. Can you tell me how it sounds compared to a Tweed Champ?

The Tweed Champion 600 & 800 (1948) using a 6SJ7 tube for the preamp section which is a single pentode tube. This Valco 510-11 is a design from the 1946, and premiered with the single volume knob in 1944, 4 years earlier than Leo Fender's Tweed Champion 600 & 800 designs hit the streets. The 510 uses a controversial "6SL7" high Mu dual triode which has been known to be the highest gain (same as 12AX7) however has a "fat" sound as compared to the 12AX7. This dual triode design gives this Valco an additional gain stage to have fun with, just another cathode to disturb. However mentioning the "controversial" deal, many of the end users noticed that tubes were unfortunately sensitive to environmental conditions such as light and vibration, and thus the term was be placed on the 6SL7 such as "microphonic". With some amps the application (not the tube itself)  causes the tube to pick up sounds and as the worst, give a shhhhssss sound when at it's worst. This is a form of having one triode (the 1st one, it has two) being higher or close in gain as compared to the second....when...the tube is running a little too hot which is easily adjustable with any of 5 circuit components. 

So to answer your question, the Valco has more blended harmonic content in the 2 & 3 string, along with a extremely sensitive touch with the last 4 strings. The amp blooms nicely when un modded. The 1st thing you notice is that "something is wrong", but in 5 seconds you are hooked. 

The Champ "Tweed" 600 & 800 are less sensitive to soft hammering and lack the bottom end & bloom capability that the dual pre-amp tube Valco has. 

This for example with the same 12" speaker, everything being equal.

I saw a 9 inch square aluminum baking pan that would make a usable chassis for $ 9 bucks. Has a slightly up-tilted front panel.

Compare the stock schematic (the 1st shown) to my drawing (the 2nd). Look at the variable resistor located at the input (pin 5) of the 6V6, component VR3 is my modification. Normally it would be a 270k resistor to ground.  I wanted to limit the lost signal going to ground and attempt a "master" volume install. I may delete R6 after this build. Which by the will commence next Sunday, I will video the action and should be uploaded to YouTube by Monday-Tuesday AM. Actually Saturday I have an appointment with at least 1 of my 2 compadres that are affirmed tube, surplus antique-vintage electronic hoarders. I hope to assist them in "off-loading" some of their booty! 

But I'll be monitoring this forum & will gladly answer your Q's promptly. OH, also the name "Supro" has been used to describe this amp also as Valco made the Model 510 for them, along Gresch, Wards, and someone else. Back to building another dual rectifier head....Doug

This thread and your tutoring gets better and better. Unfortunately I will not be able to get to this project untill I have finished a few guitars, and hunting season. Still so excited though.

It willl all be here wait'in for you brother when your ready.

Thought I'd mention and that is that this project should be divided into 5 steps.

1) Procurement of parts, tools, time, and a ...oh yea....money. This step will be ongoing for the rest of 'yall's life if not already in process.

2) Planning, layout & machining of the chassis and then test fitting & installation. Notice I said "fitting & installation" of all components. This is a big step. Like building a house, this is where you will live. What's in the way of something else, what should be as far away from something else as possible, preventing unwanted interaction for instance between the Power Transformer and the Input (s) and the 6.3 filament wires and the interstage wires, to name only 2. Which we will go over in detail as it's a huge step and hopefully no going back. At least, that's the plan.

3) Initial start up of 5.0 & 6.3 volt filament supplies with the tubes in place & measuring the voltage and performing adjustments if required. Then identifying the next steps and how best to afford reduction of redesigns at this late point, something to preview during the step 2 planning stage as the final component placement is signed off and thus moving forward with rear end wiring & Power Supply H.V. Filter Caps install next. 

4) Wiring the rest. Now that you have something glowing and have cycled all 3 the tubes in & out of their sockets, you're 'ictchen to get this thing finished. Now's the time to opt in for that rotary switch for the "MODE" control. That gives this little dumpl'in 4 knobs to turn if you so elect. This step will end for the most part when the first sounds creep out of those old valves, but there's one most important step 5.

5) Checking the tube Bias, weeding out any issues. There will be final decisions decided between you, the amp, and myself regarding ongoing issues such as the amount of bias you have selected and expected tube life, plus interface to load resistance flexibility...that is how will you be connecting his amp into any number of speakers or only one. Determining a "clean" sound and then how to accomplish switching in more than simply a cathode grounding component in the ongoing effort to discover how versatile the many sounds that this can give up with a 2 deck (pole) switch. And last but not least your feedback and from me what I have learned.

So good morning all from the formally hot & humid east Texas, not suffering the 1st actual cold front of the the end of summer 2014. It's a pleasant 65° outside. In other words the swamp rats & whatever else, snakes of all types are look'in to live at your place for the winter, just like the inlaws.........

Well today I have me a few items that we will go over such as some used components. I promised to try to keep this build under budget and cheap as possible.  I have received a new chassis, however I may just go on ahead and use an old chassis for this build. I have a final process of using a self adhesive vinyl film that any sign shop will have plenty of for you to have for free IF 'yall conduct yer self properly and ask kindly. I like the "Fast Signs" shop here in my town. They treat me well and offer their "shorts" end of rolls. So I got more colors than a rainbow like at one of those conventions in San Franciscio, but I like the 49ers, don't go there....

I have the 500Kohm pots, old chicken head knobs, all my filter caps 47uf/450volt & my AC coupling caps (orange drops) Sprauge .05uf/400v, resistors, some used. For the power supply 'yall know we'll need some to possibly drop the voltage if I use an older power transformer on one or both 6.3v (for the final amp tube-6V6 & the preamp tube 6SL7) and the 5.0v which is only used on the rectifyer tube; the illustrious 5Y3. I say that because the 5Y3 has a bad habit of dropping the voltage on the floor whenever current is drawn from it's auspices, which is one of the secrets to getting the vintage "brown sound" from way back when. Remember these are the actual exact parts used back in the 40s and in this build and in the result, the sound will pronounce itself as such.

The video I'll shoot at some point today will be covering two subjects. The kit of parts that I have yet to gather, I will, and the fun part, setting up your living quarters, that is the (a): front panel layout and the (b): inside layout, including the back porch where the power outlet, fuse & speaker output will be located. Maybe we'll also have a 8 and 4 ohm output running through a switch. It's going to be connected to an 8 ohm load for this project, and having the matching output transformer for that 8 ohm load is a good thing for the clean sound, -ok-, but just go ahead and lean over and switch that sucker into the 4 ohm switch position and sit back and enjoy the extra swampy.

Alright, cup of coffee in hand I shall go to the garden of transformers (never say traney or trafo) of XMFs and place my mojo hand on somethin. Hopefully have a video uploading by the end of the day.  

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