I bought the C.B. Gitty amp kit... https://www.cbgitty.com/amplifier-kits-parts/great-2-5-watt-parts-only-cigar-box-guitar-amplifier-kit-build-your-own-amp/
I'm very disappointed with it. It has a terribly shrill sound with all treble and no base. There is a pot to adjust the gain but nothing to adjust the tone. Does anyone have any clue if you can add a tone pot to this kit?
For about 2/3 the price, I could have bought another Honeytone amp and just tore the parts out and installed them in cigar box. It would have more volume, better overdrive and a sound knob.
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a 1x3 cabinet will not have as much bass as a 4x10 or 2x12 cabinet, much the same way your mp3 player's earbuds won't have the same bass as a 15" woofer on your home theater sound system.
but then the fun is in the building. I've done 2 rainy day projects to entertain the kids/grandkids building their own CBAmp with the Gitty Kit and we put dual speakers in each and they were thrilled that they made it themselves and they work and live up to their expectations. I'm looking for the right box now to build one for me with 4 speakers (2 series pairs, the pairs in parallel,
So I added an EQ-7545R pre-amp to the Gitty amp kit and it sounds great! You can read on another post how I wired the two together... http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/gitty-amp-kit-and-pre-amp
Somewhere on here and/or facebook is a video Shane did building a gitty amp and he used 2 speakers and really sang the praises of that mod.
another simple lil trick , get a new box , cut a hole out about half as small as the speaker . mount the speaker inverted on the outside of the box (blowing in ). it then acts as a bass box , and adds a much bigger/ warmer sound . drill a few small sound holes if needed .. just a couple like 2 or 3 tuner size holes . .
you will be surprisingly impressed..
Which gives me another idea: I bought one of those Lil Smokey 9V amps, with the 2.5" diameter speaker. They are really cool, fit on your belt, and have a nice distortion when cranked.
Since I am in the process of inventorying our belongings for our move back to the States later this month, I won't be able to test the idea for a few months while the shipment is in transit, but...I could put that thing inside, say, the tail end of a decent sized homemade or cigar, or maybe, wine, box. Then, you make a small, say, US quarter-sized, hole in the upper left bout of the soundboard.
You will then have created a bass reflex ported box. With an internal amp. Hmmm. Lil Smokey amps retail for $35-38. They can drive a 4 X 12" Marshall speaker cabinet...Muahahahahahaha!!!
Ben Gitty - any chance y'all could sell the LilSmokey amps?
I used a 6 bottle wood wine box and put two 4.5 inch speakers in with the 2.5 artec. Sounds fine, but if you run the guitar input through a little smokey into this thing, it becomes a monster!! Pix on my page in the forum.
I must say that the one thing I would change about the Gitty kit is the speaker, but I understand that these guys and gals have to make a living off of the stuff that they sell, and that any profit can evaporate very fast with superior components.
But we're go to guys and gals as well, and a maximum spend of a British Tenner can buy a brand spanking new speaker that sounds great and remains compact, and your US "Thrift Stores" (did I get that right?) would probably provide a similar quality pre used item for much less.
All the best from Bill. :D
If you're using a Piezo pickup, a preamp makes a big difference. The 7545r preamp is inexpensive and gives you a lot of control. It can even be mounted in the amp...
Thanks, I may give that a try. It seems that every time I try an electronics project it ends up costing me more that if I just bought a new one of whatever I'm trying to build. If I get the preamp I'll have gone from more expensive than a Honeytone up to the Fender Frontman price tag.
Shane Speal has a video here somewhere of the preamp made pedal style. These preamps are very inexpensive.
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