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cbg amp

Posted by hammer on April 13, 2015 at 3:22pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

ive built my first cigar box guitar and amp. and im pleased how thet turned out, since they were my first. i am told by the manufacturer of the amp harness that i need to buy a "regulated  9 to 12 volt power adapter " to power it without the battery. or the amp will make alot of noise when you plug it in to the adapter. so i was wondering what brand or type or even where any of you have purchased one. so i can get same. ty!

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Replies

  • John Sawyer April 14, 2015 at 12:03am

    I don't see a UPS helping... unregulated power supplies don't deliver true DC... they get close, but there is a lot of 60Hz noise on the line...

    Really, just about any 9V or 12V power supply laying around will work... just verify polarity...

    Anything that came off of a computer, or old network router should work...  Just make sure it says DC!  AC ones, or ones with reversed polarity will fry your cool little amp...

    • hammer > John Sawyer April 14, 2015 at 1:38am

      thanks John , appreciate it man. Hammer

  • ce24 April 13, 2015 at 8:23pm
    fluorescent lights will causee hum.....also try a completely free circuit...with nothing else plugged into the circuit. Old house?? old wiring? that'll do it too. Just some things to try.
    good luck

    ce24
    • hammer > ce24 April 13, 2015 at 8:55pm

      thanks ce24, appreciate your suggestions, and will try. Hammer

  • Keith April 13, 2015 at 7:00pm

    just a quick thought and I have no idea if has been suggested here.  has anyone tried to run the 12v adapter on a ups?  the circuitry and batteries should stabilize line noise and level the voltage delivery.  I worked on microwave towers and the electricity delivered to remote mountaintop sites is terrible,  fluctuates from 95-142 volts fried a couple of dish lightning protectors until we put it all on a ups.  Might cure the buzz... might try it and see..

    • hammer > Keith April 13, 2015 at 8:54pm

      thanks for your suggestion Keith, but what is a "UPS" ?...Hammer.

  • Dan Sleep April 13, 2015 at 4:39pm

    I think what they mean is that a "regulated power supply"  will result in less noise when plugged in.

    You can use a non-regulated power supply, but they tend to hum/buzz.

    If used on battery, you really should not get any extraneous noise.

    • hammer > Dan Sleep April 13, 2015 at 8:47pm

      thanks Dan, appreciate the help.

  • Tom T April 13, 2015 at 4:25pm

    Odd that the manufacturer would say it will make noise with a battery. Normally, a battery is quiet, but short lived. while an AC adapter (Wal-ward) is noisy, but provides power forever.

    What amp  do you have? Do you have some photos? If you actually need a good well regulated 9~12 volt AC adapter, look for a laptop power supply on ebay. They are well regulated and supply plenty of power for an amp.

    Can't offer much more without knowing more about the ampl

    • hammer > Tom T April 13, 2015 at 9:03pm

      Tom i have a amp , that i built from a kit, ..Tone Monster, SD-MAH5, off of ebay. It works great and was really simple to assemble  with the pre-made circuit harness. I made the cabinet out of one of my favorite cigars, box. I will post some picture shortly. The guitar was also my first attempt and is not quite perfect, but was a great way for me and my second oldest boy to spend time together, he designed and carved the head stock...a skull, which i wasn't in love with the idea of a skull, but it got him motivated to join in so it was worth it.  i built the guitar and amp with all hand tools, and in the true cigar box fashion as much as posiible, at the time for me. Finishing nails for frets , a shower drain cover for the sound hole...ect.. Thanks again Hammer!

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