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hacking honeytone amp into a cigar box

Posted by lawntrout guitars on February 8, 2018 at 8:42am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Has anyone had any experience taking the guts out of a honeytone amp and puting it into a cigarbox. I like the sound and connections of these amps and can get them for less than $20. But I took one apart and when I mounted it into a cigar box It didn't work. I noticed the three pots are connected with a metal strip. Could this be an issue. I'm not super good with electronics but can solder well.

I"ve looked online but haven't seen much on this.

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Replies

  • Jerry Jordan February 9, 2018 at 7:24am

    The way these are built you could have a cracked trace or a cracked solder joint.,put the battery in, set the meter to DC , and start tracing the voltage to the amp chip or preamp transistor.,.,they have to have voltage to work.,.,in this manner you can look for an open.,.,.,with the battery out and measuring ohms you can trace around the circuit looking for an open as well.,.,.,just some thoughts.,.,

  • lawntrout guitars February 8, 2018 at 10:17am
    I will recheck all the connections. Yes I have a multimeter and am not totally unfamiliar with wireing. If I want to move the pots farther apart do I need to add jumpers to each pot instead of the metal bar.
    Thanks for the help.
    • JL > lawntrout guitars February 9, 2018 at 6:55am

      are there other pairs (signal + ground) running between the pots or does each pot have one lug soldered to the body and goes nowhere else?

      it might have been that bar completed the circut on the ground side....?

      else you may have broken a wire that's not easily visible....

    • Timothy Hunter > lawntrout guitars February 9, 2018 at 5:12am

      it should still work without the metal bar.  jumpers might be needed if you hear more noise..

  • Jerry Jordan February 8, 2018 at 9:36am

    Hello, This is a common hack and should have gone off without a hitch. The metal strip should just provide a ground between the 3 pots ,or for shielding noise. Do you have a multimeter ? I sounds like you have an open somewhere that is not completing the circuit. There is a bad connection somewhere. Are you sure the connection to the battery has correct polarity ? Amps that run on DC do not like reverse polarity.

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