Stella Amp Completed and Rockin!

I finished the little Stella Cigar Box amp on Sunday afternoon and have been rockin' it ever since.

The little amp really is fun. Big tone from such a simple and small package. Thats exactly what I was going for. I'm still getting used to the controls, as they are a bit different than most amps I've worked with. The results are similar, they just behave a little differently.

Mostly, I've been playing it with the volume and trim all the way up, and with the gain up until it starts to feed on itself and buzz out. Back it off just one hair under that level and its got a great gritty tone.

A couple other interesting details about it - It responds differently to the Moongazer MG4 humbucker that I have installed in my BluesBird. Different than my VOX and different than my Crate. The amp also is more responsive to different attacks of the string with the pick. More responsive than both my other amps.

The other fun element to this amp is the way it reacts to a harp microphone. I play harp through an Astatic 335, and with this amp, the tone is really good. Great for jamming in the garage.

I'm extremely pleased with the little thing!

 

 

Stella Amp Quick Progress

This morning I went to work on the Stella as the little ones took a nap. I followed the 'Build It' link on the Stella amp website and made quick work of the board. This was my first time soldering this much on a circuit board of this type.

I had no issues and everything was/is exactly as described. I used a soldering pen just right for the job and was able to solder up every connection without an issue.

I've left the pots loose for the moment so that I can plan out how the circuit board will mount in the amp housing (cigar box!).

You can see a set of dice in the box that I plan to use for the knobs on the box. Should be quite cool looking. Now I need to find out where and how large to drill them to make them into knobs.

 

http://www.crazybutable.com/projects/stella

Stella Amp

I've wanted a truly portable (tiny) amplifier to use with my BluesBird, so I began looking at the different cigar box amp circuits out there. The 386 chip setup seems pretty good, but I wanted something I actually had to build myself. The Ruby fit this bill, but I could not find a US supplier.

In the end, I found the 'Stella' amp circuit. It is a true kit. Runs off 6-12 volts and is pretty impressive overall with a gain, volume and trim pot.

I ordered my kit and found a good cigar box to house it. I think it will turn out pretty nicely.

I'll do my best to keep the blog updated with my progress on building the amp. Wish me luck!