Two Stroke Amp Kits

Please note that we don't check messages or friend requests on this page very often - it is primarily a holding page for Two Stroke info
FINALLY IT IS HERE! update as of 4/27/08:
Hello 2Stroke kit makers! This is Mark Baier from Victoria Amp Co., and Dave has given me the stage for a couple paragraphs to announce that the new Victoria-2Stroke combo kit is ready for order Monday April 28th. $1000.00 Please contact us via the new e-mail address; [email protected]. The first ten kits will be ready to go out the door immediately upon ordering. After that, kits will take about two weeks to be shipped; this is the lead time required to have the cabinets built and the super-groovy grille cloths screened. ONLY complete kits for sale. No substitutions. I will be uploading more detailed photos and posting commentary on basic do's and don'ts on this site, as I know there will be questions a plenty. Our ultimate goal is to have step by step photos (in Ektachrome!) leading up to a beautiful archetypical 2Stroke, and we'll DO IT darn-it!!..Until then however, we're throwing caution to the wind and selling them! To you, the most discriminating, tone driven, solder sniffers in the entire WORLD!! Peace be upon It.
We're very honored here at Victoria to help Dave bring this great little hell-raiser of an amp to life. We are including in this 2Stroke kit the exact same components, caps, resistors chassis and custom transformers that are used in our renowned Victoria amplifiers. No cheap-o substitutions or outsourced parts are used in any aspect of this kit. 1st class all the way. Go slow, build this kit correctly (no cheating) and you'll have a professional quality guitar amp that I am proud to put the Victoria name on. THANKS SO MUCH & Turn it up!
Mark Baier 4-27-08
NOTE: former versions of the Two Stroke kits are NO LONGER available to purchase in any form.
UPDATE May 5, 2008, re NEW SOUND SAMPLES: I have uploaded three new sound samples to give you an idea of the "raw" sound of the Victoria 2Stroke with a selection of different output tubes and guitars. I recorded these off-the-cuff, with the completed prototype of the Vic 2Stroke, wired up by the good folks at Victoria themselves - components and circuit EXACTLY like the kit they are sending out. For notes on tubes, amp settings and pickup selections, click on the LYRICS tab under each sound sample. The amp is extremely versatile, and you can achieve many, many more tones with other settings; of all these, my favorite is probably the so-called clean sound achieved with the Tele bridge pickup with the 2Stroke cranked to 10 with a 6L6, but the guitar's volume wound back about half way. All of these samples were recorded straight in, no pedals in front, no processing after. All recorded with a vintage Coles 4038 ribbon mic through a Hamptone tube mic pre, straight into Digital Performer. -Dave
The OLD Two Stroke Kit info:
YES - this is the place to find the complete kit that enables you to build the Two Stroke single-ended all-tube guitar amp, the low-wattage, tube-swappable tone monster for studio recording and low-volume performance that so many guitarists are raving about.
This is all getting rather wordy for MySpace... Scroll down to find:
- Introduction and basic info
- Pricing and Ordering information
- Terms & Conditions and Warning
- Sound File Notes
- Kit Updates
- Testimonials ...and more
- Erratum (some minor corrections to typos in the book)
- NEW! Garage Sale: some items I'm clearing out.
INTRODUCTION & BASIC INFO
The Two Stroke Amp Kit is the kit provided to readers of Dave Hunter's popular book THE GUITAR AMP HANDBOOK who would like to build the Two Stroke project in the back of the book and would rather buy all of the parts from a single source. NOTE: Before sending an order for purchase you must read, understand and agree to both the TERMS & CONDITIONS and the WARNING below. Any request to purchase a Two Stroke Kit in any form constitutes an agreement to and understanding of these Terms & Conditions, and to the WARNING.
The parts for these kits are currently being supplied by Victoria Amplifier, but the Two Stroke is a proprietary design that CANNOT be ordered directly from Victoria. The complete kit can only be ordered here (a full parts list will be coming soon). If you already know about the kit and know that you want to buy one, here are the prices for the variations available. Also, please see the KIT UPDATES below for some information on minor changes made to the kits compared to the project in the book (and I mean VERY minor...):
PRICING AND ORDERING
- Full Combo KitEminence/Victoria 12" speaker: $1000 + $50 shipping US (+ $25.00 PayPal fee) = $1075.00 Total
You can pay instantly through PayPal by sending a payment instruction for the full amount for the full amount for the kit you desire, plus details of your order, plus shipping address AND contact phone number, to: [email protected]. You can also pay by cashier's check if you prefer - email twostroke@wowway for insructions of how to do so (payments by cashier's check include the total minus PayPal fee in each case). Kits generally take up to 30 days to be shipped out, because chassis and cabinets are often not in stock and are prepared as orders come in.
If you don't have a copy of THE GUITAR AMP HANDBOOK you can purchase it from Backbeat Books or Amazon , or other fine booksellers.
Two Stroke builder Ken from Seattle is currently hosting an online blog on building this kit, and plans a forum too, along with downloadable Supplementary Instructions that explain some of the erratta in the book, and a useful FAQ. More resources coming here soon too. Also, keep an eye out for our follow-up kit with a slightly larger amp project - details TBA.
TERMS & CONDITIONS The author and/or publisher of THE GUITAR AMP HANDBOOK & representatives of Victoria Amplifier Co. are unable to provide any assistance via telephone, mail or email to builders of the Two Stroke kit or DIY project who encounter difficulties during the course of their work. The kit is sold as a collection of parts only, and does not imply any form of technical help. Builders encountering difficulties are advised to seek the help of a qualified tube amp technician. The request to purchase a Two Stroke Kit in any form constitutes an agreement to and understanding of these Terms & Conditions, and to the WARNING below.
WARNING!
This tube amp kit-building project is undertaken by readers only with the understanding that they do not plug in or switch on the amp – incomplete or complete – until it has been securely and correctly mounted in the speaker cabinet, with the protective upper-back panel secured over the chassis opening. Potentially lethal voltages are present in guitar amps, even when they are turned off and unplugged from the AC wall outlet. Electrolytic capacitors store high voltages that can still be harmful and even lethal, long after an amp has been switched off and unplugged. If your kit amp (or DIY project) does not power-up correctly and function properly when first switched .. mounting it in the cabinet and securing the back panel, consult a qualified professional for troubleshooting, repair or assistance. Do not attempt to remedy the problem yourself, as the amplifier will now have received a high voltage charge that might still be present after it is powered down and unplugged. If your amp works after completing the building project, but fails some time in the near or distant future, again, do not attempt to diagnose or repair it yourself, seek professional help.
The author and publisher of THE GUITAR AMP HANDBOOK and Victoria Amplifier Co. assume no responsibility for any damage whatsoever to persons or property that may result from readers undertaking work on their own amps. Please read the warning at the beginning of the book for other important cautions.
SOUND FILE NOTES
First off, I'm not a huge believer in relying on brief MP3 sound samples to determine the "tonefulness" of any amp, guitar or effects pedal. They give you a little something to chew on sonically, but don't tell you a thing about how said product will sound in your own hands, blasting out your own music, with your guitar and your style of playing. Also, the little old Two Stroke is such a versatile recording amp that by the time you try the many variables it has to offer - single 6L6, single 6V6, single EL34, one 8" speaker, one 10" speaker, both 8"+10", single 12" speaker, all of the above with boost off, all of the above with Fat boost, all of the above with Bright boost, all of the above with Strat/Tele/Les Paul/ES-330/Duo Jet, etc - you will have discovered an enormous range of sounds that just can't be represented in a few limited sound samples. That said, everyone likes a little something to listen to. For now, I'm putting up two instrumental tracks with full band behind them, because this puts the amp in context, but I will record a "medly" of sorts soon, with a few simple licks played "naked" at different Two Stroke settings. Regarding what's here now:
- Might Have Done (instrumental mix), by The Molenes, ©D. Hunter 2006. 1957 Telecaster, bridge pickup, Two Stroke at Vol 9, Tone 9 (of 12 on the dial), Fat Boost on, through 12" Weber British Series Ceramic 1230.
- Step On It (demo, instrumental edit), by The Molenes, ©D. Hunter 2007. 1957 Telecaster, bridge pickup, Two Stroke at Vol 7, Tone 10, boost off, through 8"+10" Weber Signature Alnico speakers.KIT UPDATES The Two Stroke is a single-ended, true class A tube combo with single 6L6 output tubes in its “standard format” (swappable for a single 6V6, EL34, KT66, 6K6, etc) and a 1x12” speaker configuration. Power output is between 4 watts (6V6 or 6K6) and 8 to 10 watts (6L6 and larger tubes), depending upon tube used. The project published in Guitar Amp Handbook was for a "dual-single-ended" amp with 2x6V6s that could be swapped for a single 6L6 like the Two Stroke uses now, but this proved too complicated to supply for the extra effort involved, and after repeated testing the single 6L6 sounded just as good (if not better) and makes it an easier amp for beginners to build, so it made sense to make the change. You can still swap the single 6L6 for a single 6V6, or for any of the other tubes mentioned above. The project still uses the same diagram, you just don't connect the extra wires to the second output tube socket to wire it in parallel, and you delete the extra bias resistor and bypass cap.
TESTIMONIALS
- Hello, I have bulit the Two Stroke amp in Dave's book and find it to be an absolutely amazing amp. I own quite a few vintage amps but after studying and assembling this amp, I am a true convert and totally addicted. The variety of tones and textures from two knobs and a switch blows away everyone that hears it. Can't wait to start another one. Right now, I am using this as a head until my cabinet is finished, and find it works incredibly well with a 2-12 rola celestion cab, a 4-10 marshall cab and a 1-15 eminence cab. It is truly incredible. Please pass this word on to Dave. Thanks, R.T. (USA)
- Hi Dave, Finished the build yesterday 17/12/06, triple checked and turned on with trepidation (please work)!! Purple light and no hum or crackle. Left it alone for 5 minutes to warm up then played lightly for 15 minutes. The tone is to die for, the longer i played the warmer and fatter the sound became. My son came round to check on progress, and we played for another 2 hours, all the time the sound just kept getting better and better. What headroom. This is a truly wonderous thing of beauty !!! A big thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm, i still can't stop smiling. Ive included a couple of photo's of the build, hope they pass your quality control! Yours in appreciation, Phil (UK)
- I picked up your amp book right around xmas last year - it's one of the best I've read (and I've read most of them). You really succeeded in translating tone to guitar-speak, which is no small feat. So as I'm raving about your book on the Strat yahoogroup and deciding to build and modify a few things of my own, a buddy comes up with a favor to ask; he has a half-finished Two Stroke (One Stroke?) and would I complete the kit for him. The poor guy had no idea he was giving me a present :) He got it back last week and I think I heard the top of his head blowing off as he heard it. Here is a guy who has vintage and boutique amps and he loves this thing to death. He's setting up a studio and can't wait to record with this. He told the group that this was the equivalent or better than any of the low power amps he's ever owned (Dr Z, Swart, tweed Princetons). He was most impressed by the variety of outputs he could use and loved the cathode switch to death. Thanks again for your design/redesign, and never solder in shorts! Jeff (USA)
ERRATUM
Sadly, I was not sent the final versions of the parts list and diagram before the book went to print, so a handful of minor errors slipped through. Most builders have worked these out for themselves, but here they are:
1) The signal capacitor going from the Tone pot to ground, which is labeled “.047uF” should have been “.0047uF” – the latter is correctly indicated in the parts list, and that’s what is supplied with your kit.
2) The artist also missed the connection between the center lug of the jack and the top lug (as seen in the graphic on p181). The wire to ground should connect these two lugs, which makes the switched connection within the jack go to ground when the amp is unplugged, thereby keeping it quiet when you’re not plugged in. It functions without this connection, but you will get some noise from the speaker, especially at high volumes.
3) The cap used for the Bright Boost function should be a .47uF (or 0.47uF) as in the diagram, but the “.” was left off of the signal cap values in the parts list.
4) In the explanatory text on p188-189 it says The white signal wire that runs under the board from its underside connection to the junction of the 47k negative feedback resistor and the 1.5k cathode resistor... That should of course be a 68k resistor as per the parts list and diagram, NOT a 47k resistor.
5) Don't be confused by instruction 10 on p191-192, pin 1 of the rectifier socket SHOULD NOT be connected to ground. It should remain unconnected. Only pin 1 of the output tube socket(s) needs to be connected to ground (the confusion arrises partly in that there are two output tubes (6V6s) in the book version, but just one (6L6) in the current updated version.