5E3 Deluxe Guitar Tube Amp 6V6 Push Pull Kit Chassis DIY

I purchased this because it was quite a bit cheaper than the other 5E3 kits online. It only comes with a schematic, but I was able to follow the MojoTone 5E3 assembly guide they have available on their website. All the parts I needed came with the kit. All in all it was pretty easy. I'd say it took me around 10 hours over several sessions with taking my time and double checking everything. One thing about this kit is that it comes with two 12AX7's which doesn't really work in the preamp position. Luckily, I had a 12AY7 (which is what is used in the original 5E3) and that made a huge difference. Also the power transformer has a few extra wires compared to what comes with the MojoTone kit, but I was able to find a forum that outlined what to do. It was a great learning experience with a few minor hiccups.

Product ships from Hong Kong and arrived quickly and well packaged. The chrome chassis is very nice but none of the jacks or pots have lockwashers so I’m concerned how well parts will stay in place during use. No instructions are included but a schematic is. The turret board has no mounting hardware or standoffs to keep board away from the chassis and holes will have to be drilled through both chassis and board. I will have to buy mounting hardware in order to finish. I tried contacting the seller but have not received a response. The power transformer uses the same colors for multiple wires and is hard to determine which wires are which. A schematic on both transformers would be nice. The main schematic color codes don’t match the transformer colors either. The resistors all test within spec but the caps are generic parts. There are plenty other 5e3 clones on the market and for the money this kit comes up short.

I built it, and it works! Sounds great, too. Shipping was a bit odd but it did arrive with no problems. Notes to potential builders: -You should probably have an idea of what you're doing, maybe have done some pedal kits or other soldering. -Follow an online layout and video like the mojotone ones, it's the same build. -I had to enlarge/dress the fuse holder hole, not a huge deal. -The chassis is hardened steel, I couldn't drill through it - so you have to use the existing mounting bolts and drill the turret board. Only three holes matched on mine so I put some spacers under the board. -Plastic phono jacks - you have to explicitly run a ground to them all because they don't ground through the chassis. -The supplied schematic has the power transformer wire colours wrong. The transformer sticker labelling was correct though. You have some choices to make around grounding the center tap of the heater wires (I did) and which AC voltage to use. It had 125 or 110, either works in North America, but it is a bit off from ideal. -I had to supply bolts to mount the output transformer, not a big deal. For the price, this is excellent value, especially with the high-quality labelled chassis. Now I get to pick a speaker! Fun.