Spartacus Hammond AO-44 Organ to Guitar Amp Conversion

Published:2013/3/10 21:54:00 Author:Ecco | Keyword: Spartacus , Hammond Organ , Guitar Amp Conversion | From:SeekIC

This amplifier is a variation on the Hammond AO-44 Reverb Amp to Hi-Fi Amp Conversion project. The goal is slightly different: the Spartacus amp has more gain and higher output power, making it better for use as a guitar amplifier. Unlike the previous project, the Spartacus amp involves a complete rewire of the Hammond AO-44 chassis. The hard to find 6GW8/ECL86 tubes are replaced with more common and higher power 6BQ5/EL84 tubes. Output power is around 12 Watts, that may not seem like much, but the amp can get quite loud. A cool looking 6U10 compactron triple triode is added to the amp's chassis, it provides the first two gain stages and the phase inverter stage. The name Spartacus was inspired by the ancient slave who broke free from the Romans and wreaked havoc for many years. Like its namesake, the amp makes an excellent stereo guitar slave amp when used in conjuction with projects such as the Hammonator 2RVT and Lil' Tiger amps. The Spartacus amp can also break free and function as an independent amp, it works nicely with a 12 guitar speaker. The Hammond AO-44 amplifier chassis can be found on eBay for reasonable prices. The Spartacus design is simple and clean. The wiring is dense, but not overly difficult to assemble. The controls include the basic volume, bass and treble adjustments as well as a gain control. The gain (negative feedback) control is more than just a second volume control, it adjusts the the character of amplifier's sound from compressed and tight to open and loud like the popular Fender 5E3 amp.



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