Hey guys... I'll start by saying I have the absolute most basic knowledge of electronics. Also, I'm long-winded and type a lot... sorry.

I was on the DIYAUDIO forum getting some really good feedback and input regarding the project, but, kinda hit the point where I needed to switch to a forum like this to stick it all together.

Basically, I wanted to build a guitar speaker cabinet, but instead of needing a head or amp attached, I wanted it to be a powered speaker and using a relatively non-coloured speaker. I have GuitarRig on an old laptop and wanted to connect it to the cabinet and use as a modelling amp so, wanted the sound of the speaker to be as neutral as possible so doesn't interfere with the modelling of the laptop.

Learned a lot about amps that I didn't know... was going to buy a 50w mono amp off ebay, recommended power supply and done... but now know about distortion/clipping and how ohms affects watts/power and overall watts depend on volts of the PSU etc. Also, probably need a pre-amp.

Goal is about 40-50w power before distortion/clipping. So about 30-32v on an 8ohm speaker, or around 24v with a 4ohm speaker. Probably the latter because price seems to jump up a bit to find one that handles a 32v PSU and the PSU itself jumps up.

Also looking at a preamp, 12-35V NE5532 Preamplifier Board for example.... and maybe cooling fans. Which is where I'm starting to have questions.

1) How to get power to the Preamp. Do I just run 2 pairs of wires from the same PSU? Do I get power off the amp board? Do I need a 2nd PSU?
2) How do I add a master volume? In the end I want 3 sets of input jacks, 1/4", 3.5mm and RCA... plus 1 master volume. I think some preamp boards have a volume, not sure if better to buy one with it, or maybe attach one to the amp somewhere?
3) How do I drop the power down? In addition to the preamp, depending which direction I go I may want to add a cooling fan for the amp and one for the PSU... but if the PSU is 24v or if I use 32v, I'd need to drop the power down to 12v... and again, just split off the terminals of the PSU? I plan to use one of the metal box types with 1 set of output terminals.

Mainly those 3 questions (for now). I know basically what I want/need... just not 100% sure how to connect them together.

 

Welcome to AAC!

Here is my DIY guitar amp. Portable, runs on a 12V battery.



Uses an automotive amp with bridged outputs.


Back cover removed:

 

Thanks... looks good.

I'm hoping to make mine look like a classic VOX style amp. Looking at using stuff like

Power Supply

Amp

Preamp

Speaker

Sorta... I mean, I'm still debating 24v with 4ohm speaker, or 34v with an 8ohm... if I go 34v and 80hm, I'll need the 200w amp and the speaker will be a Eminence BETA 12" that's a more natural flat speaker than the Warehouse. Cheaper too but, don't think a 4ohm option.

Just not sure how to get the power to the preamp, or where to stick a master volume.

also building an arcade cabinet, audio and power was much easier to sort out on that. Hoping to cut all the wood for both projects at the same time in a week or two.