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The amp.
I finished my Percolator project this last weekend and it turned out great! I was amazed by the full nature of the sound and the volume this little thing kicked out. It does not sound like a 2 watt amp! I have a Vox Lil Night Train for quiet time/evening practice and the Percolator blows it away. It is also extremely quiet…hum not volume. I have not completed my custom matching speaker cabinet, so I ran the amp through a Mesa 2 x 12 with Vintage 30’s in. I was surprised by the volume and the headroom. I incorrectly thought it would be all distortion but the volume knob is essentially a gain knob. 1/3 of way up, clean with a little break up. 2/3 of the way up nice warm overdrive (sounds awesome…my favorite setting) and beyond that, great distortion without flab or fizz. As I said in the title…not just a great small amp/project amp but fantastic amp in it’s own right! I was a little reluctant about the lack of tone knob but the amp doesn’t need it. It is voiced perfectly for single coils and humbuckers. Add in your guitar’s volume and tone knob and you are all set! This is a no brainer purchase…for the cost of a pedal, you end up with a fantastic sounding amp at bedroom volumes and an amp that is loud enough to mic up for a small gig or jam. The percolator is the real deal!The build.
My only experience with electronics was building r/c cars as a kid and a couple of pedal projects and pedal mods. So I had a soldering background but that was about it. I took my time (about 4 hours to build) and followed the direction carefully. When I checked all my voltages at the completion, everything checked out just fine. Plugged it in, plugged in a guitar and beautiful music ensued. Here are a couple of suggestions for the build. 1. Use a multi meter to check the rating on all of your resisters before you install them. The color codes are too hard to accurately read. 2. Buy a good wire stripper like the Klein Katapult® Wire Stripper/Cutter. It’s the best 29 bucks you will ever spend. 3. Buy a real soldering iron. I purchased the Hakko fx888d for $90 on Amazon and it made all the difference. The $15 Radio Shack 30 watt iron just makes the build more difficult that it has to be.The Percolator is a great amp. It is also a great project if you choose the kit option. If Zeppelin Labs comes out with another kit (maybe an 8-12 watt hint…hint), I will buy it in a heart beat. A great company and a great product!
