Amps on Strings And Tines

Sears Cassette Player Amp

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Remember when Sears made cassette players? No? Well it turns out they did. And unbeknownst to them, they make great amps. These units have tone and volume control, and also a jack to plug them to an external speaker.

The finished product

Yeah, Sears made cassette players

Snap Circuits Amp

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Ok, this is a bit of an experiment. I wanted to see if I could build an amp from parts from a Snap Circuits. Turns out you can, but don’t expect to shake the walls when you play it.

A needlessly elaborate Rick Roll

Never gonna give up making silly instruments and amps

Gran Habano Cigar Box Amp

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This box is a beauty. I saw it at a cigar store in Key West and immediately knew I would make an amp out of it. The amp itself is made from a toy guitar and amp combo. The guitar was pretty much garbage, but the amp was definitely worth salvaging. Even the volume knob was red, which matched perfectly with the box. I ended up adding a second speaker to give it a bit more oomph.

Windsor Radio Frankenamp

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I like this radio because it had the ability to tune into TV channels. However, I much prefer making amps out of cassette players. So I combined both…I got the circuitry from a cassette player and stuffed it inside this radio’s case. I connected the tuning knob to the circuit to get some interesting glitched out effects. The resulting amp sounds great, and looks great too!

The finished product

Fisher Price Cassette Player Amp

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This one is even goofier looking than the Fisher Price 826 Cassette Player Amp I made previously. The mic on this one works too, so you can sing along while you rock out!

PC Speakers and Woodworking Kit Box Amp

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We bought our kids these woodworking kits…basically a wood box with a bunch of random cuts of wood so they can start building their woodworking skills. You can imagine what my first thought was when I saw the box :)

PC Speakers Cigar Box Amp

Sat, 02 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The finished product

Someone stored nuts in this cigar box at some point, evidently

Old drawer pull

Nothing says quality like using rubber bands to keep the lid shut

Soundesign Radio Amp

Sat, 02 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s another one that I made from an old Soundesign radio. The 1/4″ jack is connected to the volume pot, so you can play along with the radio.

The finished product

Acid Cigar Box Amp

Sun, 10 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Just about everyone that makes amps uses an Acid cigar box at some point, and here’s my attempt at it. These boxes are pretty sturdy and roomy, so they are perfect for making an amp. The speaker and grill came from a big speaker I found on the side of the road…the kind that was about 3 feet tall and would be part of the furniture in people’s homes in the 80’s. This was the grill for the mid-range. I used an amp kit I bought online. It’s not very loud, but I got to solder, so it was fun to put together. Great starter project.

GE AM/FM Radio Amp

Sun, 26 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When making an amp out of a radio that doesn’t have a cassette player, you have to solder the 1/4″ jack to the volume pot. You can play along with the radio, but if you want to play just the guitar you still hear the radio interference, so it doesn’t sound as good.

Fisher Price 826 Cassette Player Amp

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This is the one that started my obsession with making amps out of cassette players. It’s very easy to do. All you need is to wire up a 1/4″ jack to the positive end of the cassette head and to ground. That’s it! You can hunt around on the circuit board until you find the right point to solder, which is what I did here.

Plus, they tend to overdrive, so the sound that comes out of it is distorted, great for playing blues or rock. You have to press Play for it to work, which gets a chuckle every time. I ended up selling this one, and have regretted it every since. Going to have to get another one.