MacGyver guitar amp!

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Mon May 15, 2006 6:19 pm

Ok, so the guitar amp I used at school broke so I was all like damn. My real amp is too heavy and bulky to bring to school, and I had a pair of computer speakers lying around so I decided to turn that into an amp. It's actually not too bad sounding, not too loud but hey, better then playing without any amplification. Note in these pics that wall wart is the same kind vb_master showed, with the selectable voltages, and I have a special cable for plugging into the mini connector. I also made a 9v battery clip that let's me run the amp off batteries.

Picture time!

Here's a photo of the amp in all its glory:

Here's a top picture:

The front with the controls and cable:

The back with the only thing on it, the wall wart cable:

The moment you've all been waiting for: Guts! Here you can see my shameless usage of duct tape:

Steps to build it:

1. Take the computer speakers apart, gut them.
2. Rewire the two spekaers together (remember there's a left one and a right one)
3. Build a case out of cardboard (its actually quite sturdy)
4. Have fun with it!

Peace out 'till later guys!

Post by **Skyone** » Mon May 15, 2006 6:21 pm

Not too bad, all you're doing is putting speakers in a new shell, but nonetheless, cool.

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Mon May 15, 2006 6:35 pm

Hey, fits way better in my gig bag.

(And hardshell case that I never use)

shmagoogin77 · Post by **shmagoogin77** » Mon May 15, 2006 7:27 pm

i like the idea...

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Mon May 15, 2006 7:40 pm

i hooked up some speakers in my book bag one time it as basically a stripped headphone cord and wired directly to the speakers and that was plugged into my small cd player

Nothing special at all but i thought it was cool back in high school

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Tue May 16, 2006 2:19 pm

Ah, amplified computer speakers loads of fun to be had with those things! Actually hooking them up to a mic makes a half descent megaphone, just keep the mic a safe distance from the speakers, or have really good hearing protectors handy

.

NES_fanatic · Post by **NES_fanatic** » Tue May 16, 2006 2:26 pm

@Sir Games-A-Lot:
That reminds me of a time when we were repairing a speaker, so it was opened a bit. We thought we got it working, so we hooked up a small mic and turned it on. The amp made a loud BOP! as that's what lost of old amps do. Well the sound scared Brian (who was holding the mic and was holding the amp open. The sound made him jump and he dropped the mic in the amp case and let go of the case. This enclosed the mic inside the amp. Since the mic and amp were so close and we couldn't get it out it started making that painful woooooooo sound. We had to run to the next room and turn off the power to the practice room!

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Tue May 16, 2006 3:33 pm

Couldn't you of just unplugged or turned off the amp?

gamemasterAS · Post by **gamemasterAS** » Wed May 17, 2006 3:19 pm

iam7805 wrote:Couldn't you of just unplugged or turned off the amp?

Yah.

NES_fanatic · Post by **NES_fanatic** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:08 pm

NO! The amp is built into the wall. That's why we had to go to the other room to turn it off.

gamemasterAS · Post by **gamemasterAS** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:20 pm

NES_fanatic wrote:NO! The amp is built into the wall. That's why we had to go to the other room to turn it off.

They build them into walls Â¿

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:52 pm

gamemasterASgamemasterAS wrote:
NES_fanatic wrote:NO! The amp is built into the wall. That's why we had to go to the other room to turn it off.
They build them into walls Â¿

Probably for acoustical reasons.