’64 REVERB UNIT KIT

ORIGINAL 6G15 CIRCUIT

Reverb you can't

get from a pedal.

A S S E M B LY I N S T R U C T I O N S
With loads of
helpful tips!
 Contents

About this iconic reverb unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

How to build this kit!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Parts list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Tools and supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Amp voltages are seriously dangerous!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

How to use a snuffer stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

How to read resistor values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Capacitor values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Complete wiring diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Prepping the cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Prepping the boards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Installing the chassis-mounted components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

How to wrap and solder the eyelet board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Tips for great soldering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Filter cap eyelet board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Main eyelet board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Soldering and installing the eyelet boards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Connecting the eyelet board to the chassis components . . . . . . . . 24

Installing the heater wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Completed 6G15 wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Final assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Testing and troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Learning more: secrets revealed in the schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

6G15 circuit schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Tube replacement chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

COPYRIGHT WARNING
This material is protected by copyright and has been created by and solely for the purposes of StewMac.
You may not sell, alter or further reproduce any part of this material, or distribute it to any other per-
son. Where provided to you in electronic format, you may only print from it for your own private use.
Failure to comply with the terms of this warning exposes you to legal action for copyright infringement.
stewmac.com © 2018 StewMac
 ’64 REVERB UNIT KIT
ORIGINAL 6G15 CIRCUIT

Reverb you can't

get from a pedal.
Be excited!
This is the unit that put the waves in surf music!
Looks like an amp, sounds like a beach party.
This tube-driven reverb tank relies on good ol’
physics for a perfect effect. Your guitar signal
travels along two large suspended springs to
produce the reverb that launched the iconic
surf sound.
This reverb unit is an ICON
The greats of surf rock used this king of spring to get their submerged,
tubluar tones. Controls for dwell, mix, and tone take you from dark,
atmospheric decay to bright and snappy splash.

StewMac ICON KITS bring classics that are no longer made, or are simply
unaffordable, within reach. And the best part is you get to build them with
your own hands.
We give painstaking attention to parts selection, authentic materials, and
instantly recognizable details—everything that makes the originals so
sought after.
Build it with StewMac
These immersive instructions walk you through every step of creating this
tone machine. And you’ll learn a lot, gaining a deep knowledge of your
reverb unit’s inner workings.
Follow our steps closely for safety, too: we’ve carefully laid out a path that
even newcomers can follow in handling electrical components.
Building an electronics kit can seem daunting, but nobody makes it easier
than StewMac. Watch for helpful tips along the way, too—we’re here to help!

Let’s get building!

stewmac.com 1 © 2018 StewMac

 Here’s how to build this kit!

Quick look:
Sort your components by type, using the parts list.

Get the cabinet ready,

starting at Step 1 on page 9.
You’ll prep the metal chassis
and the eyelet board too.

Wiring comes later:

1. First, you’ll wrap the leads, connecting them without solder.
2. Then double-check all the connections. Don’t rush!
3. When everything checks out, it's time to solder.
See page 17 The numbered steps tell you when.

Learn more:
Gain Processing Output
Gain Processing Gain Processing
FOOTSWITCH

You don’t need to read the schematic, but it’s fun.

V3
6V6 REVERB V1
V2 +285V TRANSFORMER 12AX7
12AT7 68319-A
+105V +120 V .0022μF
3
+160V
.1μF
INPUT 1 2
2 7 5 4 2 1

250 pF
TONE
50KL
100 K

3 +1.8V 8 +2 V 3 +1.2 V
220 K
100 K
1.5 K

1M .01μF 8

See how your guitar’s signal gets processed into sound.

25V

25V

25V
1K 2W

1500
1.5 K

.01

IN OUT
1.5 K
DWELL
25μF

25μF

250μF
250KL

REVERB TANK Output

10K

MIXER
250KL

Power 10 K

This is on page 35.

2W
+250 V

22μF
2.2M

+250V
500V .047μF
+120V 6
7
POWER
TRANSFORMER
125A12A 8 +130 V
.1μF

To tube heaters
100K
2.2M

and pilot light

100 Ω

100 Ω

+295V
+300 V
AC SWITCH
22μF 22μF
500V 500V
FUSE
1 amp slow-blow

#10733 © 2018 StewMac

Resistor Capacitor Electrolytic Cap. Potentiometers Diode Transformer Jack Ground Shielded Preamp tube Power tube Rectifier tube

’64 REVERB UNIT

cable
plate plate plate cathode
grid screen
grid filament
plate

cathode cathode 6G15 CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC

stewmac.com 2 © 2018 StewMac

Parts list

Resistors Capacitors

250 5%
r (2) 100Ω .5W carbon composite r (1) 250pF 500V silver mica
Brown Black Brown Gold
r (3) 1.5K .5W carbon composite
Brown Green Red Gold 222J 600V r (1) .0022μF 600V Orange Drop
r (1) 10K .5W carbon composite
Brown Black Orange Gold
103J 600V r (2) .01μF 600V Orange Drop
r (4) 100K .5W carbon composite
Brown Black Yellow Gold
r (1) 220K .5W carbon composite
Red Red Yellow Gold 473J 600V r (1) .047μF 600V Orange Drop
r (1) 1M .5W carbon composite
Brown Black Green Gold
r (2) 2.2M .5W carbon composite
Red Red Green Gold 104J 600V r (2) .1uF 600V Orange Drop
r (1) 1K 2W metal oxide
Brown Black Red Gold
r (1) 10K 2W metal oxide
Brown Black Orange Gold

A magnifier helps! r (2) 25μF 50V electrolytic

25µF

+
22μF r (3) 22μF 500V electrolytic

250μF r (1) 250μF 25V bipolar electrolytic

Hardware Diode

r (2) 10-32 machine screw, 1-1/2" r (3) 1N4007 1000V rectifier diode
r (2) 10-32 locknut

r (6) 8-32 machine screw, 3/8"

r (6) 8-32 locknut Cabinet and Chassis
r (3) 6-32 machine screw, 1/2" r (1) Cabinet
r (3) 6-32 locknut

r (2) 4-40 machine screw, 3/8"

r (4) 4-40 machine screw, 1/4" r (1) Capacitor pan
r (6) 4-40 locknut

r (4) Self-tapping screw r (1) Chassis

r (1) Black wood screw

r (2) Eyelet boards
r (1) Power cord clamp

r (1) Strain relief for power cord r (2) Insulator boards

r (6) Rubber grommet

stewmac.com 3 © 2018 StewMac

Parts list

Tubes, lamps, fuses, and sockets Transformers

r (3) RCA-style jack r (1) Power transformer

r (1) Two-lug jack

r (1) Three-lug jack

r (1) Output transformer
78
6
r (2) Nine-pin tube socket
9
45

1 23

r (1) Filter choke

r (2) Shield for nine-pin tube socket

6 7

r (1) Eight-pin tube socket Wire

5

8
4

3 2

r (1) White wire

r (1) Green wire

r (1) Tension clip for eight-pin tube socket
r (1) Blue wire

r (1) Red wire

12AX7

r (1) 12AX7 preamp tube (also called ECC83S)

Vintage-style push-back wire
lets you push the insulation
12AT7

r (1) 12AT7 preamp tube (also called ECC81)

back instead of cutting it away.
BUT: Trimming the insulation
6V6

r (1) 6V6S power tube

still works better.
r (1) Fuse socket

r (1) Fuse (1 amp, slow blow)

r (1) Pilot lamp socket with lens Reverb tank & footswitch

r (1) Reverb tank

r (1) Pilot lamp bulb (#47)

r (1) Footswitch
Terminals, knobs, and cords
0KL
r (1) 100K control pot (L-linear taper)
10

r (1) Reverb wiring kit

(shielded wire and 4 RCA plugs)
0KL
r (2) 250K control pot (L-linear taper)
25

r (3) Knob

r (1) Three-lug terminal

r (1) Four-lug terminal

r (1) Power switch

r (1) Power cord

stewmac.com 4 © 2018 StewMac

Tools and supplies

Required Phillips screwdrivers, #1 and #2

Item #3000 Guitar Tech Screwdriver Set #1609
Round Nose
Needle nose pliers Bending Pliers #0505
Item #1610 Long Nose Pliers Kester
Pocket-Pak
Wire cutter Solder

Item #1607 Wire Cutter

Wire stripper
Item #1606 Wire Stripper
Soldering iron (preferably 40W)
Item #0501 Solomon SL-30 Soldering Station #0501
Solomon SL-30
Solder (at least one Pocket-Pak) Soldering Station

Item #0505 Kester Pocket-Pak Solder

Solder sucker
Item #0503 Solomon Solder Sucker
Drill with a 5/32" bit
5/32" for mounting eyelet board to chassis #3000
Guitar Tech
Ruler Screwdriver Set

Item #4905 StewMac Shop Rule

Digital multimeter
Item #3618 Fieldpiece Pocket Multimeter
#1606
Snuffer stick (bleed resistor) Wire Stripper

Item #1552 Snuffer Stick

Pencil
Wooden chopsticks
Glue
Wood glue, white glue, or contact
cement for gluing a paper label
inside the cabinet
#1607
Butane lighter or matches Wire Cutter

For heating heat-shrink tubing

Helpful Round nose bending pliers

Item #1609 Round Nose Bending Pliers
Solder wick
Item #0504 Solder Wick, 5-foot roll
Soldering aids
Item #0521 StewMac Soldering Aids StewMac’s Solder Monster
Soldering stand holds parts while you solder
Item #0506 Solomon Soldering Stand
Printed circuit board vise
Chassis stand
Item #10750 Chassis Stand
Solder Monster, or helping hand tool
Item #0531 StewMac Solder Monster
Fine tip permanent marker
Scratch awl or center punch
Item #3000 Guitar Tech Screwdriver Set
Tray for loose parts
#0531
StewMac
Solder Monster

stewmac.com 5 © 2018 StewMac

Amp voltages are seriously dangerous!

High voltage, even when unplugged

When you turn on an amp, or in this case a reverb unit, the
capacitors are designed to take on a charge and hold it.
That stored voltage is enough to injure you seriously, or
even kill you.
These components aren’t a threat until the first time you plug
the unit in. The stored electricity can be safely discharged to
ground with a snuffer stick. See how to use it below. Take breaks and stop when you’re tired
Fatigue leads to mistakes, and no one can afford mistakes
Once your unit has been turned on, don’t touch the wiring when working with electricity.
with your bare hands—even after turning the unit off. If
you need to press on a contact, use a chopstick or Sharpie Stay suspicious
marker, which are both non-conductive. Don’t use a pencil, Whether it’s the first time you’ve been inside live electron-
because graphite is conductive. ics or the 100th time, don’t become complacent. If you
discharge the caps and walk away for a few minutes, check
It’s important that you understand the dangers so you’re again for residual voltage when you return. Capacitors can
working safely. Here’s how to do it right. self-charge through a phenomenon known as dielectric
Wear rubber-soled shoes Professionals memory.
Rubber soles increase the insulation who work on Check before powering up
between yourself and the ground. amps take these It’s easy to forget that you a left a stray tool or wire in the
Take off your ring safety habits chassis. It’s also easy to forget to re-attach the speaker wire,
A metal ring on your finger can very seriously and that can fry an output transformer in seconds. Constant
bridge a hot connection to ground. vigilance is your friend when working on electronics.
Wear safety glasses Always unplug it
Rosin-core solder sometimes bubbles up, and it can spew Unplug the unit whenever you don’t specifically need it
molten specks into the air. You don’t want molten solder in plugged in. Some points are always hot when the unit’s
your eyes. plugged in, even if the power switch is off. These points
It’s better not to work alone include the lugs on the fuse socket, power switch, and
standby switch.
Electrical shocks can incapacitate you, and having someone
available to call 911 can be a lifesaver.

How to use a snuffer stick

To discharge a capacitor, clip the snuffer stick lead
to ground—preferably a mounting bolt on the
power transformer. Hold the tip of the stick to the
cap’s positive lead and use your multimeter to
watch the voltage drain to less than 18V.

stewmac.com 6 © 2018 StewMac

How to read resistor values Capacitor values

A resistor’s value—the amount of resistance it creates—is Capacitor values are typically printed on the component.
rated in ohms ( Ω ). Larger ohm values mean more resistance. The key values with caps are their capacitance and voltage.
For example, a 100Ω resistor creates ten times as much re-
Think of a capacitor as a container that can hold electricity.
sistance as a 10Ω resistor.
Capacitance, measured in farads, refers to how much elec-
The resistors used in this unit are too small to have value tricity this container can hold—its capacity. One farad (1F)
numbers printed on them. Instead, a system of colored would be much too large for use here. Caps for this unit
bands tells their values. The key to reading these bands is are rated in millionths of a farad, called microfarads (μF), or
provided below. However, an easier way to decode these trillionths of a farad: picofarads (pF). The voltage spec for
bands is to download one of the many smartphone apps a cap refers to how much DC voltage it can handle at any
for this purpose. given time.
One band will be the nearest to an end of the resistor. That A unique property of capacitors is that they don’t allow DC
band tells the first value. Combine it with the value of band current to flow past them, only AC current. This is important
2 to get a two-digit number (68 in our example below). in some parts of audio circuits, such as the path between
Multiply that number by band 3 (68 x 1,000 = 68,000). Thou- a preamp stage and a power amp stage. Here, a “coupling
sands are represented by the letter K, so this resistor is 68K capacitor” will block DC voltage, allowing only the AC guitar
(kilo-ohms, or KΩ). signal to pass.
If there is a fourth band, it will be either silver or gold. This Filter caps
indicates the tolerance allowed during manufacturing. The Capacitors also filter out 60Hz hum, or “ripple,” after the AC
resistors used in this kit have a +/- 5% tolerance, represented current from the wall is converted to DC. These capacitors
by a gold band 4. are called filter caps, because they filter out the ripple from
a power supply. The filter caps in this unit are the 22μF
A magnifying glass helps a lot. The bands on a 470Ω resistor
are yellow/violet/brown, and the bands on a 47K resistor are electrolytic capacitors.
yellow/violet/orange. They’re easily confused! Electrolytic caps
Can’t read the colors? Electrolytic capacitors contain electrolyte: a liquid or gel
that gives them a large storage capacity. Electrolytic caps
You can always use a multimeter to test a resistor’s value.
are typically polarized.
Set your meter to ohms and connect the test leads on each
side of the resistor.
Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 8μf
1st Digit 2nd Digit Multiplier Tolerance Positive Negative
BLACK 0 0 1 None +/- 20%
25μF
+

BROWN 1 1 10
RED 2 2 100 Polarized caps
ORANGE 3 3 1,000 Some capacitors have polarity and some don’t. It’s extremely
YELLOW 4 4 10,000 important to install polarized caps correctly in a circuit. The
GREEN 5 5 100,000 positive lead of an electrolytic cap will be indicated by an
BLUE 6 6 1,000,000 indented ring around one edge of the capacitor. The nega-
VIOLET 7 7 tive lead will often be indicated by a band of arrows pointing
GRAY 8 8 0.01 +/- 10% SILVER to the negative lead.
WHITE 9 9 0.1 +/- 5% GOLD
Installing capacitors with the polarity backwards will make
the circuit malfunction and quickly destroy the capacitor—
6 8 x1,000 +/- 5% even causing it to explode.
Blue Gray Orange Gold 68K +/- 5%
K = 1,000

Read this band first (closest to an end)

stewmac.com 7 © 2018 StewMac

Complete wiring diagram

POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX 250 5%

TONE OUTPUT

103J 600V
0KL 0KL 0KL

25

25

10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14

0V
103J 60
17
15 16

25µF
18

222J 600V
25µF

104J 600V

104J 600V
473J 600V
19 20 21
+

250μF
+ 22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

Here’s the complete 6G15 wiring

When you’ve finished the kit, you’ll have connected all the
parts shown in this wiring diagram. If it looks complex now,
don’t worry; we’ll start at the very beginning and do this
one step at a time.
Our diagrams
show a flat
Your circuit-building skills will get stronger with each step!
view of the
metal chassis

stewmac.com 8 © 2018 StewMac

Start by prepping the cabinet

Prepare the cabinet for mounting the

chassis by first removing the back
panel.

Check off each

completed step
STEP 1
Mount the power cord clamp
Drill a 5/64" pilot hole to mount the
power cord clamp. Locate the clamp
inside the left wall of
the cabinet, 1-1/2” from
the back panel ledge, Here
POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT
2” from the bottom. Back
Also test to make sure you don’t have
MA MA MA
continuity between the tip and the
1

1
shield of each plug, which would
indicate a short in the cable. If your
multimeter finds unwanted continu-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mity,10the likely
11 culprit is the inside (tip)
M 12 5
wire shorting to the outer shield. If
14
17that happens, de-solder the tip con-
POWER TRANSFORMER
(Mounted outside)

15 16
OUTPUT TRANSFORMER

STEP 3 nection and redo that solder joint.

(Mounted outside)

18
19 20 21
Solder
24
two reverb cables22 23

25
Cut 26the shielded wire in the reverb 32
27 29 30 31
wiring kit to two 2' lengths.
28 At the
33 34 35 36 37 38 39
ends of each piece, pull 3/4" of the
Don’t drill through the cabinet! Use a wire mesh shielding away to one side
piece of masking tape on your drill bit and strip away 3/8" of the internal
to mark the depth, or use a StewMac cloth shielding. Insert the exposed
5 6
Depth-stop Drill Bit (item #1712). wire into an RCA plug so that it reach- 89 89
7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
es the tip of the center post.
3

34 34

Use the black wood screw to mount

2 1

V? V? V?
the cable clamp. You’ll secure the Solder
6V6
this lead in place at the tip of 12AX7 STEP 4 12AX7

power cord with this clamp later, after the plug. Don’t leave solder on the Mount the reverb tank
the testing. outside of the plug tip, which would Remove the nuts from the four reverb
keep it from fitting into the jack. See tank mounting screws and remove
StewMac® ’64 REVERB UNIT “Tips for great soldering” on page 17. your reverb tank from its box. Install
ICON KITS O R I G I N A L 6G 1 5 C I R C U I T

After the plug tip cools and the inside the reverb tank with the RCA jacks
DANGER: Unplug the unit before changing tubes.
Tube locations from left to right: solder joint is set, solder the braided facing up.
wire shielding onto the outside of the Reinstall the four reverb tank mount-
6V6 12AT7
(ECC81)
12AX7
(ECC83)
plug. Solder the four plugs this way, ing nuts, tightening each until they
one on each end of the two cables. are sufficiently tight.
V3 V2 V1

Use only 1-amp slow-blow fuse.

These two cables will connect the
#10733
reverb tank to the chassis later on.
STEP 2
Test for continuity between the tips
Glue the tube placement chart of the plugs on each cable, then test
Cut out the tube placement chart on for continuity between the shields of
page 39. Put a thin coat of glue or the plugs in the same way.
contact cement on the back and glue
it to the inside wall of the cabinet.
stewmac.com 9 © 2018 StewMac
Prepping the eyelet boards
M 10 11
6 7 8 9
3 4 5
1 2
This circuit is built on two eyelet 14
13
boards. Signal processing happens on M 12 17

Insulator
the main board, and a smaller board 16
15
holds the filter capacitors.
18 20 21 23
19 22
For each eyelet board there’s a blank
24 32
board of the same size. These blanks 25
serve as insulators to keep the eyelet 29 30 31
26
27 28 39
board circuits from contacting the 36 37 38
34 35
33
metal chassis.
The pairs of boards mount to
the chassis with machine screws. F E
M
Mounting holes are already in the Main board H G

eyelet boards, but you’ll need to Filter cap board

Insulator
drill matching holes in the insulator
boards.

STEP 5
Tape the boards together
Noting the eyelet holes, align each
eyelet board with its insulator and M B A
D C
tape the paired boards together.
STEP 7
STEP 6
Number the eyelets and holes
Drill the insulator boards
These instructions will refer to the
The mounting holes are pre-drilled
eyelets and holes on the main eyelet
in the eyelet boards. Through them,
board by number and on the filter cap
you can see the undrilled insulator
board by letter. Use a pencil to mark
board taped behind. Using the holes
these numbers and letters onto the
marked "M" on the drawing above as
boards as illustrated above.
a guide, drill through the insulator
boards with a 5/32" drill bit. Set the
insulator boards aside for later.

The main board will be mounted

inside the chassis, and the filter cap
board will be mounted on the outside.
In the photo above, we’ve positioned
the empty boards just to show their
eventual mounting locations.
stewmac.com 10 © 2018 StewMac
Installing the chassis-mounted components

POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

POWER TRANSFORMER
(Mounted outside)

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 8 STEP 10
Install six rubber grommets Mount the power transformer
Squeeze these into the six holes for The power transformer has nine leads, Twist the three unused transformer
strain relief for the wires that will pass including two pairs with matching wires together. You’ll terminate them
through the metal chassis. colors, plus five wires with different independently in a few steps. Pass the
colors. Twist the same-color pairs red and green twisted pairs through
together. the grommeted hole under the fuse
The other five wires allow you to socket. Pass the rest of the wires
wire the unit for different voltages, through the grommeted hole closest
Snip
depending on the electrical system to the outside wall of the chassis.
STEP 9 where you live. The black wire is used Mount the transformer on the outside
Prep one terminal strip in all cases, and it’s twisted together of the chassis using 8-32 machine
With a wire cutter, snip the mounting with another wire depending on your screws. Secure the screws inside the
hole on the four-lug terminal strip as country’s voltage: chassis with 8-32 locknuts. Mount the
pictured. You’ll mount this terminal 100V: orange four-lug terminal strip under the rear
strip as part of the next step. 120V: white locknut as shown.
220V: black/yellow striped Pull these wires tight once the power
240V: black/red striped transformer is mounted, but make
In North America for example, you sure the grommets do not pull out of
would twist the white wire together their holes.
with the black wire for 120V.

stewmac.com 11 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

OUTPUT TRANSFORMER
(Mounted outside)

(Mounted outside)
FILTER CHOKE

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 11 STEP 12 STEP 14

Prep one grounding strip Mount the output transformer Mount socket V3 + tension clip
With a wire cutter, snip the mounting The output transformer has red, blue, Orient socket V3 so pin 1 is nearest the
hole on the three-lug terminal strip as and yellow leads. Thread the red and opening of the chassis. Use two 4-40
pictured. Cut a 1" piece of green wire blue leads through one rubber grom- x 3/8" machine screws to mount the
and remove the insulation. Wrap and met as shown, and the yellow lead socket outside of the chassis. As you
solder the wire across the terminals, through the other grommet. install this socket, add the tension clip
electrically connecting all three lugs. to support the tube. This clip is held
Using two 8-32 machine screws and
This will be used as a grounding strip. by the same machine screws that
locknuts, mount the output trans-
mount the socket.
former to the outside of the chassis.
STEP 15
STEP 13
Mount sockets V2 & V1
Mount the filter choke
Use two 4-40 x 1/4" machine screws to
Solder The filter choke has two black leads.
mount each nine-pin socket. Position
Twist these leads together and thread
the sockets so pin 3 is on the side
Wrap them through the grommet with the
toward the opening of the chassis.
red and blue output transformer leads
Snip as shown. STEP 16

Using two 8-32 machine screws, Install the RCA jacks

mount the filter choke to the outside Mount the three RCA jacks in their
of the chassis. Mount the modified respective holes. These jacks are for
three-lug grounding strip under the the reverb in, reverb out, and the
front locknut. footswitch.

stewmac.com 12 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

0KL 0KL 0KL

25

25

10
REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

67

67
12

12
3

8
345 345
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 17 STEP 20 STEP 21

Install the power switch Connect two 100Ω resistors to Install the control pots
Mount the power switch with its two the lamp socket Mount the pots so their lugs are facing
lugs facing up for soldering later. Twist one lead from each of two 100Ω up. When we refer to these lugs as left
resistors together to join them. Wrap or right, it’s assuming you’re looking
STEP 18
the other leads of these resistors to at the pot from the same point of view
Install the fuse socket the lugs of the pilot lamp socket. as the wiring diagram. Mount them
Mount the fuse socket so its side lug Don’t solder the pilot lamp lugs yet, left to right, as follows:
is facing up, toward the open side of but solder the twisted resistor leads Dwell: 250KL
the chassis. This makes it easier to to each other and then solder the Mix: 250KL
solder later. twisted leads to the middle lug of
Tone: 100KL
STEP 19
the three-lug terminal strip under the
Install the pilot lamp socket pilot lamp assembly.
Mount the pilot lamp socket by screw-
ing the lens from the outside into the
socket assembly. Position the socket
so the tabs are facing up for soldering.

stewmac.com 13 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX 250 5%
TONE OUTPUT

103J 600V
0KL 0KL

25

10
REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

67

67
12

12
3

8
345 345
1
V2 V1
2

V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 22 STEP 23 STEP 25

Install two jacks Install one capacitor Add one jumper
Mount the three-lug jack in the input Wrap and solder one lead of a .01μF Cut one 4-1/4" white wire.
hole and the two-lug jack in the out- Orange Drop cap to the left lug of the
Wrap one end through the right lug
put hole. Turn the jacks as pictured, tone pot. Solder the other lead of this
of the output jack and wrap the other
with the lugs of both jacks facing up. cap to the back of the tone pot.
end through the middle lug of the
Run the leads of a 1M resistor through Always set pots to zero before sol- mix pot. A connecting wire like this is
the right and left lugs of the input dering to their housing. This way, if called a jumper.
jack, positioning it out of the way the inside components do get a little
Solder both ends of this jumper in
of a guitar cable plug. It doesn’t too hot it won't leave an imprint in a
place.
matter which direction the resistor is position you might need to use later.
attached, because resistors aren’t po- STEP 26
STEP 24
larized. Wrap the lead going through Install power transformer leads
Install the silver mica capacitor
the left lug through the middle lug. Run the white lead from the power
Wrap one lead of a 250pF silver mica
Solder the left lug and middle lug transformer to the side lug of the fuse
cap through the right lug of the mix
connections, but not the right lug socket. Trim it to fit and solder it. Trim
pot. Wrap the other lead of this cap
connection yet. and solder the black lead to the left
through the middle lug of the tone
lug on the power switch.
pot. Solder both leads in place.

stewmac.com 14 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

67

67
12

12
3

8
345 345
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 27 STEP 28 STEP 29

Power transformer green leads Power transformer red leads Terminate the power
Run the two green wires from the Trim one of the power transformer’s transformer’s unused leads
power transformer to the lugs on red leads to an appropriate length The three unused leads from the pow-
the pilot lamp socket (either wire can and wrap one lead through one of er transformer will carry hundreds
go to either lug). Trim these wires to the lugs of the three-lug grounding of volts, so they need to be safely
length and wrap them onto the lugs. strip under the pilot lamp assembly. terminated and not hanging loose in
Don’t solder these connections yet. the chassis.
You can twist the other red lead in
Despite being green, these leads are with itself to keep it out of the way. Cut these wires to length and solder
not ground wires. They supply power This lead will be connected to the them to the three ungrounded lugs of
to the pilot lamp, and after jumper eyelet board once the eyelet board the four-lug terminal strip as shown.
wires are connected later they will is installed. These three lugs are not grounded or
also power the tube heater filaments. connected to any components, which
makes them a safe place to anchor
these unused live wires. The remain-
ing lug on this strip is grounded to
the chassis, and will be used later to
ground the power cord.

stewmac.com 15 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 30 STEP 31 STEP 32

Connect output transformer's Add two jumpers Inspect and double-check
blue and yellow leads Add a 2" white jumper between pin 2 This is a good time to step away from
Trim the blue wire from the output of socket V1 and the center lug of the the project for a few minutes and
transformer to an appropriate length footswitch jack. Solder this jumper in take a break.
and solder it to pin 3 of socket V3. to pin 2 of socket V1. When you’re ready to go at it again,
Trim the yellow wire from the output Add a 3/4" white jumper between the carefully review every connection
transformer to an appropriate length center lug of the reverb out jack and you’ve made so far.
and solder it to the center lug of the the center lug of the footswitch jack. When everything checks out, you're
reverb in jack.
Solder the connection to the center ready to move on to the eyelet board.
Leave the red output transformer lead lug of the reverb out jack.
free for now; you will install it to the
Solder the connection to the center Be suspicious!
eyelet board later on.
lug of the footswitch jack along with Assume there's a mistake and
the jumper from socket V1. you’re the one who’ll find it.

stewmac.com 16 © 2018 StewMac

How to wrap and solder the eyelet board

Solder after
all the parts
are in place

Put the lead through the eyelet Bend it tight against

the opposite side

Wrap Inspect Solder

Don’t solder the components as they When all the parts are in place, stop Solder each connection point only
go onto the eyelet board. Instead and inspect. Go back over every step. once. Reheating to add another part
wrap all the parts onto the board, Careful inspection is the best way to makes a messy, faulty solder joint.
bending their leads tightly so the make sure your unit works the first Use the soldering tips below to get
parts stay in place without solder. time you turn it on. professional results.

Trim away
excess wire

Tips for great soldering!

n Don’t think of solder as glue. Good n Keep your soldering tip clean by n Trim away the excess wires after the

mechanical connections make good wiping it often on a damp sponge. joint has cooled.
electrical connections. Solder’s job Keep it tinned by occasionally melting n Plan ahead so each joint is only
is to finalize an already good joint, a little solder onto it. soldered once. Resoldered joints are
not to hold the parts on the board. n Feed solder to the connection not messy and more likely to fail.
So wrap the leads tightly for good to the iron. Keep the iron on the con-
electrical contact before soldering. nPosition the parts so their specs face
nection for a second longer to allow out so you can read them later. Many
n Melt a small amount of solder onto time for all of the flux to cook out of builders also align resistor bands to
the tip of the iron (“tinning" the iron). the joint. read in the same direction.
Hold the tip against the joint for a few n Don’t ever blow on the hot solder n How much insulation to strip? With
seconds, until the connection reaches or touch anything until the joint is
soldering temperature. plastic insulation, strip 3/8" from the
completely cool. A good solder joint wire ends. Push-back wire works best
Also tin component leads like multi- is shiny—a sign that it was left to cool when you strip away about 1/4" of the
strand wires to help the solder flow. undisturbed. cloth wrap.

stewmac.com 17 © 2018 StewMac

Wrapping parts onto the filter cap board

A B C D

22μF

22μF

22μF
E F G H

STEP 33 STEP 34 STEP 36

Add three capacitors Add two jumpers Add three more jumpers
Use the small eyelet board for the Wrap a 1-1/4" green jumper between Add a 6" green jumper to eyelet B.
three filter capacitors. Note that eyelets B and C. Add a 5-1/4" red jumper to eyelet F.
these caps are polarized and Add another 1-1/2" green jumper
must be installed in the correct Add a 5-1/4" white jumper to eyelet G.
between eyelets C and D.
orientation. Set filter cap board aside for now, and
Add a 22μF electrolytic capacitor STEP 35 let’s get started on the main board!
Add one resistor
with the positive lead wrapped
through eyelet F and the negative Add a 10K resistor between eyelets
lead through eyelet B. G and H.

Add another 22μF electrolytic cap

with the positive lead through eyelet
G and the negative through eyelet C.
Wrap a third 22μF electrolytic cap
between eyelets H (positive lead) and
D (negative).

stewmac.com 18 © 2018 StewMac

Wrapping parts onto the main eyelet board

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

104J 600V

104J 600V
473J 600V
18
21

250μF
19 20
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

STEP 37 STEP 39 STEP 41

Install a cap + resistor Add another cap + resistor Add two jumpers
Wrap the leads from the 1.5K resistor Add a 100K resistor between eyelets Wrap a 6-1/2" white jumper onto
around the leads on the 250μF 25V 39 and 14. eyelet 11.
capacitor and solder them in place. Add a .1μF Orange Drop cap between Wrap a 2-1/4" white jumper onto
eyelets 39 and 11. This and the fol- eyelet 39.
lowing Orange Drop caps are not
STEP 42
250μF polarized, so you can install them in
32

14

either direction. We recommend fac- Add a resistor + cap pairing

ing them all in the same direction to Wrap and solder one lead of a 2.2M
make their printed specs easy to read. resistor to one lead of the .047μF
This capacitor is bipolar. This means
Orange Drop cap.
that despite being an electrolytic
8

STEP 40
capacitor, it can be installed in either Add two resistors + another cap
direction.
Add another 100K resistor between
37

473J 600V
9

Add this assembly between eyelets eyelets 23 and 38.

14 and 32. Wrap the capacitor lead with the
Add a 2.2M resistor between eyelets resistor soldered to it onto eyelet 37.
STEP 38 23 and 37.
Wrap the capacitor’s other lead to
Add two jumpers Wrap a .1μF Orange Drop cap be- eyelet 9. Wrap the resistor's other lead
Connect a 3-1/2" white jumper to tween eyelets 10 and 38. onto eyelet 8.
eyelet 32.
Add a 3" green jumper to eyelet 14.

stewmac.com 19 © 2018 StewMac

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

25µF
18
19 20 21
+

22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

STEP 43 STEP 44 STEP 45

Add four jumpers Add four back-of-board jumpers Add a cap + resistor pairing
Wrap a 5-3/4" white jumper onto Flip the board over and add a 4-3/4" Wrap the leads from the 1.5K resistor
eyelet 38. white jumper to the back of eyelet 23. around the leads on the 25μF 50V
Thread this jumper up through hole capacitor and solder them in place.
Wrap a 3-3/4" white jumper onto
31 and pull it tight to keep it in place.
eyelet 10.
36

Flip the board over and add a 6" white 25μF

+

8
Wrap a 4-1/2" white jumper onto Positive Negative
jumper to the back of eyelet 9. Thread
eyelet 37.
this jumper up through hole 30 and Note the polarity of the capacitor.
Wrap a 3-1/2" white jumper onto pull it tight to keep it in place. Install this resistor/capacitor assembly
eyelet 9. between eyelets 8 and 36, making
Flip the board over and thread a 9"
sure the capacitor’s negative lead
white jumper through hole 7 and
goes to eyelet 8.
thread the other end through hole 29.
STEP 46
Flip the board over and add a 5"
blue jumper to the back of eyelet 23. Add two jumpers
Thread this jumper up through hole Add a 2-3/4" white jumper to eyelet
17 and pull it tight to keep it in place. 36.
Flip the board over and add a 2-3/4"
green jumper between the back of
eyelet 8 and the back of eyelet 14.

stewmac.com 20 © 2018 StewMac

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14

0V
103J 60
17
15 16

18

222J 600V
25µF
19 20 21
+ 22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

STEP 47 STEP 50 STEP 52

Add two resistors + one cap Add a cap + resistor pairing Add three rectifier diodes
Add a 100K resistor between eyelets Wrap the leads from the 1K resistor Note the polarity of the diodes: the
22 and 35. around the leads on the 25μF capac- positive lead is indicated by a stripe
itor and solder them into place. at that end. The end with no stripe
Add a 10K resistor between eyelets
is negative.
13 and 22.
33

25μF
+

Add the first diode between eyelets 2

4

Add a .01μF Orange Drop cap be- Positive Negative

and 12, connecting the positive lead
tween eyelets 6 and 22. Note the polarity of the capacitor.
to eyelet 2.
Install this resistor/capacitor assembly
STEP 48
between eyelets 4 and 33, making Add the second diode between eye-
Install two jumpers
sure the capacitor’s negative lead lets 12 and 15, connecting the positive
Add a 5-1/2" white jumper to eyelet 6. lead to eyelet 12.
goes to eyelet 4.
Add a 3" white jumper to eyelet 35. Add the third diode between eyelets
STEP 51
15 and 19, connecting the positive
STEP 49 Add two resistors
Add two more resistors + a cap lead to eyelet 15.
Add a 220K resistor between eyelets
Add a 100K resistor between eyelets 4 and 5.
13 and 34.
Add a 1.5K resistor between eyelets
Add a .0022μF Orange Drop cap be- 4 and 21.
tween eyelets 5 and 34.

stewmac.com 21 © 2018 StewMac

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

STEP 53 STEP 54 STEP 55

SLOW
Add four back-of-board jumpers Add six jumpers Review your work
Flip the board over and add a 2-1/2" Add a 2-1/2” white jumper to eyelet All the components and wires are now
white jumper between eyelets 13 34. on the eyelet boards. Take a break to
and 23. rest your eyes. It's time to inspect your
Add a 2-3/4” white jumper to eyelet
work so far, and it’s a mistake to do
Add a 1-3/4" white jumper between 33.
that in a rush.
the back of eyelet 3 and the back of Add a 3" white jumper to the bottom
eyelet 18. Review everything to make sure
of eyelet 24, then thread the other end
you’ve correctly followed each step.
Add a 4-1/2" white jumper to the back up through hole 26 and pull tight to
To find no mistakes at this stage is
of eyelet 5, then thread the other end keep in place.
pretty unusual, and it’s much easier
through the bottom of hole 27 and Add a 5" green jumper to eyelet 4. to correct them now than after you’re
pull it tight to keep it in place.
Cut two 3/4" white jumpers and done soldering!
Add a 3-3/4" white jumper to the back remove their insulation. Add one
of eyelet 21, then thread the other end As you check your
between eyelets 1 and 2. Add the
through the bottom of hole 28 and second between eyelets 18 and 24.
work, make sure
pull it tight to keep it in place. every connection
is tight!

stewmac.com 22 © 2018 StewMac

Soldering and installing the eyelet boards
POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

Insulator
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11 Board

M 12 13
14

V
103J 600
17
15 16

25µF
18

222J 600V
25µF

104J 600V

104J 600V
473J 600V
19 20 21
+

250μF
+ 22 23
24
25

Main board
32
26
27 29 30 31
28

mounts inside,
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

with insulator
REVERB IN REVERB OUT
board behind
5 6
89 89

7
4

67

67
12

12
3

8
345 345
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

H G F E

Filter cap board

Insulator
Board

mounts outside,
with insulator
22μF

22μF

22μF

board behind
D C B A

STEP 56 STEP 57
Solder the eyelet boards Install the four boards
When all the parts and wires are in Make sure you have enough length Inside the chassis, lay the insulation
the right place and tightly wrapped, on the unsoldered jumpers coming board down first and then the main
it’s time to set the connections with through holes 7 and 29 to reach eyelet board on top of it.
solder. their components. To do this, lay the Line up the mounting holes and pass
main eyelet board on the floor of the a 6-32 screw through the mounting
Review the tips for great soldering on
page 17, then solder each connection chassis where it will be mounted and hole in between eyelets 9 and 10. Pass
adjust these jumpers. this screw through the holes in the
on the eyelet boards.
Install the filter cap board and its main eyelet board, main insulation
After soldering all the joints, clip the
insulation board first, on the exte- board, chassis, filter cap insulation
excess leads on the back and the
rior of the chassis. Run a 6-32 x 1/2" board, and filter cap eyelet board.
front of the board. This is important
machine screw through the inside Secure with a 6-32 locknut.
to avoid a short in your circuit.
of the chassis and then lay down the Feed the blue jumper coming from
Check all your solder joints to make insulation board, then the filter cap hole 17 through the grommeted hole
sure they’re shiny. board. Secure it with a locknut on the under the output jack.
outside of the chassis.
Pass a 4-40 screw through the other
Feed the green, red, and white jump- mounting hole on the main eyelet
ers from the filter cap board through board and secure it on the other side
the grommeted hole under the input of the chassis with a 4-40 locknut.
jack.

stewmac.com 23 © 2018 StewMac

Connecting the eyelet board to the chassis components

POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 58 STEP 59 STEP 60

Solder the blue jumper Solder tube socket V1 Solder tube socket V2
Run the blue jumper coming from Wrap the white jumper from eyelet Wrap the white jumper from eyelet
hole 17 through the grommet to the 38 through pin 1 of socket V1 and 35 through pin 1 of socket V2 and
outside of the chassis and solder it to solder in place. solder in place.
eyelet H of the filter cap board. Wrap the white jumper from hole 31 Wrap the white jumper from eyelet
through pin 6 of socket V1 and solder 34 through pin 6 of socket V2 and
in place. solder in place.
M 10 11
Wrap the white jumper from eyelet Wrap the white jumper from eyelet
32 through pin 3 of socket V1 and 36 through pin 3 of socket V2 and
14 solder in place. solder in place.
17
Wrap the white jumper from eyelet Wrap the white jumper from hole 28
39 through pin 8 of socket V1 and through pin 8 of socket V2 and solder
solder in place. in place.
23
Wrap the white jumper from eyelet Wrap the white jumper from hole 29
The blue jumper runs from inside to
outside the chassis, where it connects 37 through pin 7 of socket V1 and through pin 7 of socket V2 and solder
32
to eyelet H on the filter cap board.
solder in place. in place.
Trim all excess wire ends and inspect Wrap the white jumper from hole 30
H G your solder joints. through pin 2 of socket V2 and solder
in place.
Trim all excess wire ends and inspect
your solder joints.

stewmac.com 24 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 61 STEP 62 STEP 65

Solder tube socket V3 Connect the red wire from the Solder the three leads from the
Wrap the white jumper from hole 26 output transformer filter cap board
through pin 4 of socket V3 and solder Coming through the grommeted hole Solder the white jumper coming from
in place. near the back wall of the chassis will the filter cap board to eyelet 3.
be the red output transformer wire. Solder the red jumper coming from
Wrap the white jumper from hole 27
Solder this wire to eyelet 24. the filter cap board to eyelet 2.
through pin 5 of socket V3 and solder
in place. STEP 63 Solder the green jumper to eyelet 4.
Wrap the white jumper from eyelet Connect the red wire from the
STEP 66
33 through pin 8 of socket V3 and power transformer
Solder a green jumper to ground
solder in place. Solder the red power transformer lead
to eyelet 19. Solder the green jumper coming from
Trim all excess wire ends and inspect eyelet 4 to the three-lug grounding
your solder joints. STEP 64 strip under the pilot lamp.
Install the filter choke leads
Coming through the grommeted
hole near the back wall of the chassis
will be the black filter choke leads.
Solder one of these leads to eyelet 1
and solder the other lead to eyelet 18.

stewmac.com 25 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

0KL 0KL 0KL

25

25

10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 67 STEP 68 STEP 70

Solder the dwell pot Solder the input jack Solder the tone pot
Cut a 1" green jumper and remove Solder the white jumper from eyelet 9 Solder the white jumper from eyelet
the insulation. Solder one end of this to the right lug of the input jack along 10 to the right lug of the tone pot.
to the left lug of the dwell pot. Solder with the resistor lead already in place. Trim the excess wires.
the other end to the back of the pot. Trim any excess leads and inspect all
STEP 71
Solder the white jumper from hole three solder joints on the jack.
7 to the middle lug of the dwell pot. Solder the output jack
STEP 69 Solder the green jumper from eyelet
Solder the white jumper from eyelet 6 Solder the mix pot 14 to the left lug of the output jack.
to the right lug of the dwell pot. Solder the white jumper from eyelet
11 to the left lug of the mix pot.
Next you’ll install the
Trim the excess wires.
wires that power the
heating elements in
the tubes. That part’s
a little tricky, so review the following
page carefully before you start on it.

stewmac.com 26 © 2018 StewMac

Installing the heater wires

POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 72 STEP 73
Connect to the pilot lamp Connect to tube socket V3
Cut two 8-1/2" green jumpers and Cut two 6" green jumpers. Twist them twisted pair into pin 2 of socket V3.
twist them together, leaving one together very tightly and leave about Run these twisted pairs up an inch
inch of untwisted wire on each side. 1" of untwisted jumpers on both sides. from the tube socket and turn them
Wrap the two wires from one side of Take 1” of the new jumper and twist it at a 90° angle toward the V2 socket.
this twisted pair through the two lugs in with 1” of the jumper coming from On the remaining V1 and V2 sockets
of the pilot lamp assembly. Solder the pilot lamp assembly. Twist the (both 9-pin tube sockets), twist pin 4
these leads into place with the two other ends of 1” untwisted jumpers and pin 5 toward each other so that
100Ω resistors and the green power together. Solder one twisted pair their eyelets line up. Be very careful
transformer leads. into pin 7 of socket V3 and the other while doing this as these pins are
delicate.
How to REDUCE THE HUM caused by AC voltage
These heater wires carry AC voltage that will cause hum if they get too
close to wires that carry the signal. These tips minimize that hum.
Twist the wires tightly Route them out and away
This reduces hum, the way Let these wires stick out about
opposite-wound coils do in a an inch from the socket before
humbucking pickup. Twisted bending them. This keeps the
wires are easier to route away heater wires from mingling
from signal wires. with the signal wires.

stewmac.com 27 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

5 67

5 67
12

12
3

8
34 34
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 74 STEP 75
Connect to tube socket V2 Connect to tube socket V1
Cut two more 6” green jumpers. Twist Solder one pair of twisted wires into Solder one wire from this last heater
them together very tightly and leave pin 4+5 of socket V2 and solder the run into pin 4+5 of socket V1 and
about 1” of untwisted jumpers on other pair of twisted wires into pin 9 of solder the other wire into pin 9 of
both sides. Take 1” of the new jumper socket V2. Run these twisted pairs up socket V1.
and twist it in with 1” of the jumper an inch from the tube socket and turn
coming from the pilot lamp assembly. them at a 90° angle toward socket V1.
Twist the other ends of 1” untwisted Trim the excess wire.
jumpers together.

stewmac.com 28 © 2018 StewMac

 POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX TONE OUTPUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13
14
17
15 16

18
19 20 21
22 23
24
25
32
26
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
89 89

7
4

67

67
12

12
3

8
345 345
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

STEP 76 STEP 77 Take a break

Add the power cord Connect the power cord leads and review your work
Strip the power cord’s outer insula- Solder the power cord’s white wire You’ve soldered all the components
tion until the black and white leads to the right lug on the power switch. and wires, and now it’s time to take a
can reach the power switch and break. Rest your eyes and review your
Solder the power cord’s black wire to
fuse. Twist the black and white leads work later, carefully searching out any
the center/back lug of the fuse socket.
together. errors before you move on.
Danger: Soldering this lead to the
Cut the green lead from the power
side lug of the fuse socket will create

SLOW
cord to reach the grounded lug on
a shock hazard.
the four-lug terminal strip as shown
in the diagram. Tin this lead (see page Solder the power cord’s green ground
17) and wrap it onto the lug. wire to the grounded lug of the ter-
minal strip.
Pull the power cord leads through the
hole in the chassis and secure with the
black strain relief.
The strain relief is a tight fit. Use pliers
to squeeze it onto the power cord out-
side the chassis, and keep squeezing
to fit it into the mounting hole.

stewmac.com 29 © 2018 StewMac

 Completed 6G15 wiring

POWER FUSE PILOT LIGHT DWELL INPUT MIX 250 5%

TONE OUTPUT

stewmac.com
0KL 0KL 0KL

25
25
10
103J 600V

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11

M 12 13

0V
14
17
15 16
103J 60
25µF

18

25µF
+
19 20 21
23

222J 600V
250μF

22
104J 600V

+
104J 600V

473J 600V

24
25
32
26

30
27 29 30 31
28
33 34 35 36 37 38 39

REVERB IN REVERB OUT

5 6
9 9
7

78 78
1
1

56
56

3
8

23 23
4 4
2 1
V2 V1
V3 12AT7 12AX7
6V6
FOOTSWITCH

’64 REVERB UNIT

© 2018 StewMac
#10733 © 2018 StewMac 6G15 CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC
Final assembly

STEP 80 STEP 83
Install the pilot lamp bulb Install the chassis
Insert the pilot lamp bulb into its sock- Place the chassis in the cabinet. Run
et from the front of the chassis and two 10-32 machine screws through
twist until it locks in place. Screw the the top of the cabinet into the chassis
red jewel lens over the socket. and fasten loosely with locknuts.

STEP 81 Hold the upper back panel in place

Install the three control knobs and position the chassis flush against
Turn the shaft of each pot to zero and the panel. Tighten the locknuts.
install the knob so that the indicator Connect the shielded cable from the
STEP 78
line points to number 1. reverb tank’s in jack to the reverb out
Install the capacitor pan
jack on the chassis.
Use the self-tapping screws to mount STEP 82
the capacitor pan on the chassis, cov- Connect the shielded cables to Connect the reverb tank’s out cable to
ering the filter cap board. the reverb tank the reverb in jack on the chassis. You’ll
Connect the two shielded cables you install the back panels later.
STEP 79
assembled in Step 3 to the in and out
Install the fuse jacks on the reverb tank. DON’T INSTALL THE TUBES YET!
Insert the 1-amp fuse into the fuse DON’T PLUG THE UNIT IN!
socket from the front of the chassis.
Make sure the socket cap is secure. The next page is
Never use a fuse rated above 1 amp going to keep you
in this unit.
out of trouble!

stewmac.com 31 © 2018 StewMac

Testing and troubleshooting

Any multimeter will work fine for STEP 85

the two types of tests we’re about to Test the dangerous DC voltage
do: checking continuity and reading The dangerously high DC voltage that
voltages. The instructions that came passes through the three diodes and
with your meter will be helpful. the filter caps is referred to as “B+”.
89
The next step is to test this B+ voltage.

5 67
Continuity testing is simply making

12
sure current flows between two
34
Plug the power cord back in.
points successfully. Touch the meter's
Again, spend a few minutes watching
red lead to one end of the section
for smoke or smells.
being tested, and the black lead to the
other end. If the continuity is good, For safety, use only one hand to
your meter will beep or register this probe the unit during DC tests.
on the display. At this point, dangerous voltage is
Keep your other hand behind your
forming in the filter caps. Always
Voltage testing is where you need back when you need to probe a
discharge them before working
to be careful. Some steps require the component. This way, you can’t be
on the circuit, even if the unit is
unit to be plugged in and turned on. a path between B+ voltage and
unplugged. See how to use a snuffer
This becomes dangerous if you’re not ground—a mistake that would send
stick on page 6.
cautious. Respect the voltages and a dangerous charge through your
follow the directions, and these tests For a few minutes, watch for smoke heart.
are safe and easy. or unusual smells. If anything seems
unusual, disconnect the power Seriously, keep one hand
STEP 84 immediately and carefully review all behind your back!
Perform a safe power-up your connections.
At this point, there should be no tubes Set your multimeter to 20V AC. Check
installed. the heater voltage across pin 9 and
Before plugging the unit in, turn the pins 4+5 on socket V1. This should
power switch to ON. Switching the read between 5-7V AC. If this reading
unit on before the first power-up is drastically different, disconnect 1 2
protects you from shock if a mistake power and check your connections.
in your wiring has created a short
If the unit seems normal, unplug the
to the chassis. If this short exists, an
power cord while still leaving the
M 12
indication would be that the pilot power switch ON.
light will not turn on, since the AC
current is going directly to ground. 15 16
Set your multimeter to 500V DC and
Plug the power cord in. The pilot lamp
connect the negative lead to ground.
should light.
Once the negative lead is secured
to ground, measure the DC voltage
at eyelet 2 for your B+ voltage. This
should be roughly 420V DC.
Unplug the unit.
Danger: Remember to discharge
the capacitors before working on
the circuit. See how to use a snuffer
stick on page 6.

stewmac.com 32 © 2018 StewMac

 STEP 86 STEP 87 STEP 88
Test the preamp tubes Test the 6V6 power tube The last step
With the unit unplugged, you can With the unit unplugged, install the If the unit is stable and your tests
install both of your preamp tubes. 6V6 power tube. Plug the footswitch match the voltages specified, feel free
There are no indexing pins for the into the back of the reverb unit. to let it rip!
preamp sockets, but there is only
Plug a guitar cable into the reverb If everything seems to be operating
one way to install these tubes in their
unit’s output jack. Plug the other end normally after playing for a few
sockets.
into your amp’s input jack. Turn your minutes, go ahead and turn the unit
Af ter these tubes are correctly amp on. off. Install the cable clamp to mount
installed, plug the unit back in. The the power cord on the side wall of
Perform these next tests with your
pilot lamp should light up. Let the unit the cabinet. Install the tube shields
amp turned away from you. If it starts
warm up for a few minutes. Again, over the nine-pin tubes, and install
to squeal, this helps protect your ears.
if you get smoke or smells, unplug the back panels.
immediately. Plug the reverb unit in. After a few

GO!
moments you should hear a low hum.
Connect your multimeter’s negative
If the hum becomes very loud, unplug
lead to ground.
the unit and your amp immediately
Set the multimeter to 5V DC and and review your connections.
check eyelet 32, which should read
After the unit has warmed up for a
around 1.3V.
few minutes attach your multimeter’s
Set the multimeter to 200V DC and negative lead to ground. Set your
check eyelet 39, it should read around multimeter to read 5V DC and test for Tube life
130V. voltage at eyelet 36. This should read The life span of the power tubes is
If all of these voltages come within around 1.3V. affected by how hard you drive the
approximately 10% of their expected unit. If you are really driving the unit
Set your multimeter to read 500V DC
values, unplug the unit. for hours every day, expect the power
and test for voltage at pin 4 of socket
tube to have a shorter life span.
If the reading at eyelet 39 shows V6. This should read around 285V.
no voltage or low voltage, follow We encourage you to experiment
If the readings are correct, plug in a
this test: Unplug the unit, drain the with different tube brands and find
guitar and play at low volume. If the
filter caps with the snuffer stick the brand that is most favorable to
reverb unit behaves as it should, keep
(instructions on page 6), set your your ears and your wallet.
increasing the dwell and mix and test
meter to read continuity, and make the tone control. The reverb should
sure you have properly installed the saturate as you increase the dwell.
flying jumper from eyelet H of the
If the reverb isn’t working, switch the
filter cap board to eyelet 23 by testing
cables in the reverb in and out jacks.
for continuity between eyelet H of the For questions and support,
If that doesn’t remedy the issue, check
filter cap board and eyelet 23. StewMac is here to help!
your reverb cables again for a short.
If all of these voltages come within For more than fifty years, StewMac
If the unit squeals or seems unstable, has supplied instrument builders and
approximately 10% of their expected
use a wooden chopstick to probe for repair shops. Our customer service
values, unplug the unit.
loose connections: team really knows how to help if you
n from the input jacks to the board run into questions.
n from the tube sockets to the board Call 800-848-2273 from 9AM–6PM
n from the tube sockets to the front Eastern time, Monday–Friday.
panel controls. Email: [email protected]
It usually takes just a minor wiring Thanks for choosing this StewMac
adjustment, perhaps resoldering kit, and welcome to the world of amp
a loose joint, to correct this sort of building!
distortion.
stewmac.com 33 © 2018 StewMac
Learning more: secrets revealed in the schematic

You don’t need to read a schematic to build this kit. But it’s We’ve color-coded these stages on our schematic, to show
fun to see how the circuit works, and to see the different how the parts work together. Symbols for components are
subcircuits that interact to shape your sound. in the key at the bottom of the frame.
Working with the tiny signal from the guitar, the unit creates On the wiring diagram we build step-by-step in these
the power needed to drive the spring reverb tank. The signal pages, the parts are easier to recognize. But studying these
is affected by the gain, processing, output and power color-coded stages will help you understand where each
stages as it passes through the circuit. component fits into the creation of your sound.

Mic level

Gain Line level Processing Line level Output Mic level Amp

The gain circuit increases the signal The processing stage shapes the In a typical amp the signal is passed
strength to line level (about 1 volt), tone of the signal. This begins with to the power tubes for final amplifi-
by passing it first through a 12AT7 the dwell pot, which determines cation and then sent to the output
preamp tube. how long the reverb will linger in the transformer to step down the voltage
sound. and step up the current to drive the
Inside the airless capsule of a tube,
speaker. 
electrons flow from a heated cathode The 6V6 tube receives the signal from
to be received by the plate the 12AT7 tube and drives the signal However, this is not a typical amp and
grid
anode plate. Between through the reverb tank. The 12AX7 doesn’t have a typical output stage.
cathode
these two elements is tube then recovers the processed sig- This effects unit’s output stage is
a grid receiving the nal from the reverb tank and passes simply the mixed signal that is sent
tiny voltage from the it to the tone pot for further pro- from the mix pot to the output jack.
guitar. The guitar’s varying musical cessing. The tone pot determines the This signal is a mic level signal, just like
signal controls the flow of electrons amount of highs or lows that are bled the one that comes out of your guitar.
to the plate.  to ground. The tone pot then passes
the processed signal to the mix pot
This three-part component is called
where the processed signal is mixed
a triode. The 12AT7 and 12AX7 tubes
back in with the “dry” signal. The dry
are dual-triode tubes; combining the
signal is a part of the signal that was
elements of two tubes in one housing.
split from the input jack and sent to
This circuit doesn’t provide much the mix pot unprocessed.
gain to the signal from your guitar,
because the focus of this reverb unit
is signal processing.
Power

The power supply stage provides power to the other circuit stages, as well as the
tube heaters and pilot light. 
This circuit receives the AC power from your wall and passes it through the power
transformer to create higher voltage. The electricity then goes to the rectifier,
which converts it to a pulsing DC current. 
This then passes through a series of three large electrolytic capacitors which filter
out the pulsing to create a smooth current. As each cap smoothes a bit more, the
current is also passing through resistors that lower the voltage. 

stewmac.com 34 © 2018 StewMac

 Gain Processing Gain Processing
FOOTSWITCH

stewmac.com
V3
6V6 REVERB V1
V2 +285V TRANSFORMER 12AX7
12AT7 3 68319-A
+105V +120 V .0022μF +160V
.1μF
INPUT 1 2
2 7 5 4 2 1

250 pF
3 +1.8V 8 +2 V 3 +1.2 V 100KL
8 TONE

100 K
.01μF

100K
1M

100 K
220 K

25V
25V
25V
.01

IN OUT

1.5 K
1500

1K 2W

1.5 K
REVERB TANK Output

25μF
25μF

10K
250μF

250KL
DWELL
250KL
MIXER

Power 10 K
2W
+250 V

22μF
+250V
2.2M

500V .047μF
+120V 6
7

35
POWER
TRANSFORMER
125A12A 8 +130 V
.1μF

To tube heaters
and pilot light
2.2M
100K

100 Ω
100 Ω
+295V
+300 V
AC SWITCH
22μF 22μF
500V 500V
FUSE
1 amp slow-blow

#10733 © 2018 StewMac

Resistor Capacitor Electrolytic Cap. Potentiometers Diode Transformer Jack Ground Shielded Preamp tube Power tube Rectifier tube
cable
plate plate plate cathode
grid screen
grid filament ’64 REVERB UNIT
plate

cathode cathode 6G15 CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC

© 2018 StewMac
 It’s your amp. Your tone. You built it!
StewMac ICON KITS teach you the world of amp building,
then turn you loose with amazing hand-built tone machines!

’57 MINI TWEED 5W AMP KIT

One-knob titan of tone.
A timeless studio darling whose tiny size hides
tremendous punch and versatility.
The 5F1 circuit was meant to be a student amp but wasn’t kid stuff
for long; rock’s finest guitarists hijacked it for some of the greatest
songs ever recorded. Listen to Eric Clapton (“Layla”) or Joe Walsh
(“Rocky Mountain Way”) while you build this amp!
Our simplest kit; the quickest way to get into amp building. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10730 5 WATTS / 8” SPEAKER / ORIGINAL 5F1 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 6

’59 TWEED 15W AMP KIT

Dirty little devil that shaped guitar history.
With mysteriously fat saturated tone, this little monster
makes it easy to achieve seismic distortion.
This amp’s 5E3 circuit is an enigma: Why do the controls on the channel
you’re NOT using make your tone so great? The answer: Who cares?
This is one of the greatest t one monsters ever created!
Listen to Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps while building this kit.
Our most popular amp kit and a great learning experience. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10731 15 WATTS / 12” SPEAKER / ORIGINAL 5E3 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 8

’65 P-REVERB 15W AMP KIT

Sparkling bright, perfect for the surf.
Plug your single-coils straight in for that signature clean
American tone, or go surfing with onboard effects.
The smallest member of the black-panel family to offer reverb
and tremolo, this amp made its name as a jangly pop dream machine.
Aficionados treasure its early low-end breakup powered by a pair
of 6V6 tubes.
Listen to “Surfin’ USA” and the great sounds of Ryan Adams. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10734 15 WATTS / 10" SPEAKER / ORIGINAL AA1164 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 1 2

’66 D-REVERB 22W AMP KIT

Famously clean, with enough guts to gig.
Perfect for recording as well as performing, the D-Reverb produces
stinging clarity that absolutely refuses to get lost in the mix.
One of the most popular designs ever, this amp lives in the happy middle
between bright clarity and rich distortion. It excels in the studio and on the
stage. While capable of crystal clear tones at good volume, you can push
this one into beautifully saturated, play-sensitive distortion.
It’s all here: clarity, distortion, and rectifier tube sag. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10737 22 WATTS / 12" SPEAKER / ORIGINAL AB763 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 16

stewmac.com 36 © 2018 StewMac

 Beginner-tested. Pro quality.
StewMac ICON KITS are fun to build, with friendly instructions
to guide you and loads of info to add to your knowledge.

’62 BRIT-PLEX 45W AMP KIT

The original British showstopper.
This amp started a revolution. It’s been rocking the world
for over 50 years, and we still can’t get enough.
Favored by blues and rock players for exceptional sustain
and rich creamy tone, the ’62 Brit-Plex is chock-full of harmonic
gain, yet it still stays articulate and even a little crispy.
Put this head on a classic 4x10 cab and watch out!
While building, listen to Gary Moore’s “Still Got The Blues.” D I F F I C U LT Y

#10736 45 WATTS / ORIGINAL 1962 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 1 2

’81 BRIT-800 50W AMP KIT

This hairy monster lives to shred.
The defining British circuit that dominated the ’80s.
This 50W giant created your favorite heavy rock and metal albums.
Used by Slayer and Pixies, and recorded on early Metallica albums, this
circuit produces that screaming guitar tone that your mother despises.
With solid-state rectification there’s no sag, and the distortion created
by this circuit is way more about treble than mids or bass.
Listen while building: Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10735 50 WATTS / ORIGINAL 1981 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 16

’66 BRIT-74X 18W AMP KIT

Leave your half-stack at home.
Born in London, this little blues blaster earns its living
every night, gigging in clubs across the USA.
Launched in 1966, this amp quickly became a low-wattage holy grail.
This is a stripped down blues machine: two channels, one tone knob,
no master volume. Buckle up and go where this gritty beast takes you!
It comes with a footswitch to kick in the onboard tremolo.
Get the plexi tone without blowing the roof off the joint! D I F F I C U LT Y

#10732 18 WATTS / 12" SPEAKER / ORIGINAL 1965 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 1 2

’64 REVERB UNIT KIT

Reverb you can’t get from a pedal.
This is the unit that put the waves in surf music!
Looks like an amp, sounds like a beach party.
This tube-driven reverb tank relies on good ol’ physics for a perfect
effect. Your guitar signal travels along two large suspended springs
to produce the reverb that launched the iconic surf sound.
This isn't a pocket-sized digital simulation; this is the real deal!
Listen to Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” while doing this easy build. D I F F I C U LT Y

#10733 ORIGINAL 6G15 CIRCUIT H O U RS : 8

stewmac.com 37 © 2018 StewMac

stewmac.com 38 © 2018 StewMac
 StewMac® ’64 REVERB UNIT
ICON KITS O R I G I N A L 6G 1 5 C I R C U I T

DANGER: Unplug the unit before changing tubes.

Tube locations from left to right:

6V6 12AT7 12AX7

(ECC81) (ECC83)

V3 V2 V1

Use only 1-amp slow-blow fuse.

#10733

Cut this label on the dotted line with a razor knife and metal straightedge.
Fasten it to the bottom of the cabinet using thinned wood glue or contact cement.
The duplicate copy is included as a backup.

StewMac® ’64 REVERB UNIT

ICON KITS O R I G I N A L 6G 1 5 C I R C U I T

DANGER: Unplug the unit before changing tubes.

Tube locations from left to right:

6V6 12AT7 12AX7

(ECC81) (ECC83)

V3 V2 V1

Use only 1-amp slow-blow fuse.

#10733

stewmac.com 39 © 2018 StewMac

 StewMac
tools + ideas for guitarmaking

21 N. Shafer St., Athens, OH 45701

800-848-2273 stewmac.com

©2018 StewMac. All rights reserved.

#i10733 Updated December, 2018