Mojotone's 18-Watt TMB Amplifier Kit addresses a common mod made to a classic circuit, but with a few new flavors of our own. The TMB is based on the circuit used in vintage Marshall models 1958, 1973, and 1974 (more affectionately known as the '18-watters'). Marshalls were only produced between the years 1965 and 1967, but were highly sought-after for having massive sounding JTM-45-like tones in a smaller, more manageable package. Because they were produced in comparatively low quantities, these amps still remain a 'lost ark' today.
18-watters became popular studio amps for many players and were used, at times, by everyone from Gary Moore, to The Pretenders, to AC/DC. Over the years, some players have reported having no use for the amp's original tremolo channel and have opted to replace the tremolo controls with a 3-band EQ, since the original amps were only equipped with a single tone control for each channel. In the Mojotone version, we have done just this, only we have integrated the preamp from our British 800 kit (based on the original Marshall JCM 800 circuit) for a lean and mean, hot-rodded gain sound. We have also integrated a master volume control so this monstrous sound can be harnessed and used in any size room.
Two EL84s give the amp's normal channel a warm and round character which, when volume is pushed higher, begins to break up into a smooth grind perfect for blues rock and classic rock rhythm sounds. On the dirty channel, one can access screaming lead tones perfect for everything from dim dirty grunge all the way to saturated hair metal sustain!
With our TMB mod in place, this take on a classic beast now has a normal channel with high sensitivity and low sensitivity inputs as well as a single volume and single tone control; the second channel has a single input with volume, treble, middle, and bass controls. And don't forget about the master volume!
For those players who are a little more "hands-on," we also offer the amplifier as a kit with a variety of options including small parts only, full kit (both head and combo configurations), export specs, and more.
Model: 1966-68 18 Watt Class A/B All Tube Amplifier - Normal Channel, British 800 TMB Channel Output: ~18 Watt Circuit/Model: 1974 / 2204 Bias Type: Cathode Biased Build Time: 6 hours Difficulty: 3.5 out of 5
The "Complete" version of this amp kit comes with the following items:
Great kit! I'm not anything like an engineer or an electronics expert, but I pretty much understand what I'm seeing when I look at a wiring diagram and I'm able to follow it. Doing that with this kit was a real pleasure and the parts were great also. The chassis was build solid and true, and the wire was cloth fabric covered, which I really like.
The Amp sounds great. I'd been warned that these can be noisy but have no trouble with that here. I'm very happy with this kit!
Name: Mr. Marshall Rating: 5
Treble Middle Bass All The Way!! This Treble Middle Bass 18W kit is the cats meow!! I built it over the weekend and was playing it Sunday night. It sounds spectacular!!! I am so glad I purchased this kit.
Name: Ron Vehmeyer Review Date: 3/20/2016 9:31 pm Rating: 5
Electric V A year ago I ordered the Narrow Panel Blues JR replacement cab to get a bigger sound for my amp. I play more rock than blues so I really didn't care much for a cab made of pine. So, I drew up a blue print of a cabinet that is 2 inch taller, 2 inch wider and 1 inch deeper than my original Blues Jr. cab and had Mojotone build it out of birch plywood. Oh man let me tell you the sound is awesome it is my favorite amp now. Also, the workmanship is everything I hopped it would be. Thank you Mojotone.
