Cassette Player Guitar Amp

With some inspiration gained from other similar projects posted on the Internet, I turned a Sony Walkman cassette player/recorder into a guitar amplifier run on 2 AA batteries.

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Step 1: What you will need

Here is a list of the items you will need to make the amp:

1. A cassette player with a speaker (Preferably also with an equalizer so you can change the sound settings just like on a real amp).
2. A regular instrument cable.
3. A wire cutter/stripper ( I used a fruit cutter knife :P)
4. A Solderer.
5. Rosin-Core Solder.

musicalgenius! says: Apr 25, 2013. 8:15 AM

Would any cassette player work? Or what would be the best player at a decent price that is available at a convenient store?

moesboy says: May 30, 2011. 7:12 PM

Could you use a cd player?

fireman115 says: Dec 26, 2009. 10:45 PM

i got that guitar but with 3 pickups its a nice guitar

Pantxo says: Nov 14, 2008. 3:42 PM

Hi, this device works with a bass? Thanks, nice Instructable

strat6911 in reply to PantxoNov 15, 2009. 1:38 AM

an amp is an amp is an amp it would work with a bass

Alex-c (author) in reply to PantxoNov 15, 2008. 10:24 AM

Hmm I wouldn't know since I don't have a bass...
I remember someone telling me that if you connected a bass to a guitar amp something broke (can't remember if it was the amp or the bass), but this may not apply to this amp... I guess all you can do is try it out and research the risks...Hope this helped a little.
Thanks =)

Jusamies in reply to Alex-cJul 16, 2012. 5:51 AM

It wouldn't break. I've played bass through guitar amp. It works, but sounds like ass. If one wants to try this with bass, make sure to use a player with powerful bass sound. Yes, I'm aware that I'm answering a 3 1/2 year old comment, but it's good if anyone wants to read these.

icepick244 says: Sep 21, 2009. 2:54 PM

could u do this with a bass guitar

Alex-c (author) in reply to icepick244Sep 22, 2009. 3:00 AM

scroll down

wheatstone says: Jul 9, 2009. 10:11 PM

If you use a big 6 battery cassette player you can get more sound. Nice EPI, Black is my fave.....

cdousley in reply to wheatstoneJul 19, 2009. 8:30 AM

how did u get distortion

wheatstone in reply to cdousleyJul 20, 2009. 7:57 PM

Wired it to the recording head wires, sound has some crunchy overdrive to it when cranked up to full volume! Rock - on! Or one can add a preamp and double the out put. Ramsey Electronics has a preamp kit.

cdousley in reply to cdousleyJul 19, 2009. 8:32 AM

o pedal lol i ansered myself

mattyuke says: Jun 17, 2009. 10:06 AM

Nice instrustable ill try it, But AWESOME LOOKING GITUAR

Alex-c (author) in reply to mattyukeJun 17, 2009. 2:59 PM

Thanks :D Just watched "The Hangover" on cinema and proudly saw how the guitarist from the wedding band had the same guitar!!! ;DD I appreciate all the nice comments but I don't see the rating being as generous:P Stay tuned for my next instructable!

tyeo098 says: Jun 8, 2008. 6:19 AM

You could have soldered the wires to the Walkmans internal amp, instead of directly to the speaker. That way you can actually USE the EQ and get a louder sound.

astro boy in reply to tyeo098Jan 4, 2009. 6:38 PM

its just a mistake he actually connected it to the tape reader head as a stand alone guitar can't drive a speaker and the tape reader is really a magnetic pickup so they will go trough the equliser and amp but it still needs to be corrected

dobbish11234 says: Nov 15, 2008. 8:09 AM

im doing this as we speak..but i have two small wires that connect to my speaker....dose it matter witch one i connect the guitar cable 2?

Alex-c (author) in reply to dobbish11234Nov 15, 2008. 10:19 AM

well the guitar cable is supposed to have 2 cables inside it aswell (once stripped). You just have to try connecting and see which goes to which. Hope this helped

IdrisB says: Sep 13, 2008. 4:55 PM

I did this for the science fair last year (they were making me do something in school, so i figure, i need an amp anyway, so why not)

LeviMan_2001 says: Jul 15, 2008. 10:32 PM

I tried this once, but i fried my tape player, haha. I then upgraded to an old 8 track, that worked.

n0ukf says: Jun 30, 2008. 1:17 PM

"...take the two wires from the stripped instrument cable and try to locate the wires in the circuit that gives the sound to the speaker"

The wires to the speaker are the output from the tape player's amplifier. The guitar pickups are incapable of driving a speaker, the level is too low.
What you want to find is the wires coming from the tape head (one or two shielded cables, depending on whether it has a mono or stereo head). This way the amplifier will boost the signal to drive the speaker.

If the tape player has no speaker, you can still do this and use it as a headphone practice amp.

davethescubarock says: Jun 25, 2008. 10:31 AM

i did the same thing with a small wind up radio! trouble is because i only made the lead long enough for an mp3 player to plug into it i have trouble getting it attached to my guitar... its a great sound from it though - like the "small radio" setting on my effects pedal.

Alex-c (author) in reply to davethescubarockJun 26, 2008. 12:32 PM

hehe thats cool! I enjoyed the sound of my amp too. At first I was a bit disappointed with the volume as it could not be heard easily while playing with others. However, when I plugged in a pedal and increased the gain, this problem was partly solved.

Alex-c (author) says: Jun 24, 2008. 1:24 PM

Thanks for the comments and the improvement suggestions! I'm sorry the sample file dosen't work. =)

angusyoung1001 says: Jun 20, 2008. 12:57 PM

dude ur guitar is so sick

x133tx0n3x says: Jun 17, 2008. 9:45 AM

This is a good instructable, although i agree with tyeo098 in that you could get a better sound if you'd soldered the wire to the Walkmans amp. needs some work but good start!!