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Little Gem Guitar Amp

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Introduction: Little Gem Guitar Amp

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About: I also go by the Instructable user name: UnknownUser2007

Here's my take on the famous Little Gem mini guitar amp.
All details on the electronics can be found at runoffgroove.com.
http://www.runoffgroove.com/littlegem.html
The case came from Jameco p/n 11886.
The speaker bezel is the rim of a tin can that was epoxied to the case.
The disk in the rear serves as a cord reel.

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    38 Discussions

    I absolutely LOVE the look of this. Those 386 based amps really ROCK as well.

    Hi, this looks great, makes me want to get back into this sort of thing when I get my soldering iron situation sorted! :)

    evolution mastering

    Hi. I've been studying the schematics and the pictures you posted and since I'm a beginner I'm frustrated because I don't understand a few things.

    For instance, where do I put the speakers, dc-in, dc-out, the on-off switch, the 5K vol pot? That's not represented in the schematics, is it?

    I apreciate the help you can give.

    1 reply

    Hi NunoMorna -
    Sorry, the dc-in and dc-out are special to this build and not necessary.
    Your other questions can be found at this great Instructable.
    https://www.instructables.com/id/The-Process-of-Building-a-Cigar-Box-Guitar-Amp-L/
    Good luck! : )

    someone gave me a mini guitar amp that you can buy online for $20. they said it was broken but i took it apart and found that it was just a disconnected wire that runs to the male input/output jack. it runs on a 9 volt and it doesn't require a cable to connect to a guitar. so i stripped it down and went to LOWS and bought a slab of pine wood for $3. i cut the wood into 4"x3" pieces and made a box, added all the components and designed it to look like a Marshall half stack. so now i have a mini Marshall half stack for $3! thanks for the inspiration - myakka

    1 reply

    Sorry, the speaker I had in my junk box and I forgot where I got it. There's no name or number on it either. Any 4 or 8 ohm speaker should work.

     Thanks! Sorry but I didn't keep track of the cost of this build. Most parts were spares or left overs. The most expensive part was the box itself. About $9.00 US at Jameco. : )