This was my last amplifier project. I designed everything from the steel enclosure to the LED-lit laser-etched faceplate.

Its a clone of a Fender “Vibroverb”, a 40 watt guitar amplifier with a single 15″ speaker. It was the amplifier of choice for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who had two popular customizations: 1. switch for tube (EL34) vs solid-state bridge rectifier rectification. 2. A “sag” resistor in the B+ line for slightly less punchier/reactionary volume. I added a two more:

1. I added an edge-lite laser cut Lucit front-panel that was side-lit by Arduino-controlled LEDs. The LED controller has two modes: a. dial in a color with a potentiometer, or, b. select an ever-changing random color fade..

2. I added a B+ (high-voltage) stand-by relay. On older Fender amps, the standby switch connects ~400 volts DC to the anode of the power tubes. If this switch ever failed and shorted to the (metal) toggle switch, you would be fried, so I re-engineered.Â