Spent 2 years building amps with the input jack wired backward

I thought my low end was just naturally weak. Took it to a shop in Nashville and the guy laughed. Said I had the tip and sleeve swapped on every single build. Seven amps total. Three were stereo builds. Has anyone else had a dumb wiring habit that took way too long to catch?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota_rivera7d ago

Nah I actually don't think it's that dumb. Wiring is wiring. You hear a sound, you work with it. If it sounded good to you then what's the big deal? I used to bias every amp I built way too hot because I liked the breakup. Took me years to realize I was cooking output tubes.

dakotawells7d ago

Man, you gotta be kidding me... seven amps? That's brutal. I did something similar with a batch of pedals once, wired the ground and hot backwards on the output jacks. Took me like six months and a blown fuse before I figured it out. The worst part is you get so used to the sound you think it's just your style or whatever, you know? I still feel dumb when I look back at that board in my head.