# Trinity TC15 build report



## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

hey folks, I'm real excited about this! I took my time and worked real carefully on this over the last couple months. I bought this kit last year after seeing @jjjimi84 Dan's tweed deluxe video series. I had wanted a Vox style amp for quite a while and decided to go for it.

The TC15 has an EF86 channel with a 6 position contour rotary switch and a volume control, and a top boost channel with volume, bass, and treble. It has a global cut control and bypassable master volume. I went with a celestion alnico blue for the speaker. All NOS tubes just because I had them except for the rectifier, which is a TAD GZ-34. The power tubes are Soviet 6p14p, telefunken 12ax7s, and a svetlana winged C 6J32p for the EF86, all of which I had gotten before the war, and I had the telefunkens since before the pandemic. The OT has a switchable primary impedance for Vox or Matchless spec. There's also a toggle on the back panel for a gain boost on the top boost channel.

This was my first time working with a turret board or solid core wire. The whole thing went smoothly though and I'm pretty satisfied with how it came out. The logo badge was made by Ampliy Fun. I want to put up some clips but probably not til the weekend when I'm not taking care of my daughter. All of the work on this was done during her naps or after bedtime over the last couple months. Also shout out to Chris @thewintersoldier for cheerleading me on this as I went


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## Big Monk (Mar 29, 2022)

Looks Awesome!


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## fig (Mar 29, 2022)

Are you God?


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

fig said:


> Are you God?


It feels like it sometimes 😂


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## fig (Mar 29, 2022)

Also, that is truly beautiful work sir.  😍


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

fig said:


> Also, that is truly beautiful work sir.  😍


Thank you kind sir. I'm just here for the dopamine to be honest


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## Fingolfen (Mar 29, 2022)

That is absolutely amazing! I've got an amp project going too, and hope it turns out that well!


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

Fingolfen said:


> That is absolutely amazing! I've got an amp project going too, and hope it turns out that well!


An important lesson I learned elsewhere is to care about every step of the work. If you're not satisfied, it's better to disassemble and redo it on the spot. Feel free to hit me up if you have questions during your build


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## JamieJ (Mar 29, 2022)

Wow, this is incredible Will. Great work. That faceplate completes it as well!
How does it sound??


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## dawson (Mar 29, 2022)

That looks like a really fun kit to build!


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

JamieJ said:


> Wow, this is incredible Will. Great work. That faceplate completes it as well!
> How does it sound??


I played it yesterday for about 5 minutes for the initial test and about 10 minutes this morning so I haven't explored everything it can do yet, but so far I'm really liking it. It seems to do exactly what I want. It's clean, bright, chimey, and much louder than I was expecting. I've never owned an amp this clean before. I'm dying to crank it and see what it'll do then too


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## JamieJ (Mar 29, 2022)

Nice. Have you got a treble booster? I think the crowther hot cakes is also meant to work well with vox amps.


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## dawson (Mar 29, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> I played it yesterday for about 5 minutes for the initial test and about 10 minutes this morning so I haven't explored everything it can do yet, but so far I'm really liking it. It seems to do exactly what I want. It's clean, bright, chimey, and much louder than I was expecting. I've never owned an amp this clean before. I'm dying to crank it and see what it'll do then too



Get ready to bond with those neck pickups


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

JamieJ said:


> Nice. Have you got a treble booster? I think the crowther hot cakes is also meant to work well with vox amps.


Hell yeah I have a treble booster. Been meaning to build a hot cake for the inevitability that I ended up with an amp like this. I might have to bump it up the queue


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## Big Monk (Mar 29, 2022)

thewintersoldier said:


> I picture BM making this face while he types this 🥶🥶🥶View attachment 24618



Nah. That is the face that I made when you promised to leave and then came back.


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## Big Monk (Mar 29, 2022)

thewintersoldier said:


> Don't make this about me, this is Will's 🔥🔥🔥build report. Hate on me in my 🔥🔥🔥build reports.



 

That's rich. That's the Pot calling the Kettle black shit right there. You funny son.


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## dawson (Mar 29, 2022)

thewintersoldier said:


> I picture BM making this face while he types this 🥶🥶🥶View attachment 24618



That's the face of true happiness right there.
I had the privilege of making that face the other day when I held a double-neck for the first time:







But again, this is about @Harry Klippton- I hope he gets to make that exact face when he digs into his new amp' some more.


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## cooder (Mar 29, 2022)

Fabulous work, gorgeous amp! You must be stoked!


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## Bio77 (Mar 29, 2022)

Absolutely stunning!  I'm at the office right now but I'm going to bookmark this page to have some alone time with the pictures of this build, later.


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## almondcity (Mar 29, 2022)

On/Off and Standby switches on the front make so much more sense to me.  Great job!


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## Dan0h (Mar 29, 2022)

OMG! Drools.


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## Big Monk (Mar 29, 2022)

These Trinity kits look really sweet. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and the documentation, cabinet quality, etc. seems to be on point.


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

Big Monk said:


> These Trinity kits look really sweet. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and the documentation, cabinet quality, etc. seems to be on point.


I can't say enough good things about Trinity. Stephen was great to deal with and the parts couldn't have been of higher quality


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## Dan0h (Mar 29, 2022)

1. I hate you, for causing so much GAS today. 
2. I think this might be my next purchase. 
3. This looks so much more appealing than a mojo tone. 
4. Post some yummy sounds from it.


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 29, 2022)

Dan0h said:


> 1. I hate you, for causing so much GAS today.
> 2. I think this might be my next purchase.
> 3. This looks so much more appealing than a mojo tone.
> 4. Post some yummy sounds from it.


I haven't built a mojotone kit, but from cruising their offerings, it's more like "fuck it, YOU build it" not unlike a pedalpcb build, which having done the Trinity kit, I could handle just fine. The Trinity documentation is really really thorough, although there were some things that I preferred to do out of sequence having messed around inside of amps a fair bit and built a butt ton of pedals. You can and should build one 😎


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## Paradox916 (Mar 29, 2022)

Outstanding job man… that white tolex looks so good…. Now I want to build that in a head.


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## Feral Feline (Mar 30, 2022)

thewintersoldier said:


> Will knocked it out the park! He was very thorough and meticulous thru the whole process. Double checked everything. Never settled for anything Less than perfection. It payed off when it fired right up. *Y'all have no idea how fun it was to be on this journey with him*, super stoked and proud of him for following through. And that faceplate 💅🥵🥵🥵🔥


Bold Emph Mine ^

Mighty jelly-yes, I would love to have been a fly-weight on the wall through this build.


@Harry Klippton 
Man Oman Omen AhMen! Those gutshots... beeeeeeyouteeful. The amount of work put in to your build shines through, I'm struggling to find the right words here... I've spent the last 15 minutes ogling, I mean studying, your wiring, the choices made, hoping to absorb any info & the vibe for my next build. So much for me to learn... I tip my hat to you, sir!


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 30, 2022)

dawson said:


> That's the face of true happiness right there.
> I had the privilege of making that face the other day when I held a double-neck for the first time:
> 
> 
> ...


@dawson is that a peavey and is the top neck a 12 string? That looks like a lot of fun


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## dawson (Mar 30, 2022)

Yes, and yes- it's a 12/6-string mid-1980's Peavey Hydra double-neck.
Super fun to strum a chord on the 12-neck then tap some little melodies on the 6-neck.
Absolute monstrosity.

I was never into Peavey growing up, but they made some really great stuff in the USA before I was born and my friend who I was visiting is totally magnetized to it and has a huge collection of awesome vintage Peavey stuff.

I swear my brain is a little off since I played that thing- I keep getting the random thought, "YOU WANT A DOUBLE-NECK GUITAR."
..Do I really though?  I think I just want an electric 12-string that's the size of a normal guitar.

Anyhow, the last thing I wanted to do is de-rail your amp thread, but that kid with the apple-face reminded me of this picture.


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## SYLV9ST9R (Mar 30, 2022)

Outstanding! You guys rock, couldn't envision doing something like this.


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 30, 2022)

dawson said:


> Yes, and yes- it's a 12/6-string mid-1980's Peavey Hydra double-neck.
> Super fun to strum a chord on the 12-neck then tap some little melodies on the 6-neck.
> Absolute monstrosity.
> 
> ...


I got an electric 12 string last year and I never want to be without one again. You should totally get one


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## dawson (Mar 30, 2022)

I'm eyeing one real hard.. but I'm eyeing a vocoder a little bit harder right now.. I can justify neither purchase.. but still, it's only a matter of time..

What'd you get?


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 30, 2022)

dawson said:


> I'm eyeing one real hard.. but I'm eyeing a vocoder a little bit harder right now.. I can justify neither purchase.. but still, it's only a matter of time..
> 
> What'd you get?


I got this. I don't play it nearly as much as I'd like, and it needs some setup but having/playing a 12 string is really really great. I think of playing a 12 string as a different instrument all together


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## giovanni (Mar 30, 2022)

Very very cool build! I feel, what’s the word? Inspired? My wife wouldn’t approve. Lol.


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## JamieJ (Mar 30, 2022)

giovanni said:


> Very very cool build! I feel, what’s the word? Inspired? My wife wouldn’t approve. Lol.


I’m in exactly the same boat @giovanni 😂


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## Harry Klippton (Mar 30, 2022)

giovanni said:


> Very very cool build! I feel, what’s the word? Inspired? My wife wouldn’t approve. Lol.





JamieJ said:


> I’m in exactly the same boat @giovanni 😂


I told my wife you guys said this and she said "I don't get it. what's cooler than playing a guitar amp? Building your own!"


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## tcpoint (Mar 30, 2022)

I don't know about you guys but I always get the last words in with my wife.

OK.  "Yes, dear" are the last words.


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## Harry Klippton (Apr 12, 2022)

This evening I switched out the 6p14p power tubes for a set of old Sylvania 7189s that a buddy pulled out of some old equipment at the dump. The 6p14ps were about to blow. I tested the whole batch I got and they're all bad 💔 dumb luck I had the Sylvanias in my stash


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## Big Monk (Apr 12, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> This evening I switched out the 6p14p power tubes for a set of old Sylvania 7189s that a buddy pulled out of some old equipment at the dump. The 6p14ps were about to blow. I tested the whole batch I got and they're all bad 💔 dumb luck I had the Sylvanias in my stash



That sucks. Where did the Russian tubes come from?


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## Harry Klippton (Apr 13, 2022)

Big Monk said:


> That sucks. Where did the Russian tubes come from?


I got em on eBay last year and they came from Kyiv. They came when we were at the hospital when my daughter was born so they kinda just got shoved in the closet


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## Harry Klippton (Apr 16, 2022)

Here's some clippage. I'm still getting acquainted with the amp, so none of these are my favorite settings, it's more like here's some stuff it can do. There's still a lot of stuff to try out with this amp

First the clean clean





Next is a little crunch. This and the next clip are with the skreddy hybrid fuzz driver that Chris made me on the Madbean Cosmo board


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## HamishR (Oct 5, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> An important lesson I learned elsewhere is to care about every step of the work. If you're not satisfied, it's better to disassemble and redo it on the spot. Feel free to hit me up if you have questions during your build


Yup, my philosophy too.  Beautiful build - sorry I missed this when you posted it. Love some good amp build porn!  Gorgeous.


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## MichaelW (Oct 5, 2022)

Since this thread came up again I have to "re-like" it. Gorgeous amp Will. I'm super impressed.


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## MattG (Oct 5, 2022)

That looks great!  I built Trinity's Triwatt a few years ago, still rocking that amp.  The Trinity kits are indeed great.  I've since built a Mojotone Custom 50, it was also a really well put-together kit, but no documentation except the schematic and layout diagram.  I wouldn't have felt comfortable building it if I hadn't done the Trinity build previously.  In fact I used some of Trinity's suggested startup and testing methodology during the build.

As for the TC15, of all the amp clips on Trinity's site, I think I like it the best (yes, even more than the Triwatt clips).  I briefly owned a Ceriatone "Muchle$$" aka "Dizzy-30", which is their clone of the Matchless C-30.  I believe the Trinity TC15 is also a Matchless C-30 clone, though dropped down to 15 watts instead of 30.  I _really_ liked the EF86 channel of the Dizzy-30, so much so that I sold that amp, and replaced it with the Ceriatone Creme Brulee, which is a 15-watt version with only the EF86 channel.  So in theory, should be pretty close to the EF86 side of the TC15.

I think there's some special mojo with the EF86 tube... even when run completely clean, it seems to have some special complexity that I haven't heard from any other amp.  It also seems to take pedals really well, arguably even better that my Hiwatts; it feels like the pedal better integrates with the amp.  I've read a lot of people complaining about EF86 tubes too-easily going microphonic, and the problem can be exasperated in a combo amp (due to increased vibration).  I have a bunch of random EF86 tubes that I got in a trade a while back, none of them so far are microphonic.  Ceriatone does use a rubber mount for the EF86 tube socket, in theory that should help dampen vibration.  Does the Trinity TC15 have something like that?


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## fig (Oct 5, 2022)

Yummy and inspiring bump 😍


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## Harry Klippton (Oct 5, 2022)

The TC15 doesn't have the shock mounted socket for the ef86, nor have I experienced issues with that tube being microphonic in my build. I'm using the Svetlana 6Ж32П and my go-to is that channel instead of the top boost


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## Harry Klippton (Oct 5, 2022)

I love that this thread is experiencing a necro resurgence. Just in time for Halloween 🎃


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## HamishR (Oct 31, 2022)

And I just noticed that you use a Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver! I love Skreddy's hybrids. With some help from Chuck I built myself a Skreddy Hybrid OD with a bass pot this year. Skreddy's Hybrid OD is a fave of mine. I like pretty much everything he does really.


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## Harry Klippton (Oct 31, 2022)

HamishR said:


> And I just noticed that you use a Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver! I love Skreddy's hybrids. With some help from Chuck I built myself a Skreddy Hybrid OD with a bass pot this year. Skreddy's Hybrid OD is a fave of mine. I like pretty much everything he does really.


It's funny you should mention this because I just plugged the hybrid fuzz driver in for the first time in a couple months, and unplugged it a few minutes later. I like how it's voiced, but I don't consider it a fuzz. Instead I plugged in a no-knob version of a colorsound one knob fuzz and got lost playing for a bit. That's what I was after at the moment


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