Mayfly BC30 review on the Gear page

[Cagey]

Hey!  That's not too far away from Ottawa!  Although there still is that pesky border there.

I'll scan the drawings (Yep, they are drawings) tonight and send them off.  

Ottawa! We're probably related <grin> I'm only one generation removed Canadian. Both my grandparents on both sides were Canadian, going back a while from there. Most of my relatives are in Ontario, as far as I know. But, yeah. Spent a lot of time in Canada as a kid, then later on professionally. Did a lot of work in Toronto and the surrounding area. My brother and I used to like to ride our bikes over the Ambassador bridge to Windsor as kids, partly to see relatives, partly for the novelty of going to another country and partly for the thrill of the downhill ride on the bridge. Actually, mostly for that. You can build up a helluva lotta speed in that mile or so going down <grin>

I'll look forward to the drawings. Also, if you have dimensional or layout drawings of the amp chassis, that might be helpful, too. Also pictures if you have any.

 

[NLD09]

Posting just to keep me updated on this thread - mighty intriguing. Mayf, did you ever do an AC15-alike or did you stick to the 30 watters?

Also posting to keep updated.

 

[Cagey]

Posting just to keep me updated on this thread - mighty intriguing. Mayf, did you ever do an AC15-alike or did you stick to the 30 watters?

Apparently so. See here.

 

[OzziePete]

Only if someone does the cabinets.  I hate that part!

I'll do cabinets. I've got a shop and I'm good at it. Send me some specs and a wish list, or if you'd like, you can ship me an amp and I'll build something around it for a showpiece.

My wallet just comitted suicide.

+1.....if he does the amp for 240v!

 

[mayfly]

Only if someone does the cabinets.  I hate that part!

I'll do cabinets. I've got a shop and I'm good at it. Send me some specs and a wish list, or if you'd like, you can ship me an amp and I'll build something around it for a showpiece.

My wallet just comitted suicide.

+1.....if he does the amp for 240v!

Yep, I did 15 watt versions - but no 240v.  Never got any orders from across the pond.

 

[Alfang]

Pesky Border?  I hear our southern border is a walk through, no lines, no waiting, in fact the us has told us to back away from it 20 miles to make room for the new people

 

[jalane]

I'm located just a little way north of Detroit, MI in Clinton Township.

Hey, we're neighbors! I live in downtown Rochester  :icon_thumright:

 

[Mor Paul]

Well, this is interesting. I'd love a Mayfly. Depending on pricing, I may buy one  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, probably what, 15 - 16 miles? Been a long time since I've been in Rochester.

 

[mayfly]

Here's the drawings

 

[mayfly]

Here's an image

 

[Mor Paul]

Perhaps a slightly different design for the limited runs?

 

[Cagey]

Here's the drawings

Ok, thanks. Got the picture, too. Smaller than I thought it would be.

Now what?

 

[mayfly]

I've got two completed chassis on the bench.  How about we do two boxes in some kind of groovy wood finish but with 1/2" front and back panels?  The depth of the overall box will have to be increased by 1/2 as well.  One thing that is not captured on the drawings is that the faceplate adds 1/16 of an inch to the depth of the chassis - so overall the chassis is 8 1/8" deep.

Once done, just fire them back up here and I'll do the assembly.  If you like I can send down the handles and the nickel plated expanded metal pieces for you to install.

Clear as mud?

 

[m4rk0]

Very Exciting!!!
I want one too!

 

[Cagey]

I've got two completed chassis on the bench.  How about we do two boxes in some kind of groovy wood finish but with 1/2" front and back panels?  The depth of the overall box will have to be increased by 1/2 as well.  One thing that is not captured on the drawings is that the faceplate adds 1/16 of an inch to the depth of the chassis - so overall the chassis is 8 1/8" deep.

Once done, just fire them back up here and I'll do the assembly.  If you like I can send down the handles and the nickel plated expanded metal pieces for you to install.

Clear as mud?

Well...

What would you consider a "groovy" wood? I've got some nice oak and walnut both here now, but have access to all sorts of stuff. You want the whole thing done in hardwood, or just the face, or just the carcass and do a complementary face cover in some sort of tolex-type material? What kind of finish on the hardwood?

According to the drawing, the thing IS 8 1/8" deep. Then, judging by the picture, the front panel is inset a bit, which is not shown on the drawing. For the record, I think it'll make for a better finished look if it is inset a bit.  Also, I'd like to make it just a tad wider, maybe an inch or so, to match up to standard rack width cabinets. Finally, what about the corners? Metal corner protectors kinda take away from the high-end look of a hardwood cabinet, but without them moving the amps around will beat the hell out of exposed wooden corners. What do you think?

Finally, there are no mounting holes called out for the chassis. Do you just run some wood screws in through some ears, or what? Is there a chassis drawing available?

 

[whyachi]

Any chance this could be tweaked into a bass head? Like the Ashdown Little Bastard or something, 30W all-tube bass.

Tube noob here, so forgive if that is a horribly silly question.

 

[JaySwear]

i really really need a new amp... maybe i better start a CageyFly / MayCage amp fund after this next warmoth? :icon_biggrin:

 

[Cagey]

Any chance this could be tweaked into a bass head? Like the Ashdown Little Bastard or something, 30W all-tube bass.

Tube noob here, so forgive if that is a horribly silly question.

There's really very little difference between a guitar and bass amp. The tone stack might get tweaked a little bit to change the range, and usually the output is much higher. Humans don't hear low frequencies as easily, so they need to be louder. That's why you'll see the guitar player with a 50 watt amp while the bass player will have 200-300 watts burning, at least with tubes. With solid state, the power will often be even higher than that.

 

[mayfly]

I've got two completed chassis on the bench.  How about we do two boxes in some kind of groovy wood finish but with 1/2" front and back panels?  The depth of the overall box will have to be increased by 1/2 as well.  One thing that is not captured on the drawings is that the faceplate adds 1/16 of an inch to the depth of the chassis - so overall the chassis is 8 1/8" deep.

Once done, just fire them back up here and I'll do the assembly.  If you like I can send down the handles and the nickel plated expanded metal pieces for you to install.

Clear as mud?

Well...

What would you consider a "groovy" wood? I've got some nice oak and walnut both here now, but have access to all sorts of stuff. You want the whole thing done in hardwood, or just the face, or just the carcass and do a complementary face cover in some sort of tolex-type material? What kind of finish on the hardwood?

According to the drawing, the thing IS 8 1/8" deep. Then, judging by the picture, the front panel is inset a bit, which is not shown on the drawing. For the record, I think it'll make for a better finished look if it is inset a bit.  Also, I'd like to make it just a tad wider, maybe an inch or so, to match up to standard rack width cabinets. Finally, what about the corners? Metal corner protectors kinda take away from the high-end look of a hardwood cabinet, but without them moving the amps around will beat the hell out of exposed wooden corners. What do you think?

Finally, there are no mounting holes called out for the chassis. Do you just run some wood screws in through some ears, or what? Is there a chassis drawing available?

Kay,

1 - walnut would be great.  some kind of satin clear finish would be fine.  A waxed finish might be kind of nice with lots of grain showing.
2 - I think the entire amp should be wood.  Would be interesting if the front and back panels were a different complementary color (this was kind of the mayfly thing), but not really necessary.
3 - Looking at the drawing again, yep I did include the extra 1/8" - didn't look at it closely last night.  Remember - I drew these almost 10 years ago!
4 - Yep, the front and back panels are inset.
5 - Wider?  sure.
6 - Corners?  Naw - not on a hardwood amp.  Would detract from the look.
7 - the chassis is mounted with blind rivet nuts attached to the chassis and are then bolted from below.  I'll take care of drilling the appropriate holes.