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Dolly...The DIY tube amp ???

C

clarkson

Super Member
I bought an amp in BT a couple months ago,the seller said it was a Dolly . I lost contact with him since then(I must have deleted the PMs) . I believe his name is gary. I was just looking for any info on this build,not sure if it was an AK only project or not. It has a volume pot,1-12AX7,2-6BQ5s and a 6CA4. This little rig sounds great to me. Any info would be cool. I would like more.

Thanks !
 
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There's a third one out there, too. I built 'em. :)

I called the first one Dolly after the infamous cloned sheep, as my amp was a value for value clone of a generic little Olson stereo amp I pulled out of a console.

Here's a short history. Click on the pictures to get to the build threads.

The first one I built - the original clone, Dolly:




Dolly amp, v2.0:



Olson Clone III
 
And of course there may well be clones of Dolly clones out there too. (May all your mutations be beneficial.) :D
 
Redboy,

Looks like I am the proud owner of the original Dolly. I love that amp,you did a heck of a job. When i bought it I was worried about the power . When it arrived I hooked it straight to a CD player and a pair of KLH 23s. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound,I thought it would not have the power to drive the 23s . It sounds wonderful to my ears .I sometimes like tone controls,no need with Dolly,I have not even thought of changing a thing. She is staying the way I hooked her up in the first place. Thanks for cloning.
 
I'm glad you like it! These are such fun little amps to build that there are at least a couple more of them coming in the not far distant future. I really like that they've provided an entry point into the single-ended sound for several people on this forum.

If you haven't done so already, you might want to pick up a couple of different flavors of 12AX7 to roll in that driver position. Different brands of tubes will give you different sound.

Let me know if you have questions about it, and I'll do my best to answer.

Enjoy!

:thmbsp:
Nate
 
Thanks for the offer Nate,I am sure I will have a question or two in the future . I have many 12ax7s ready to roll. I am so happy with it right now I am just listening and enjoying it. It came with a different base than the one you had pictured. It is real nice but I think that little gem needs some kind of exotic wood,I mean it is a work of art after all !

I look forward to seeing your new projects,you do a heck of a job!
 
It's coming back to me, now...

Cableguy Bill had that amp for a while, and Divotdog Mel built the base that's on it now.

The whole story's in this (rather entertaining) thread: Stupid 5w SET Amp
 
She is still in the family,and not going anywhere. I love her.

That was a great thread Nate,I am amazed at how many folks listened to her. Funny to watch how she evolved into what she is now. She still has the chicken head knob . Looks great,but I am looking for something exotic/strange.
 
Wow I haven't read that thread in a while, still makes me laugh.

Clarkson congrats on picking up the original Dolly, one of the local AKers has the original Olson that starting this whole craze! Keeping it all in the family.

Nate,
I took Dolly II over to Sparksaflyin after that rectifier tube problem last christmas, (you remember the desperate phone call late in the evening:D) and he did some magic to it and she is singing as sweet as ever!


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The two resistors circled in red below are 100ohm dales replacing the one the you had above to combat noise in one channel (I am not real sure what i did to burn it out, but I did something:yes:), also he rewired the big multicap to provide less capacitance to the rectifier tube.

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The sickness that is Dolly continues . . .

Two years after that initial thread I still have Dolly, but am also sporting some rebuilt Dynaco MKIII's

Bill

PS I still have my truck!
 

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Dolly...HELP

That 'gary' in the original post was me.....:D

I REALLLLLLY want Dolly back....or a twin.....:thmbsp:

I have been off-line for too long from AK with some medical issues...seems that things on me are wearing out after age 65......

If anyone has a suggestion on where to get another Dolly or equiv....please let me know.
 
so - Dolly's sort of like fruitcake, I guess.

Johnny Carson once observed that he believes there was only ever one fruitcake. It is given to someone as a Christmas present one year, then regifted the next year to some other poor schlub... as no one actually eats the things... and on and on, ad infinitum.
 
Since I'm coming to the party late, were these preramps? If these were amps, what would you use it for?
 
mhardy6647 said:
so - Dolly's sort of like fruitcake, I guess.
Click to expand...
Fruitcake, huh?! Now that's funny, there.

zr1gary said:
If anyone has a suggestion on where to get another Dolly or equiv....please let me know.
Click to expand...

Gary, glad you're back! There's bound to be another Dolly sooner or later - I enjoy building the little things. But I bet you could hunt one down if you set your mind to it - there are four of them in the wild, currently.
 
rogerfederer said:
power amps

low power single-ended; need efficient speakers

bet they sound wonderful!
Click to expand...

... or as a MR/HF amplifier in a bi or multi-amped system; gotta think outside the box! :-)

Oh, and, of course, I did mean like fruitcake in a good way; I like fruitcake! :-) (although, truth be told, we have remants of one from the Collins St. Bakery in TX in the freezer that must be better than a decade old).
 
All this talk of fruitcake and Dolly has made me hungry....pretty sure we have some in our freezer too....:)

Nate...I'm heading to Barter Town....thanks for the memories and take care guys!
 
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