Sound Garage Tales

I can’t believe it! I still remember the day(s) when I first stumbled over the 18watt forum over on yahoogroups and getting to know the extraordinary people and friends there in early 2002, getting all fired up about building, starting gathering parts for the 1×12″ 18watt combo, building the actual cabinet, tolexing (I hated that!) chassis and everything, including the goosebumps I got when I first hit the STANDBY on switch! So yes, today that First Born amp is 10 years old!

the First Born Gabriel 18 watt amplifier

What a journey this has been! It all started with my brother in law’s little 1×8″ champ — his physics project while at college that now I have on my bench for a little facelift. That little amp was The Inspiration for the 18watt clone, that later spun off Gabriel Sound Garage (beginning of 2005), which still goes strong to this day!

We went through fun times at the 18watt.com forum with so many knowledgeable and generous people, always ready to share their knowledge and friendship. Countless times they found the answers to all my stupid mistakes, like oh, the EL 84 plate voltages were too high, or wire dressing to avoid a squealing amp, or the output transformer primary swap trick. In all seriousness, Gabriel Sound Garage wouldn’t exist. So a big thanks to that gang, you all know who you are!

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