my candela maple faceplate upgrade-now with a picture

rosconey · « **on:** 2 Jun 2006, 10:59 pm »

i dont love the looks of a all black case,knobs and faceplate-

so tonight i will start my own candela faceplate-made from a maple board i picked today-sweet looking grain pattern- been thinking about this for some time now-also might do a top cover from maple and dovetail the corners -

looks like a pretty simple thing to do- so expect it will take a few weeks at least-lol

im not going for your average rectangle looking faceplate either-
might be somewhat oval or just do some round ends-
also bought some oak 3/4 " buttons to use for the selector spots-might stain them dark-not sure yet-also might make the logo glass slightly oval or with round ends or even not use it(sorry klaus)-

cant find my jig saw so looks like i will be getting a cheap one in the morning-
so tonight i will work on the basic design and layout-should be fun -i hope

JoshK · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:02 pm »

post some pictures when you get some progress. I am thinking about doing something similar with some dark cherry I have. Wood is cool.

Tweaker · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:04 pm »

That is a great idea. It is something I've been thinking about doing to the faceplates of my power amps. Looking forward to seeing some pics.

rosconey · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:11 pm »

BACK OFF- THIS IS MY IDEA -and i will be patenting it very soon-

did my speakers in maple and marble -love the look of a tungoil finish on maple-

wont do the amps because of the heat they generate at times might split it -
pre is fairly cool-

Tweaker · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:34 pm »

Quote

BACK OFF- THIS IS MY IDEA -and i will be patenting it very soon-

Actually I first entertained the idea some years after seeing-THIS:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/bluecircle_ag3000.htm
And more recently-THIS:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/exemplar2/preamp.html
However my idea is unique (unlike yours, it now appears) in that NO ONE ELSE IN ALL OF THE WORLD has tried this with a power amp.
AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Probably because they catch fire from the heat of the amp and burn the entire neighborhood into a black smouldering ruin. Aw well. It was a lousy idea anyway. Can't believe you're going to try something that dumb.

JoshK · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:51 pm »

Blue Circle does their power amp in the same purple heart faceplate as that amp (add'l cost). There are a number of AKSA builders who did their amp cases in wood.

Tweaker · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Jun 2006, 11:56 pm »

Oh, sure. I just new someone would come along and prove me wrong. I hate you. I hate you all.

Tweaker · « **Reply #7 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 12:44 am »

Allright. I'm better now.
One of the hardwoods I really like the looks of is the African Padauk, a sample of which can be seen here:
http:// http://www.rjhcustomcues.com/exotic%20woods.htm
The Purple Heart is beautiful, too. So are the various Maples. Tough to choose, although with a black equipment rack and mostly black gear and tv the Maple might be a welcome contrast. I will have to wait and see how rosconey's project turns out.

rosconey · « **Reply #8 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 01:47 am »

i was on ebay already and looked at some nice stuff almost went for some cocobola-this maple board i bought only cost 6 bucks,so its perfect for a prototype and is nice -

its a done design as of tonight-
i will keep the original knobs and inset them 1/4 inch high or so from being flush- no glass logo(sorry klaus)-and round baby round-dont think its a design you have ever seen before- if it comes out right it will look equil to the sound

i know maple and black go great together-used it in my kitchen-maple cabinets and black granite countertop

sts9fan · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 02:27 am »

F Ebay
Check this place out
http://www.righteouswoods.net/woodmenu.html

Gordy · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 02:48 am »

Sorry for the crappy photography... this is my Django preamp that I swapped out the faceplate on a coupla three years ago... Sugar Gum with Ebony inlay. The knobs have since been replaced with Gabon Ebony with Sugar Gum inlay knobs made by Some Young Guy at Thingamaknobs...

Link to SYG/thingamaknobs... http://pages.sbcglobal.net/quackfat/_wsn/page4.html

lazydays · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 05:33 pm »

Quote from: rosconey

i dont love the looks of a all black case,knobs and faceplate-

so tonight i will start my own candela faceplate-made from a maple board i picked today-sweet looking grain pattern- been thinking about this for some time now-also might do a top cover from maple and dovetail the corners -

looks like a pretty simple thing to do- so expect it will take a few weeks at least-lol

im not going for your average rectangle looking faceplate either-
might be somewhat oval or just do some round ends-
also bou ...

funny thing you made this post. I was looking at my system that will drive the new amps in the future, and also will be getting the Candela preamp sometime in July. I was thinking at the time that it would be nice to have gold knobs on the preamp to sort of go with the others there.
gary

rosconey · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 06:45 pm »

i just finished the second prototype-first came out real nice but i goofed up and forgot to measure twice and came up a few inch's short-lol
would have been pissed if it wasnt a 6$ piece of wood-

its not sanded yet but its inplace on the front of the pre(held by friction right now)
boy it looks real real nice-
btw klaus i did make a little 1" hole so the orange glow is still there-going to need a new piece of glass thats not etched-

might have a camera available this weekend from a friend-if he stops by i will take some pics and piss in all of your sad little bowls of oatmeal by showing what a artist can do-

Tweaker · « **Reply #13 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 09:18 pm »

Not to change the subject from wood facing and oatmeal and such but I am interested in finding out more about the Candela. I know there is a thread that Klaus started introducing the thing but I would like to no more, heck even a picture of the thing (without any wood nailed to the face) would be appreciated. I am feeling the need to get some tubes back into the mix. And because I have turned into a lazy SOB having a remote control preamp the last couple years the Candela would seem to be right up my alley.

rosconey · « **Reply #14 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 09:32 pm »

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=27579

here are some pics-

klaus has a different case from mine-mine was the first shipped unit and he used one from a estian pre i think-

the new one is going to be tempest size i guess-
as far as sound-
its better in all ways from the tempest imho-
just add some cheap used tubes-so far some hamond organ tubes sound the best-paid 11$ shipped for a quad(4)

almost forgot i can now get rid of the pink corian tube cover i made with some of the maple drops

rosconey · « **Reply #15 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 10:20 pm »

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=746

rosconey · « **Reply #16 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 10:20 pm »

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Tweaker · « **Reply #17 on:** 3 Jun 2006, 10:35 pm »

Thanks, I missed that thread. Good looking unit and a good idea to make a window in your new faceplate, the tubes look pretty cool.
I have a tube preamp that I need to sell. It's been sitting in the closet orphaned because it is not remote controllable. I stuck it back in to the system the other day to see how it would compare to my Marsh preamp and wow. Just seemed like there was a lot more texture coming through. It's like denim compared to polyester. The Marsh is very nice but it does seem to smooth things over just a bit.

bunky · « **Reply #18 on:** 4 Jun 2006, 12:58 pm »

Quote from: rosconey

http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=6760

looks neat!

AlexG · « **Reply #19 on:** 4 Jun 2006, 02:43 pm »

Rosconey,

Very nice...the glow through the center hole looks great

Alex