Building a tube amp book

Im not 100% sure where i should start, so ive come here to ask the experts. Building valve amplifiers is a unique handson guide for anyone working with tube audio equipmentas an electronics hobbyist, audiophile or audio engineer. This inexpensive tube amplifier kit has been available for a number of years now and makes for a nice little tube amp. Circuit simulation a deep dive into spice tube amp modeling the fender bassman 5f6a plus marshalls bluesbreaker and plexi georg simon ohm imagine a world without ohms law. So, i got a job working on amps at a local tube amp repair shop. Chances are, youll want to plug it in and annoy your neighbors.

Beginners are encouraged to study volume 1 first before attempting the projects in volume 2. The science of electric guitars and guitar electronics. Ever wanted to build a highly dangerous, inefficient, yet awesomely retro piece of electronics. How to read tube amp schematics its easier than you think. The ultimate goal in the writing process has been that the reader of this book could. Includes a complete self build amplifier project, putting into practice the key techniques introduced throughout the book show less the only handson approach to building valve and tube amps classic and modernwith a minimum of theory. Im extremely interested in learning to service tube amps, and one day design and build them. Im sorry to say i permanently removed it from print. As a matter of fact, the book really does not teach any circuit design. Particular attention has been paid to answering questions commonly asked by newcomers to the world of the vacuum tube, whether audio enthusiasts tackling their first build, or more experienced amplifier designers seeking to learn. Lots of technology and cool stuff new, new, new digital downloads of everything from complete amp projects to articles, and tricks.

For technical books, tube data, vintage data, transformer data, and mcintosh data, go to. Never touch the amplifier chassis with one hand while probing with the other hand because a lethal shock can run between your arms through your heart. Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to. Keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube audio. This book is a stepbystep tutorial for simulating vacuum tube guitar amplifiers using ltspice, a free spicebased electronic circuit simulator for windows and macos.

With a few essential tools and proper procedures, youll find that building a vacuum tube guitar. Has a lot of details on the mechanical aspects of valve amp chassis along with the electronic issues. This site supports the tab guide to vacuum tube audio in a number of ways, including the following. How guitar amps work and what you can do to start tweaking. A guide to basic tube amp maintenance guitar world. Guytronix low watt diy guitar tube amplifier kits guytronix. How to voice an amp techniques for tweaking an amp s tone. Building valve amplifiers is a unique handson guide for anyone working with tube audio equipment as an electronics experimenter, audiophile or audio engineer. Many of these techniques apply to solid state amps too. Without offense, i could be wrong, but i get an impression that whatever lessimportant material didnt find its way into the first book because there are practical ampbuilding projects in it, more than in this one, the author and the publisher decided to massage it into another book. And its simple to build if you want to build your own amplifier, then this is for you. You can browse and read the full text of the book for free. Ive been getting a lot of mail about my power supplies book. For plan pack, schematic, layout, chassis diagrams visit original circuit all tube amp build.

Building a dumble overdrive special 102 style guitar amp. You can build one from a kit or from an existing schematic, or you can start from the scratch yes, thats also possible. In fact, he thought that improvisation was the engineers most valuable tool in building a good amp. But for ken fischer, the amps circuit design in the strict sense was the least important aspect of making an amp sound good. Understanding tube amplifiers and getting great sounds, updated edition brings fresh information to the table to help guitarists understand everything about what makes their amps tick and how to use them to sound better than ever. If you are tight on cash consider building the chassis only and playing through an extension cab if you dont have an extension cab consider borrowing one. Tinos book takes you buy the hand and details amplifier building from start to finish. I read your article with great interest, i am crazy about my fisher tube amps and receivers. This book covers all aspects of tube audio design from explaining what vacuum tubes do and how to use them, safety issues, how to work effectively as a designer and constructor and final testing of an. Building a kit is also a great way to boost your understanding of electronic theory and tube amplification. There are a few mistakes, i think they have been rectified in the new updated book. Jun 04, 2014 keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube audio equipment. Tube amps can make your ears ring just the same as ss. I recommend and for complete or partial tube amp kits.

How to layout and build a guitar amplifier chassis. Written for musicians, amp builders, and tube audio enthusiasts, design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers provides a complete yet easytounderstand explanation of how to design, modify, construct, and test tube amps. Apr 17, 20 if youve got a set of traditional bookshelf speakers gathering dust, its time to pull them out of the closet. Jones has a companion book called building valve amplifiers which covers all of the. The first part of the book has a rather indepth treatment of vacuum tube operation, and details of amplifier circuit design. It is intended as a companion to design and construction of guitar and bass speaker systems. Fundamentals of engineering electronics, william dow, 1937, 617 pages courtesy of an anonymous donor. These are the wheatfield audio ha1 and ha2 tube headphone amps, which i designed a long time ago.

The answer is that building a handwired tube amp is within the reach of. This is guitar kit builders directory of amplifier kits. Sep 01, 2009 written for musicians, amp builders, and tube audio enthusiasts, design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers provides a complete yet easytounderstand explanation of how to design, modify, construct, and test tube amps. By matt erickson kk5dr i have read in many articles, the lamentation over the lack of new hams that are building their own gear, and older hams who dont. Parts lists for the projects described in the book as downloadable microsoft word or excel files pwb layout resources. Im not sure that i am the best example of safety for guitar amp building. Finally, it also provides the design of the corresponding power supply unit. All these options are viable, and you can choose any depending on your personal interest and inclination. It builds on the popular original edition of the book, first published in 2005. While this article is intended primarily for the homebrew builder, it will also be useful background for the kit builder. Great for those who want to build valve amps and build their own chassis. Fortunately, there are several ways to go about building an excellent tube guitar amp. An entire chapter is devoted to sculpting the dynamics of overdrive and harmonic distortion. Its a great way of building confidence and opening the door to other projects like constructing guitars, pedals or other studio equipment.

About 10 watts, 2x 12ax7 preamp tubes, 1 el84 output tube. This is how fender does a modern hand wired ab763 amp. The other half has nearly 800 schematics for common amplifiers for research. Three amps for building your own desktop audio system. A tube amplifier chassis contains lethal high voltage even when unpluggedsometimes over 700 volts ac and 500 volts dc. Dumble amp 102 was built for robben ford as far as i know, and its the amp he plays to this day. The entire process took almost one year, designing, simulating, and prototyping, before actually building the amplifier. Great book for a reasonably short introduction to tube amp design for the nonengineer.

Basic theory a 21stcentury approach to understanding preamp, power amp, and power supply design fundamentals of guitar amplifier system design a structured methodolody for crafting an awesome guitar amplifier. Mar 22, 2018 built yourself a cigar box guitar, eh. How to design valve guitar amplifiers the valve wizard. The amp sounds fine, i was learning as i was building. And, famously, fischer had some outlandish beliefs that fueled his amp designs. Its a great way of building confidence and opening the door to other projects like constructing guitars, pedals or. Well the intent of this article is to lay out a logical plan of action for those courageous individuals who are contemplating building their own tube amplifier, but just cant seem to figure out where to start. Building your own tubetype hf amplifier, doing it the right way. How to build a tube amplifier rob robinettes car and tube. Building a brand new valve amplifier using the rh84 design and offtheshelf components. Apr 10, 2010 the slides are pretty heavy on engineering design terms, but give a good feel for what it takes to construct and tune an audio amplifier using vacuum tube technology. This uk book is one of a series on the technique of sound reproduction. Diy hifi enthusiasts have always had the finest in high end audio at a fraction of the cost of commercial systems.

What you need to know before building a hifi system engadget. A very unassuming title for a 617page engineering book. We take a look at three compact amplifiers for creating your own desktop audio system. I am an avid builder of altec speakers and love their horn sound, i have a pair i built in my bedroom with a fisher x101b amp. If you are down with bode plots and circuit diagrams, though, it could serve as a nice introduction to building a class ab amplifier circuit. The amplifier is one of the simplest i have encountered and it gives out a decent sound. Jan 17, 2017 half the book is a bio of nearly every amp company in history. Tube amp dictionary to help get noobs up to speed on tube amp nomenclature. The quickest way to get acquainted with the parts and standard layout techniques used in tube amp building is to build an amp kit. Yellow jackets allow el84 power tubes to be used in place of most common guitar amp power tubes, providing a selfbias classa configuration for the el84 so that no bias adjustment is required.

Ever wanted to build your own tube amplifier from scratch but did not know how or where to start. As well as the design and build of new valve amplifiers, complete with constructional projects, morgan jones introduces the modification, faultfinding and repair of new and classic equipment. Considering the usefulness of tube amps, especially to musical instruments. Some of them are long out of print, and can only be obtained from used book sellers, although they are occasionally seen for sale on the internet. Build your own amplifier build electronic circuits. Contains a lot of information about the basics behind guitar amplifier circuits. After the first one, the second came, the third, and so on i become somehow addicted. Nov 10, 2019 this inexpensive tube amplifier kit has been available for a number of years now and makes for a nice little tube amp.

With its very modest price tag, this kit is an affordable step into the wonderful world of vacuum tube audio. Transformers, tubes, cabinet and speaker are required to build a completed working amplifier not included. The book walks you through the basics of developing a schematic, setting up a simulation, integrating vacuum tube models, and interpreting the results. For more info on actually building an amp see how to build a tube amp. In this video series, rusty and i will explain and demonstrate all the steps required to scratch build any vintage amp, beginning with selecting a suitable amp. I have also bought the new book, dave hunter has made the two stroke amp even simpler taking out a valve tube.

However, this book doesnt really teach how to design excellent solidstate stuff. Building vacuum tube guitar and bass amplifiers volume 2. Sep 23, 2015 in this video series, rusty and i will explain and demonstrate all the steps required to scratchbuild any vintage amp, beginning with selecting a suitable amp, studying its structure and design. I find it difficult to learn from a book or dvd without handson experience and being able to ask questions and be warned of pitfalls by an experienced amp master. Vacuum tubes are old electronic components that act like transistors, controlling a lot of current. The companion volume to building valve amplifiers, morgan joness. As well as his other book valve amplifiers read as many books as you can on the subject. Note the use of quiet metal film resistors except the v3 2. Building your own tube type hf amplifier, doing it the right way. For those who have longed to listen to their music through high end audio and without the price tag, you have come to the right place. In this tutorial we are going to build a stereo amplifier that you can use to play music from for example your mobile phone or your computer. A bibliography of must have tube electronics books aiken amps.

Building a dumble overdrive special 102 style guitar amp from. Books, calculators, and tutorials for guitar amplifier circuit design. Diy audio books and manuals speakers, vacuum tubes. Parts lists for the projects described in the book as downloadable microsoft word or excel files pwb layout resources additional supporting information and commentary on the projects contained in the book. This guide discusses all relevant aspects for an integrated pushpull vacuum tube amplifier design, including the power supply unit. Building an amp can not only be a fun project, but a good way of learning about electronics, how amps work, and also how to service other valve amps you might already own. Fundamentals of amplification this chapter deals with the design and analysis of the basic triode gain stage, which is the main building block of a valve preamp. We try to maintain a comprehensive list of guitar amp kits and sources so please let us know of any needed additions or changes by emailing us at editor at guitarkitbuilder dot com. There are a host of online resources and help books to guide you.

The gilmore jr and ardmore kits are uniquely voiced amps. Most guitarists are fairly fanatical about the tube amp. Diy audio books and manuals speakers, vacuum tubes, electronics. Without offense, i could be wrong, but i get an impression that whatever lessimportant material didnt find its way into the first book because there are practical amp building projects in it, more than in this one, the author and the publisher decided to massage it into another book. This interesting book targets beginner builders but is also technical enough for builders of any level. Lots of good suggestions on how to get things done easily. Diy vacuum tube valve amplifier projects hifi audio. Your choices will surely be somewhat different but i hope this helps, in particular, the new builders.

A brief discussion of the whys and whatfors of how i build amplifiers. A bibliography of must have tube electronics books. Once you can read the simple champ schematic youll be able to figure out more complicated amp schematics. Building vacuum tube guitar and bass amplifiers guytronix. Tube sound audios amp camp is where you start building your own outstanding hifi system using the finest in vacuum tube technology. Welcome to guytronix diy guitar tube amplifier kits featuring the gilmore jr kit 12 watt and 2 watt and the ardmore 8 watt kit. Amp camp the diy tube audio workshop build your own tube amplifier. Published by power press publishing, london, canada. It contained too many mistakes and typos, and it didnt match the style of my preamp books.

A number of recent visitors have registered surprise that we do not have any music playing in our workshop. Vacuum tube amplifier building thoughts and practices. Following is a list of must have books for the serious tube amplifier designer. This book covers all aspects of tube audio design from explaining what vacuum tubes do and how to use them, safety issues, how to work effectively as a designer and. Profusely illustrated, the book uses graphic aides and basic algebra and scientific principles to teach you everything you need to know to fully understand tube. Some stores offer online sales in case you dont have any local options. If you have not been trained to work with high voltage then have an amp technician service your amp. For the last month, i have been working on building a new guitar. The internet continues to make it easier to find books and parts to help you build your own boutique quality guitar amp. Vacuum tube amplifiers diy vacuum tube amplifiers diy.

The book explains the principles of vacuum tube electronics and the design of preamp voltage amplification stages, cathode followers, tone stacks, power amps, phase inverters, negative feedback, and power supplies. For a first amplifier build you should consider a kit because it can be difficult to source all the correct components and shipping charges from multiple vendors can add up. Some years ago i designed and built my first hifi vacuum tube amplifier. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by robert megantz this is a great book to get involved in the theory of amplifiers.

Heres my technique for troubleshooting a tube guitar amplifier. How to make vacuum tube breadboarding sockets even though there is still wide spread interest in experimenting and building projects with vacuum tubes and almost every tube ever made is still available except for the very first ones made, there are none of the old type bread boarding sockets. Jun 08, 2004 the practical side of this book is reinforced by numerous clear illustrations throughout. Ive been thinking a lot latly, about trying to build my own tube amp.

Very thorough book on amps, i have six books on amps, this is the best. Tube amplifier safety theres high voltage danger in that amplifier chassis. This book covers all aspects of tube audio design from explaining what vacuum tubes do and how to use them, safety issues, how to work effectively as a designer and constructor and final testing of an amplifier. Its a good practical guide to the design of amplifiers, with many example schematics using the gec and mullard valves of the time. Except for transformers, this is a complete chassis kit. Mainly geared towards pulse generation, but has some good tube amplifier information. If you are turning on a new build amp or heavily repairedmodified amp for the first time i recommend you use a light bulb current limiter and follow my amp startup procedure. The gilmore jr or ardmore kit is an excellent choice for those who are building for the first time, yet challenging enough for those who have built before.