A guide to basic tube amp maintenance guitar world. They are available for free download to help you with your amplifier repair and modifications. Designing tube preamps for guitar and bass merlin blencowe. The tube amp book, deluxe revised edition antique electronic. If you need a guitar amp schematic for your amp repair that is not listed here, contact us and well try to locate it. Given the cost of handwired or pointtopoint tube amplifiers, you might wonder if building one is realistic. Try plugging in a guitar cable, turn up all the amps volume, gain and master volume controls up a little and touch the tip of the guitar. There is a very heavy warning on page seven about the danger of opening up an amplifier so i read this book for interest only, rather than intending to get a screwdriver out. Most guitarists are fairly fanatical about the tube amp. I was holding my guitar while the amp was on, and reached up to mess with something else that was electric, and i felt a moderate shock on my hand and arm.
Handwiring a 5w tube head from scratch using a kit. When choosing an amp, you need to take several things into consideration, such as tone, distortion, features, and budget. Following is a list of must have books for the serious tube amplifier designer. If everything you know about tube amps came from the internet, you might want to prepare for a shock. I like to plug a guitar into anything, shove a slide on my finger and write songs. Already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book by aspen pittman is now even better. With that said, my wife, melissa gave me this diy 2. The design, modification and repair manual for vacuum tube guitar amplifiers kindle edition by torres, dan, torres, dan, strong, robert w download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Tube combo guitar amplifiers 220 tube guitar amplifier cabinets 4 tube guitar amplifier heads 2 tube guitar amplifier stacks 27 tube guitar power amplifiers 3 tube guitar power attenuators 1 tube guitar preamps tube mini guitar amplifiers 2 search refinement options. This is the best place to begin if youre new to diy.
New listing henriksen jazz amp 110 160w 1x10 combo 2006. This book, in print from 2008 until 2020, has been updated, expanded, reorganized, and replaced by guitar amplifier electronics. There is something about the glow of hot glass and the imposing sight of weighty iron through the grille that seems to sum up so much of whats cool about the electric guitar. This along with the tube amp dvds its all youll ever need to have. Backbeat the tube amp book technisches buch musik produktiv. A guitar amplifier or amp is an electronic device or system that strengthens the weak electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which are typically housed in a wooden cabinet. Explores all manufacturers and demystifys the inner workings of tube amps. 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. It builds on the popular original edition of the book, first published in 2005. Circuit simulation a deep dive into spice tube amp modeling. For electric guitars and basses, those signals are produced by pickupstypically of the electromagnetic varietyand they pass through the preamp tubes and power tubes of the amplifier before exiting the amp.
Electric guitar and a shocking amp makes wild music electrical question. Its a good practical guide to the design of amplifiers, with many example schematics using the gec and mullard valves of the time. 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. I have a rather old guitar tube amp, circa 63ish, not sure exactly. Tube amps have a ton of power and give guitar players a ton of dynamics.
This uk book is one of a series on the technique of sound reproduction. The design, modification and repair manual for vacuum tube guitar. A tube amplifier is an amplifier that uses vacuum tubes or valves to amplify the electric signals produced by a musical instrument. Vacuum tube circuit design guitar amplifier power amps. Do it yourself 4 watt amplifier vintage book part 3 diskonekted january 8, 2020. A guitar amplifier may be a standalone wood or metal cabinet that contains only the power amplifier and. Tons of empirical data that demystify the 519 pages tube pdf file guitar amplifier power amps. Full tmb treble middle bass controls give you the ability to tweak your sound exactly as you want with the addition of the brightfat switch to accommodate humbuckers or singlecoils that fall a little flat in their tone. An option such as the fender 68 custom deluxe reverb 22w 1x12 tube guitar combo amp with celestion g12v70 speaker, for example, might be just what doctor rock ordered. The truth about vintage amps skip simmons amp repair.
A bibliography of must have tube electronics books aiken amps. Another good one that is fenderfocused is dave funks tube amp workbook. This deluxe revised edition contains 40% new material, with a comprehensive az section covering all the great tube amp manufacturers, with histories, photos and information. If you have not been trained to work with high voltage then have an amp technician service your amp. A desktop reference of hip vintage guitar amps gerald weber. The blue guitar a ton of amp schematics and modification information. This guitar amp from marshall amps, who specialize in this product, has multiple tubes to provide a high level of sound quality, backed by digital reverberations to deliver the complete range of sounds expected of a good guitar. Tube guitar amplifiers handmade in the usa jmp guitars amps. Duncans amp pages this site features a tube data search engine and best of all, a tone stack calculator.
Anyways, ive recently had a shocking experience with this amp. The guitar amp handbook understanding tube amplifiers and. It is important to know how to test an electric guitar amplifier before you buy one to ensure that it meets your needs. Here is our collection of tweed and brown face era fender guitar amp schematics. 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.
The chai 18 combo is a sweet amp with shimmering reverb and classic touchsensitive tone. This is an excellent book, packed with concise, factual information on tube valve preamp designs, complete with all mathematical formulas for design. This is my favorite tube amp book, merlin blencowes, designing tube preamps for guitar and bass, 2nd edition. How to service your own tube amp does exactly what is says it will do. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading inside tube amps.
This book is a stepbystep tutorial for simulating vacuum tube guitar amplifiers using ltspice, a free spicebased electronic circuit simulator for windows and macos. Already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book is now even better. The internet is filled with lots of information on amp repair, but it is sometimes difficult to discern those who know from those who think they know. There is a very heavy warning on page seven about the danger of opening up an amplifier so i read the book for interest only, rather than intending to get a screwdriver out. I know you read a book that said otherwise, but the book is wrong. The ax84 cooperative tube amp project great projects and information, plus a very friendly and helpful forum. 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. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by robert c. About half the book is an alphabetical run down of the largest and most important amp makers in the history of guitar amps. Here weve listed our collection of guitar amplifier schematics. This amp is small, yet powerful, and absolutely loaded with tone.
Textbook on tube amps reference book for tube amps, by aspen pittman, with technical. Monoprice 611705 5watt 1x8 guitar combo tube amplifier tanbeige with celestion super 8 inch speaker, 12ax7 preamp, versatile and durable for all electric. Product title vox ac10c1 custom 1x10 tube guitar combo amp average rating. Photo by andy ellis look at the back of any alltube amp, and youll see warmly glowing glass bottles in a variety of shapes and sizes. The amp is completely dead if the amp is completely silent no speaker hum or hiss at all then the problem can be just about anywhere in the amp but you should suspect a bad tube, blown fuse or the power supply in that order try a new rectifier tube. Basic theory a 21stcentury approach to understanding preamp, power amp, and power supply design. Easy book on how to build a tube amp 1 watt to 75 watt by sal g 2015. Great book for a reasonably short introduction to tube amp design for the nonengineer. A tribute to the mechanical and aesthetic beauty of the tube amp, focusing on guitar amplifiers, but also examining hifi audio amps and very ornate early radios. Fender bandmaster 5e7 schematic fender bandmaster 6g7 schematic fender bandmaster 6g7a schematic fender bassman 5b6 schematic. Fender 64 princeton reverb 12watt 1x10 tube combo amp.
We are always adding more as we find them so check back often. The guitar amp handbook by dave hunter who has written many a book on guitars covers everything you need to know about the sought after tube amplifier. In this age of handmade, boutique gear, many guitarists have taken up soldering irons and built pedals and equipment of their own to scratch a particular sonic itch. Its more of a book for fans of tube amps, who want to know more some information is practical, some is simply esoteric. The guitar amp handbook understanding tube amplifiers. The internet is filled with lots of information on amp repair, but it is sometimes difficult to discern those who. Over 50 easy modifications for fender and marshall amps and the guitar. Complete guide to vintage tube amplifiers volume 1 fender. Power tubes aka output tubes are typically the biggest ones of the bunch, and they provide the last stage of amplification for the guitar signal before its delivered to the speakers.