Design and Construction of Tube Guitar Amplifiers

Purchased for a gift. The person I gifted it to is a engineer so I am assuming it was good.

I have been building tube guitar amps for the past few years, and have read most of the books that are already out there; at first to just figure out how it all worked, and now to further my understanding of how each section of the amp really works and get into tweaking designs to create my own homebrew builds.With that background I have to say this book is incredible. While no book will satisfy every reader, and every book will have some who think its too elementary and some who think its too advanced, I think this book has something for every level to learn.If you are a newbie I recommend it for the first section on basic electronics, the last section that has a short overview of actual building, and the great "start up testing" guide, which is a must read for all beginners. The main section of the book which goes in excellent detail about the workings and design of each part of a guitar amp, just blew me away. For the beginner this may be info overload, but you will still start to understand what each section does, and why that resister is over there. As you build more amps over the years, this will be a book you then "rediscover" as your knowledge base grows.For the more advanced builder, you will find the last section on construction a bit elementary and uninformative, but it wont matter because the design section will have already blown you away. Its all there in plain English and some easy math; no over opinionated speeches, no vague handwritten diagrams, no bogus untested circuits. The author is giving you real, true information that you can use, written in a professional manner, rather than just trying to impress you with "cocktail talk" that has no relevancy.I am also currently reading another new book, Designing Tube Preamps for Guitar and Bass, by Merlin Blencowe. I also recommend this book and will do a review when I am done, but looking it already has some great reviews.The Dan Torres book, Inside Tube Amps, although quirky, opinionated sometimes, and scatterbrained sometimes, is also to me a great book to pick up when you are starting out. He does a great job of going over each section of the amp in detail, and has some great charts to show differences in tubes, rectifiers, etc. Its also a book I kept discovering new info in every time I picked it up.The books I dont recommend,(hate to make this a bash session) are the Kevin O'connor series of overpriced books, and the Weber books. The O'connor series was almost ok, cause there wasnt anything else. Megantz' book does in one book what O'connor sort of does over 5 books at a total cost of over $400. Yes, I have some of them, and I got a little bit out of each of them, but most of each book was fluff, opinion, and less than worthwhile info. The whole series could be distilled down to one book with useable info. Having said that, maybe I'm the dummy and the really smart people out there get these books more than me. For this simpleton they didnt cut the "smell test".Another series to stay away from is the Gerald Weber set of "books", if you can call them that. Write enough magazine articles and I guess you too can put together your own book. Again, I am sure there is wonderful info you can sift through to find in there, and if you are rebuilding old Fender and Marshall amps they are the best to read. If you are doing your own builds and even designing something new, then keep your money.Having said all that, even the books I bash above have good info if money is no object, just trying to point out the books with most bang for the buck.

Just finished this book and found it perfect for me. I have an electronics background both professionally and academically, however, it is predominantly installation, calibration and repair all in the field - essentially no design and pretty much nothing to do with vacuum tubes, so this was my primary challenge.Considering all of this, the book was perfect for me. Even the basics regarding dB and impedance with respect to frequency and component value etc, etc,.. If you have absolutely no background in electronics at all - I really think you will struggle here. If you don't struggle with the concepts, you are a real quick study and way way smarter than most. But, even so, if you're serious about it and determined, even with a total lack of knowledge, you can still pull it through. The Author pretty much makes the basic system for you. If you weed through the book, take all of the stages he either designed or pulled from one of the various musical equipment vendors, and cluge it all together - you're 95% of the way there. It's that last 5% that will be the ultimate challenge - again, if you have zero prior knowledge in the subject.This book not only gives you design norms, but also points out common pitfalls, provides a bit of troubleshooting, gives ideas for chassis layout and provides information for component research and purchase. Data sheets for common tubes such as 12AX7, 6L6 etc, etc, are all included in the book for reference.Given my background, some of what I got out of this book was:- Vacuum Tube introduction.- Refresher of impedance/component response to frequency - tie into tone control..- Tips on placement of transformers ie:Power vs. Output vs. Choke so they don't interfere with each other. Magnetic coupling and all of that.. Ridiculously important for noise and hum!!- Refresher on grounding design. Also, ridiculously important for noise and hum!!- Control (volume/gain/tone/etc) wire routing and when to use shielded cabling - again for noise control.- How reverb, tremelo and overdrive are created.- Refresher on different classes of operation and why (Class A for pre-amp / A/B for push-pull output, and so on).- Input and output impedance of stages and rules of thumb for making them appropriate for the prior and/or next stage.- Refresher on transformers, inductors and capacitors.- Introduction of rectifier tubes vs. solid state or diode based bridge rectifiers and how they contribute to HVDC power supply sag. Prior to this I would have assumed that one would want a regulated rock solid power supply, however, evidently, this is often not the case. Unregulated and soft/saggy supplies under load are often desirable depending on the application and characteristics. So much so that the Author gives a tip on adding a series resistor to the unregulated supply for the sole purpose of softening it under load. Who knew?Anyway, given my background and interests I could not have imagined a more appropriate book for me.Given your background and interests the book might be less applicable? Hopefully this review can help guide you in a proper purchasing decision.

the book title lead me to think or expect more.if you are looking for this kind of information you probably know the basics if not then get the book.if you do its not for you.very little in the way of actual design.So for me it's back to searching.full schematics, power output sections,modifications and explanation.Comparisons between audiofile and guitar amps. I'll find what I'm looking for. it's not this book.

...Fantastic essential reading for the tube amp novice and a great refresher for experts to reference... ..If you have interest in repair and build of guitar/bass amplifications, buy this you won’t regret it... straight line help to your straight line questions you’ve wished answers for...

A great little book offering a comprehensive overview of the subject matter. It's target audience seems to be those with a familiarity with electric circuits, electronics, and mathematics.

Parfait pour compléter ses connaissances.

This book is at the least "just basic". It is quite expensive for the content it provides. There is much better information for less money to be sure.

Good informations, quite basic. I think is ok for beginners, not so useful for Advanced. Distortion analysis can be more deeply investigated