caught the amp building/designing bug

[turmoil]

well, actually it has been slowly creeping up on me for the last 4 or 5 months
anyways, i've been reading 'Inside Tube Amps' by Dan Torres and it's a pretty killer book, but i woke up this morning wanting more information. I did a google search on small, Class A amps -- because i think i might try to build one over the summer -- and i got this cool write up: http://wireless.ee.washington.edu/indep_study/ben.pdf

i'm assuming it was done by an EE student, but it has a really thorough walk through of the design concepts and why certain components were chosen for the build. I definitely learned a thing or two

After that i stumbled across this website -- http://www.pmillett.com/tubebooks/techn ... online.htm
this might be old hat for most of you guys, but man! that guy has uploaded a ton of cool technical books in PDF format. i guess i'll have some reading to do this week

 

[Mudder]

Me too. I just started reading Designing Tube Preamps for Bass and Guitar by Merlin Blencowe. I'm starting with a few mods to amps I have, then I have one of the AX84 kits ready to be put together. I love tinkering, and I like math, so this is exciting for me.

 

[turmoil]

that's cool! how do you like that book? I want to pick up something shortly since i'm pretty much done with mr. torres' book.

i too also enjoy the math, equations, and theory behind design...hence why i'm studying electrical engineering
those AX84 builds look pretty fun. i'm thinking about trying one of those or just designing my own small amp from scratch.

 

[Mudder]

The Blencowe book is dry, but laid out pretty well. He assumes you know some stuff, but describes things like you don't know it. I would say it's like a 200 level text book.

 

[Xanthus]

I bought "Understanding Vacuum Tube Guitar Amplifiers" by Gerald Weber a couple of months ago. Not really what I was hoping for, but I'm gaining a little more knowledge every time I watch it. Being an absolute beginner it's a little over my head. But I'm gaining speed.

Thanks for the links, it will be an unproductive day at work for me.

 

[guitarslinger]

I caught the bug, but I'm kind of over it now.

my tips:

1. buy an amp kit.
2. buy a good soldering station.


Reason why the bug went away.

1. Doing it from scratch takes more time and effort than I have.
2. Finding parts is difficult
3. Finding parts is expensive
4. It might not even work correctly or sound very good.
5. There are SOOOO many good amps out there for less money than it takes to build one.

What I've been able to do since I caught the bug.

1. I can mod my own amps
2. I can bias/retube my own amps.
3. I understand how amps work.
4. I can read a schematic

That's good enough for me, and I'm happy to be here.

 

[BlinkTwice]

I've been thinking about doing this but I'm sort of sitting on the fence and keep asking myself if I need something else to take time away from actually playing the guitar

 

[turmoil]

I caught the bug, but I'm kind of over it now.

my tips:

1. buy an amp kit.
2. buy a good soldering station.


Reason why the bug went away.

1. Doing it from scratch takes more time and effort than I have.
2. Finding parts is difficult
3. Finding parts is expensive
4. It might not even work correctly or sound very good.
5. There are SOOOO many good amps out there for less money than it takes to build one.

What I've been able to do since I caught the bug.

1. I can mod my own amps
2. I can bias/retube my own amps.
3. I understand how amps work.
4. I can read a schematic

That's good enough for me, and I'm happy to be here.

well, the thing for me is that i'm really interested in learning why i want to use a resistor value of X ohms or a cap value of Y farads rather than just, ok give me the schematic and let me place all those components and viola! i have an amp that magically works, but i'm not 100% sure what's going on inside the circuits.

sure, it will take me a lot longer to make the amp, but that's not what totally concerns me. I really want to learn as much as i possibly can, even if that means i'm sort of re-inventing the wheel.

 

[guitarslinger]

well, the thing for me is that i'm really interested in learning why i want to use a resistor value of X ohms or a cap value of Y farads rather than just, ok give me the schematic and let me place all those components and viola! i have an amp that magically works, but i'm not 100% sure what's going on inside the circuits.

sure, it will take me a lot longer to make the amp, but that's not what totally concerns me. I really want to learn as much as i possibly can, even if that means i'm sort of re-inventing the wheel.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but you can always swap resistors and caps in a Marshall style kit.

I just didn't have the time, personally, to reinvent the wheel. If you can do it, then that's awesome.

Do you know anybody locally who can help you out with some hands-on stuff?

 

[turmoil]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but you can always swap resistors and caps in a Marshall style kit.

I just didn't have the time, personally, to reinvent the wheel. If you can do it, then that's awesome.

Do you know anybody locally who can help you out with some hands-on stuff?

yeah, i know you can swap stuff like that in a kit-build. I guess what i meant to say was choosing particular components like Transformers or the specific tubes to get the voltages, currents, and impedance i designed for ahead of time. maybe that makes more sense? i don't know i'm still learning and i have a lot to learn, so maybe i'm just over thinking this. i also do happen to have a fair amount of free time since i'm still in school for at least another year. there are some old school guys in my department that love tube and amplifier design, so maybe they'd be helpful if i ran into problems in the design.

i actually don't really know anyone locally that works on amps like this. as far as the hands on stuff goes, do you mean, like the physical layout of the board, or placement of transformers, and soldering?
i have a decent amount of experience soldering from working on guitar pedals and such, but i do know guys that could punch holes if i bought a blank chasis.

 

[Anonymous]

Do me a favor, if you don't know about this guy yet check out his site... it has endless knowledge about tube amp designs and explains almost everything you want to know about it. I just bought all 10 of his books about 10 minutes ago before stumbling upon this thread... its pretty weird actually!!! Check it out, he is in Canada and his name is Kevin O Connor... he is a super nice guy and very knowledgeable. Give his books a try, it wont hurt at all.

http://www.londonpower.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=3

http://www.londonpower.com/tube-amp-books.htm

 

[guitarslinger]

there are some old school guys in my department that love tube and amplifier design, so they will be helpful in the design.

especially for stuff, like the physical layout of the board, placement of transformers, and soldering.
i i do know guys that could punch holes if i bought a blank chasis.

there's your answer.