Circuit simulation a deep dive into spice tube amp modeling. I think there are two general types of tube guitar amp books out there. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by robert c. You can find descriptions of both books, as well as ordering and contact information, by selecting the appropriate link. 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. Valve amplifiers explained starts with a chapter on basic valve theory and explains how to interpret valve characteristic curves. A bibliography of must have tube electronics books. Im sorry to say i permanently removed it from print. The guitar amplifier design course was developed for the designers, builders and suppliers of vacuum tube guitar amplifiers.
Design and build your own tube guitar amp guitarsite. Jan 17, 2017 design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by robert megantz this is a great book to get involved in the theory of amplifiers. There are two simple forms of this circuit, one using a single transistor and the other using an integrated circuit called an operational amplifier. Understanding these concepts provides the basis behind understanding how a.
Both books provide easytounderstand yet thorough descriptions of the technologies, components, and construction and testing methods used in tube guitar amplifiers and guitar and bass speaker systems. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by robert megantz this is a great book to get involved in the theory of amplifiers. Youll want to take notes as you read, but its written with musicians in mind. 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. New listing vintage 1950 multivox premier model 50 tube guitar. Covers all the essential of tube electronics design, including the basics, tube theory, load lines, amplifier design, etc. 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. This uk book is one of a series on the technique of sound reproduction. Jul 15, 20 a vox ac4, like many amps, is designed to make the power tubes cathode slightly positivea state that is commonly referred to in the guitar universe as cathode biased. A bibliography of must have tube electronics books aiken amps. In addition to this concepts including the attraction and repulsion of opposite and like charges play a large part in the operation of vacuum tubes thermionic valves.
Free amplifier circuits books download ebooks online. Free amplifier circuits books download ebooks online textbooks. Singleended classa tube amplifier design and construction. This is the book that jumpstarted the boutique tube guitar amp business. Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to. A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the amplitude or power of a signal. Lee jackson, 2003 creating new guitar and bass amplifiers. My 20 lesson correspondence course is the fast track to learning vacuum tube guitar amp basics. How to build a tube amplifier rob robinettes car and tube. Learn the truth about tube preamp design and modification. Tube amp design wikibooks, open books for an open world.
The various classes of operation of amplifiers class a, class b, class ab1, class ab2 and class c are all covered in detail. Line 6 122954 micro spider 6w batterypowered guitar amplifier. Its a good practical guide to the design of amplifiers, with many example schematics using the gec and mullard valves of the time. Product gallienkrueger 3030810a 25watt ultralight bass guitar combo amplifier. Lets take a quick look at the staple of great country tone, the tube amplifier. Chapter on the history of fender amplifiers, model by model. It is intended as a companion to design and construction of guitar and bass speaker systems, also available here. Ive been getting a lot of mail about my power supplies book. An otl amplifier is mentioned once, and the use of a soldering iron starts at the end of an electron tube amplifier design. Half the book is a bio of nearly every amp company in history.
The amplifiers your students will be studying are electronic devices, but other types of amplifiers exist. The first are technical in nature and are often not specific to guitar amps. For me, the ultrafi was the last piece of the puzzle in my quest to design an ss amp that can rival tube amps. Theres a ton of tweeks, mods, and experience out there that these books capture. New listing henriksen jazz amp 110 160w 1x10 combo 2006. Best amp buildingmoddingrepair books telecaster guitar. Tube amplifiers have two subtypes ab1 grid current never flows ab2 grid current flows for part of the. How guitar amps work and what you can do to start tweaking. Want to learn everything you need to know about the basic fundamentals and basic electronic principles going on in a vacuum tube guitar amp. It contained too many mistakes and typos, and it didnt match the style of my preamp books. Jun 20, 2017 volume 1 of the most complete and practical modern reference on tube guitar amplifiers.
Design characteristics of the different sections of a tube amp. Fundamentals of guitar amplifier system design presents a structured, topdown approach to crafting a complete guitar amplifier. The second are the back yard mechanic type of books. 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.
Class d audio amplifier design, trend in class d amplifiers, traditional linear amplifier, basic pwm operation, analogy to buck dcdc converter, power dissipation in gate driver, gate driver for class d applications, mosfet technologies and thermal design. Fundamental amplifier techniques with electron tubes is a text book that comprehensively covers the area of electron tube amplifiers. This is followed by explanations of components, the detailed. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers book ebay. Ac wall power from the power cord flows through the onoff ac switch and on to the power transformer shown at bottom center which steps up the wall voltage to 325 volts rms root mean square average ac for the high voltage supply and steps it down to 6. Volume 1 of the most complete and practical modern reference on tube guitar amplifiers.
Fundamental amplifier techniques with electron tubes. Under the bridge of the guitar there often is a grounding cable, which makes you part of the electric circuit when touching the strings. Heres a quick look at the features of the tube amplifier that well look at in more detail in later lessons. Vacuum tube circuit design guitar amplifier power amps. There are no modifications of highfidelity tube amplifiers into guitar tube amplifiers. Class ab amplifiers are the most common in larger guitar amplifiers because of their efficiency. The science of electric guitars and guitar electronics. In some short circuit conditions this might lead to lethal accidents. The other half has nearly 800 schematics for common amplifiers for research. Chapters on most of the discreet components used in tube amplifiers. If you have not been trained to work with high voltage then have an amp technician service your amp. The voltage gain of each of these devices is unity a v 1. This book, in print from 2008 until 2020, has been updated, expanded, reorganized, and replaced by guitar amplifier electronics.
Understanding tube amplifiers and getting great sounds. Class ab amplifiers are more efficient than class a, but not as efficient as class b. This book presents vacuum tube amplifier theory using modern, webbased design tools and computer visualizations to eliminate the usual litany of mathematical. Connor books that crawfish mentioned are very good books. Great book for a reasonably short introduction to tube amp design for the nonengineer. Profusely illustrated, the book uses graphic aides and basic. Most of the boutique amps being made today are cloned vintage fender and marshall amps or at least heavily influenced by their circuits. I started with these books and dvd 3tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech 3a desktop reference of hip vintage guitar amps and entertaining dvd 4tube guitar amp servicing and overhaul by kendrick amps gerald weber but he is self taught and his technical and safety procedure foundation is shakey. The first three chapters of this unique book cover introductory topics such as basic electronic circuits and passive components resistors, capacitors, inductors, the building blocks of tube amplifiers. Designing valve preamps for gu blencowe, merlin isbn. When doing wiring work on the tone and volume control section in the guitar, please make sure that the guitar cable is not connected to the. Basic theory a 21stcentury approach to understanding preamp, power amp, and power supply design.
The tube amp book deluxe revised edition book and disk package hardcover. Valve amplifiers can be used for applications such as guitar amplifiers, satellite transponders such as. 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. The book begins with the fundamentals of electronics and vacuum tubes. Guitar amps seem complicated, but theyre just simple electronics put together. This guide discusses all relevant aspects for an integrated pushpull vacuum tube amplifier design, including the power supply unit. Soldering, tools of the trade, equipment needed, tube types, modifications from gain stages to adding reverbs. Thats it for the signal path, now lets examine the amps power supply shown at the bottom of the schematic.
Elementary amplifier theory discrete semiconductor devices and circuits pdf version. This is an excellent little book with very good, easytounderstand theory and troubleshooting. Books, calculators, and tutorials for guitar amplifier circuit design. This book presents vacuum tube amplifier theory using modern, webbased design tools and. A tube amplifier chassis contains lethal high voltage even when unpluggedsometimes over 700 volts ac and 500 volts dc. It is intended as a companion to design and construction of guitar and bass speaker systems. Other amps, instead, put a negative charge on the power tubes grid. Combo guitar amplifiers 446 guitar amplifier cabinets 235 guitar amplifier heads 290 guitar amplifier packages 1 guitar amplifier stacks 38 guitar power amplifiers 10 guitar power attenuators 11 guitar preamps 54 headphone guitar amplifiers 16 mini guitar amplifiers 55 search refinement options. You can find descriptions of both books, as well as ordering. Following is a list of must have books for the serious tube amplifier designer.
It thus has three electrodes where two of them called anode and cathode reflects the diode function of the tube according to svwp. Fundamental amplifier techniques with electron tubes second. There are also many books on the subject of tube amp circuit theory, design and building that you can read to help make your first build of boutique quality. Books about guitar amplifier electronics usually focus on individual circuits. How to design valve guitar amplifiers the valve wizard. The tube used in that case was the cathode ray tube aka crtbetter known today as an old, prelcdledplasma television. Design and construction of tube guitar amplifiers by. Some of this material is general and applies as much to hifi circuits as to guitar amps, but some of it is very. Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to compute the values of the needed components.
A very common type of amplifier used in electronic circuits is the voltage buffer, sometimes called a voltage follower. Note that a 6l6 model was used in place of a 6v6 because it was readily available. It then proceeds through each stage of a modern guitar amplifier, including preamp voltage amplification. The physical function of the tube the most common tube type in audio amplifiers regardless if it is in power stages or in pre amplifiers is the socalled triode svwp. Class d audio amplifier design pdf 54p this note covers the following topics. The theory behind the operation of a vacuum tube is based on a concept known as thermionic emission. Btw, hopefully by the end of this year, ill have a sound clip of my current amp design project, an ultrafi ss guitar amp that sounds pretty amazing.
An entire chapter is devoted to sculpting the dynamics of overdrive and harmonic distortion. This book presents vacuum tube amplifier theory using modern, webbased design tools and computer visualizations to eliminate the usual litany of mathematical formulas. Pspice spice simulations are a valuable tool that aid in the design of tube amplifiers. In guitar amps, were not that interested in displaying images with our tubes, but were still very interested in controlling those electronsand we can use a guitar to do it. The course starts with a discussion of the basics of electronic concepts. Using 6 as a guideline, the following models were used in spice simulation.