Kurtus Richter
Member
Understanding Guitar Tube-Amp Circuits
This follow-up post is for guitar-playing electronics enthusiasts and hobbyists desiring to know how tube-amp circuitry works but have yet to put in the study and want to get started. For beginners needing basic electronics, and technicians needing a refresher, see my Introduction and/or Review PDF file at my Guitar Data site, linked at the end of this post.
All information at my sites is FREE. There are no ads, or solicitations for donations.
There are many online sources for learning how all-tube power-amps work, including those for guitar, bass-guitar, and home stereo systems. But there are so many, in fact, that it can be overwhelming to wade through them all, and most don’t get into the details of the circuitry, just describe overall what tube-amps do in a general sense, coupled with ads for tube-amps for sale. But I have recently researched a significant number of such sites, all brought up searching the phrase “how do tube amps work?”, thus doing the legwork for readers here interested in the subject, so you won’t have to (if you have not already done so yourself). This is what I found.
The best sites for learning about the circuitry in an all-tube guitar-amp are as follows.
Rob Robinette provides one of the most comprehensive explanations. Here’s the link.
How Amps Work
The Analog Ethos site also details well how tube-amp circuits work. Here’s that link. Hint: Part 1 contains links to Parts 2 through 13.
Tube Amplifiers Explained, Part 1: Introduction
And Prime Sound does a great job of explaining tube-amps too. Here’s their link.
How Do Tube Amps Work? - The Detailed Guide for Dummies
My contribution is in my technical manual entitled “Electric-Guitar Data and Analog Circuit Collection”, reached using the link below.
https://hkurtrichter5.wixsite.com/electric-guitar-data
Onsite, click “File Share” at upper left. The primers are called “Introduction to Basic Electronics” and “BasicElectronicsReview”.
For the tube-amp design information, go first to the “Appendix E” PDF file, pages 119-122, then to the “Section 10” PDF file, pages 149-167.
There you will find the most concise explanation of how to understand all-tube guitar-amps; enough even to design your own.
But there are also kits for DIYers, available online. Example: See link below.
www.mojotone.com
For those on a tight budget, the cost for parts and for kits can be daunting. I am that way, having always been a working stiff finding it difficult to pay for bringing my ideas to life, much less paying for gear. But over the years I either managed or lucked out and now have all the gear I need to do what I want musically. However, I never got to build my own tube-amp, though I designed one. Yet, I found it fulfilling just learning how to design tube-amps, and also solid-state amps, as well, and often made use of that knowledge to pull repairs on my own or other people's equipment. So, even if you don't have the money to go whole hog, you can still obtain a measure of pride in acquiring an understanding of audio-electronics design on paper. Then you too can start repairing, refurbing, or hot-rodding your own and other players' amps, even if you've had no formal training. It's like the computer geek who never went to college for it but knows everything there is to know about computers. Well, you can do the same thing with guitar amps too. Go for it.
Comments welcome here. Or send email to [email protected] .
This follow-up post is for guitar-playing electronics enthusiasts and hobbyists desiring to know how tube-amp circuitry works but have yet to put in the study and want to get started. For beginners needing basic electronics, and technicians needing a refresher, see my Introduction and/or Review PDF file at my Guitar Data site, linked at the end of this post.
All information at my sites is FREE. There are no ads, or solicitations for donations.
There are many online sources for learning how all-tube power-amps work, including those for guitar, bass-guitar, and home stereo systems. But there are so many, in fact, that it can be overwhelming to wade through them all, and most don’t get into the details of the circuitry, just describe overall what tube-amps do in a general sense, coupled with ads for tube-amps for sale. But I have recently researched a significant number of such sites, all brought up searching the phrase “how do tube amps work?”, thus doing the legwork for readers here interested in the subject, so you won’t have to (if you have not already done so yourself). This is what I found.
The best sites for learning about the circuitry in an all-tube guitar-amp are as follows.
Rob Robinette provides one of the most comprehensive explanations. Here’s the link.
How Amps Work
The Analog Ethos site also details well how tube-amp circuits work. Here’s that link. Hint: Part 1 contains links to Parts 2 through 13.
Tube Amplifiers Explained, Part 1: Introduction
And Prime Sound does a great job of explaining tube-amps too. Here’s their link.
How Do Tube Amps Work? - The Detailed Guide for Dummies
My contribution is in my technical manual entitled “Electric-Guitar Data and Analog Circuit Collection”, reached using the link below.
https://hkurtrichter5.wixsite.com/electric-guitar-data
Onsite, click “File Share” at upper left. The primers are called “Introduction to Basic Electronics” and “BasicElectronicsReview”.
For the tube-amp design information, go first to the “Appendix E” PDF file, pages 119-122, then to the “Section 10” PDF file, pages 149-167.
There you will find the most concise explanation of how to understand all-tube guitar-amps; enough even to design your own.
But there are also kits for DIYers, available online. Example: See link below.
Amp Kits | Mojotone
Get your hands on your tube amp kit today! Find your next music gear project inside one of our guitar amp kits.
For those on a tight budget, the cost for parts and for kits can be daunting. I am that way, having always been a working stiff finding it difficult to pay for bringing my ideas to life, much less paying for gear. But over the years I either managed or lucked out and now have all the gear I need to do what I want musically. However, I never got to build my own tube-amp, though I designed one. Yet, I found it fulfilling just learning how to design tube-amps, and also solid-state amps, as well, and often made use of that knowledge to pull repairs on my own or other people's equipment. So, even if you don't have the money to go whole hog, you can still obtain a measure of pride in acquiring an understanding of audio-electronics design on paper. Then you too can start repairing, refurbing, or hot-rodding your own and other players' amps, even if you've had no formal training. It's like the computer geek who never went to college for it but knows everything there is to know about computers. Well, you can do the same thing with guitar amps too. Go for it.
Comments welcome here. Or send email to [email protected] .