I usually start with my preamp when designing an amp, but for this particular project i decided to go in reverse order. If all of the sudden your tech decides he can work on carvin amps, it might be. Jul 06, 2017 i have three tube amplifiers, a fender hot rod deluxe, single 12. Depending on the tube amp, its a good idea to get your tube amp biased after replacing your tubes. For a detailed reference on tube amps and how they work, check out the tube amp faq by r. Although some applications had used earlier technologies such as the spark gap. Pdf this empirical study explores the guitar profiling technology and its. The worlds of hispanic and yaqui reality merge in the poetry of renowned taos poetry circus veteran, amalio madueno. Flex smartamp takes a bestofbothworlds approach to. Electronics projects for musicians michigan state university. Pdf guitar profiling technology in metal music production. I have three tube amplifiers, a fender hot rod deluxe, single 12. Many of the amp wizards are middleaged and have done it forever.
Gerald weber is apparently an exmeat distributor who,without any formal electronics training or background, decided to go into the guitar amplifier business. Question about combining guitar power amps with the guitar pre amp this question is geared towards guitar amps i had recently purchased the digitech 2101 guitar stereo tube preamp and was quite pleased with the effects on it for my live show. I think there always be a market for tube amps and i believe the problems folks cite with tubes is a bit overstated. Valve technology was predominately found in televisions and radios from the mid to the late 20 th century. So this brings us back to the original question of which is more important for tone, the guitar or the amp. Again, total reproduction means reproducing inconsistency as well, if thats what players want. Already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book is now even better. Amp talk is a great info source on valves for amps. In this article i want to talk about some of the techniques that engineers are using to.
People use tube amps reliably week after week and tube maintenance is really not that big of an expense and hassle bring spare tubes to gig problem solved. A desktop reference of hip vintage guitar amps by gerald weber lots of good info and schematics 7. They got into amp repair before that set of skills was hunted down. However, we were blown away by the awesome power of their nextone series amps. Amp talk is a blog related to valves and repairs in musical instrument, hifi amps, and jukeboxes. When your amp isnt performing up to snuff, theres still a lot you can do without having an ee degree, or even knowing how to operate test equipment. Im looking for a pair of set amps hopefully 300b, but cant seem to find any with balanced inputs, even the very expensive ones. Even if youre not planning on specifically building this project, theres a lot of really helpful details told from the makers perspective even some informative regrets. Tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech weber, gerald on. Were in the middle of an amp tech generational change. This means some part in the tube characteristic where a sine wave coming on the input grid is amplified competely, pure and exact on the output circuit anode circuit, where the transformer is inserted.
Well lets just say this, to me the amp has more control over the tone of your playing, and it also will give you inspiration to play new things. Apologies for the newbie question, but i was just wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage to having a valve amp if you are using the clean tone. Combining the preamp and power amp sections of different. Dec 18, 2014 is guitar technology catching up with the rest of the gear in a modern studio. When i have all the stacks done, i combine the individual files into one big pdf file again using acrobat. Ill also work closely with the monitor guy and the guitar technician on this. After this stary talk, i should probably mention that. Its no secret that tube amps require regular tlc to sound their best. That way i would be using the bandits pre amp and the 800s power amp together. Is guitar technology catching up with the rest of the gear in a modern studio. Tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech by gerald weber more good info. Probably the best and most affordable option would be old sunn tube amps. Tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech by gerald weber. Bossroland are no strangers when it comes to modelling amp models and effects, with considerable experience in the game.
Ask amp man rss its no secret that tube amps require regular tlc to sound their best. What is the difference between modelling amps and other types. If these two things can happen, then that guitar or amp can become part of our arsenal. I am fairly familiar with the preamp design, so i decided to tackle the power amp first since i didnt have much experience with a pushpull style tube amp. The valvetube world looks like it will see some interesting times ahead in 2020. Additionally, the basic sound produced by the guitar amplifier can be changed and shaped by adding distortion andor equalization effect pedals before the amps input jack, in the effects loop just before the tube power amp, or after the power tubes. A vacuum tube, an electron tube, or valve british usage or, colloquially, a tube north. Smith, an amp tech in san francisco, souped up those small guitar amps to put out 100w. For this followup to his popular a desktop reference of hip vintage guitar amps, gerald weber has compiled his articles and ask gerald columns that have appeared in vintage guitar from 1993 to 1996. Is there any difference in clean tone sound between a valve tube amp and a solid state amp. Literatur amp bucher kendrick amps gerald weber buecher.
Aug 21, 2012 if these two things can happen, then that guitar or amp can become part of our arsenal. Analog sensitivity is a meaningless phrase, and is not used in electronics. Guitar technology gear and innovations for a modern. Book 1 a desktop reference to hip vintage guitar amps code. As a special bonus, ken fischers trainwreck pages from vintage guitar are also included. Virtual air guitar department of signal processing and acoustics. Mar, 2009 learn the key differences between tube and solid state amplifiers, and how to troubleshoot them. Plenty of tags get chucked around under the modelling amp moniker, but what do they mean, what makes them different, and why should you care. Tube sound or valve sound is the characteristic sound associated with a vacuum tube amplifier valve amplifier in british english, a vacuum tube based audio amplifier. Lost in the barrens available for download and read online in other formats.
Next i would try to get something to stableize it to keep it from moving, it could be vibrations from the amp, tighten the bolts alittle, tighten the chassis bolts thet hold it to the cab. Pdf this empirical study explores the guitar profiling technology and. El34, kt77, kt88, 6l6 etc and tubesync will automatically sense and adjust the output bias of each tube independently to balance the amp. For years, gerald weber has written both an amp column and an advice column ask gerald for vintage guitar magazine. The kids who could develop into good amp techs are usually lured into higher tech jobs that pay a lot more. Sep 01, 2003 already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book is now even better. Imagine what new tones you can create from those limitless output tube combinations. Hard core tube amp fans may not be able to tell the difference, in a blind auditory test, but will most always choose to play a tube amp because of its analog sensitivity. What are some good guitar amps for an intermediate guitar player. Learn the key differences between tube and solid state amplifiers, and how to troubleshoot them. Reliability assurance replaces conventional tube testing methods by performing an in circuit test every time the amplifier is powered up. When you turn on your tube amp, the tube filament at the center of the bottle receives a voltage usually 6. This trend towards using smaller guitar amps has done a lot to reduce the level of.
Using a home stereo as a guitar amp, and other advice for new electric guitarists hi michael, ive just found your site and it is a wealth of information. Guitar command takes a look at some of the innovations available to todays guitarist guitar technology. If you talk to any guitarist you will undoubtably hear the world valve or tube thrown around. I am no expert, but i know there are some unsaid rules that, when violated, can harm the components of a tube amp and i want to make sure this is not on the list.
By stating you made the first reliable otls does indicate that some or all of your predecessors were in fact, not reliable. I had a gretsch 6154 super bass amp that was ok for bass at low volume with its open back cabinet housing two 12 jensens, but was a guitar screamer, the original open back fender bassman is a guitar staple, but pretty much sucks for bass, at least by modern standards. Pdf lost in the barrens download full pdf book download. The sound of a valve amp cranked nice and loud is synonymous with rock and guitar heritage. Using a home stereo as a guitar amp, and other advice for. And that is also what this effect type, combining a.
Tube amps with balanced inputs why do so few tube amps come with balanced inputs, especially set amps. Some smaller, lower wattage tube amps have a fixed bias, like the fender blues jr. Is the future of guitar amps tubeless the gear page. Here are some holistic approachesand solutionsyou can try yourself, as i did when my tube amp went on the fritz. Acoustic guitars had problems because of the comparatively low sound volumes they produced. Tube sound or valve sound is the characteristic sound associated with a vacuum tube amplifier valve amplifier in british english, a vacuum tubebased audio amplifier. Mar 22, 2019 what is the difference between modelling amps and other types. Modern amplified guitar music is possible due to a combination of valve, or tube, based amplification, solidstate amplification and digital modeling. It should be deleted, or the sentence edited to say something like although they cant. Book 2 tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech kendrick. Guitar technology gear and innovations for a modern guitarist. Magnatone marshall mesa boogie model 26 musicians nameplate oahu ohm speaker output tubes overdriven paper piggyback plate power amp power tubes preamp tube princeton pushpull resistors reverb unit rickenbacker showman signal solidstate sound speaker cabinets standel super twin. Book 2 tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech code. Have guitarists never had it so good, or are manufacturers trying to fix something that isnt broken.
Amplified guitars solved the problem of how to integrate guitars in ensemble performances. This page is discuss guitar tube amp tone particularly hot rodded amp mods, high gain amps, classic marshall. The armageddon is a 120 watt, 3 channel, fully midi capable, metal amp with the isp decimatortm builtin. Tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech deutsche manuskript liegt vor. Tube amp talk for the guitarist and tech gerald weber on. So why is it so unsafe apart from needing to be grounded and have a fuse put into it. Four premium 6l6 power tubes and six handselected 12ax7 pre. Combining the preamp and power amp sections of different amplifiers discussion in amps and cabs. Half power backup if tubesync detects a faulty tube, it can automatically switch out the offending tube and run the amp at half power, until the defective tube can be replaced. Standby switches, and why we can and should do without looking at tube amps from the past 60 years or so, either for guitar or bass, youll see a standby switch most of the time. Instructables is a community for people who like to make things. The electrons flow from a part of the tube called the cathode to the tubes plate, as shown in figure 1.
Editorinchief of guitar magazine, technical editor of guitar shop magazine, and musicologist. Powertube distortion is required for amp sounds in some genres. 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. Tube amps with balanced inputs audiogon discussion forum. What are some good guitar amps for an intermediate guitar. If you get noise from tapping it i would just reflow all the solder connections to it. References rebuilding a fender deluxe reverb tube amplifier. Is there any difference in clean tone sound between a valvetube amp and a solid state amp. Have your amp repaired by a guitarist who has used and repaired vintage gear for over 40 years. Up until recently i played with my preamp volume all the way up and had the master volume set very lo.
Explore the biggest how to and diy community where people make and share inspiring, entertaining, and useful projects, recipes, and hacks. Okay so i relented and worked on an amp with not one single lonely valve tube inside. We offer professional service, repair, and restoration of tube and solid state guitar and bass amps. Tubes were the first widespread method of controlling electrical signals without moving parts. You can form a minor 7th ebased barre chord by simply combining. This book assumes that the reader has at least a working knowledge of tube guitar amplifiers. Anatomy of a power tube a power tube is essentially a control valve used to regulate the flow of electrons. The first computers were vacuum tube based and took up rooms while vacuum tubes are considered outdated by most of the world they are still used in several key areas. The only problem is that the information is above my level of understanding on the subject, but thats my problem as im a beginner trying to learn more. Amplifier technologies more advanced than valve amplification emerged. Yes the peavey made in the us is an eddie van halen signature model. At first, the concept of tube sound did not exist, because practically all electronic amplification of audio signals was done with vacuum tubes and other comparable methods were not known or used.
The main reason given for the switch at the time was a muting function of sorts by cutting off the high voltage supply to the tubes. Plenty if math in this one, it concentrates on wide band e. Question why buy a modelling amp that tries to recreate the. The book scans below are in adobe acrobat pdf format. Just to be clear, im not trolling you, or your company, just answering the question in the thread title, whats your otl tube amp experience and suggestion. I believe it was the tweed deluxe to be the first and of course, every fender tube amp after that.
Question about combining guitar power amps with the guitar. Some of this material is general and applies as much to hifi circuits as to guitar amps, but some of it is very. You can even run a 2 x el34s and 2 x 6l6s in your 100w head simultaneously. In an effort to bridge the divide between tube and digital guitar amplifiers, mi audio has created the flex smartamp, a tubedriven, analog guitar amplifier that can be controlled using an idevice. Think of an ampeg svt or fender bassman for example. 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. Tweaking key components can yield dramatic sonic benefitsbut you have to know what youre doing. Featuring proprietary tube logic tone, they feature four analogue class ab power amp circuits that can switch between 6v6, 6l6, el84 and el34 settings with ease. Standby switches, and why we can and should do without. Question why buy a modelling amp that tries to recreate. Talks about tube and semiconductor devices, and the basics of amplifiers. Jiro crockett, publisher of guitar player magazine, who. This is why guitarists across the atlantic refer to our little glass friends as valves rather than tubes.
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