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Topic: Tube Amp 101 |
Brian LeBlanc
From:
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2007 11:28 am |
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Know this has been covered...
Whats a good text for basic servicing on old Fender amps
ie, black & Silver's
tubes, replacing caps, etc...
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'Frenchy' LeBlanc...
ShoBud & Twins |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2007 11:38 am
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Start here:
http://kcanostubes.com/content/newsletter_list.asp?Category=Resources
That will get you some basics. For a book, I'd recommend (despite its many faults) Gerald Weber's "A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps". There are many others (O'Connor etc), Weber's (NOT the same Weber as Weber speakers, BTW) just happens to be where many "garage techs" got started. OTOH, Dan Torres' book is best not examined until you know what you are doing, as many things suggested are mods...and some settings charts are his own interpretations and NOT universally accepted.
Any tube amp book will assume you have some electronics knowledge. If you don't I'd suggest trying to find an adult school or community college class, but they are rare nowadays.
Online amp forums are good reading. The other Weber - tedweber.com - has a pretty good one.
Hope that helps.
Jim
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2007 7:49 pm
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I second Cartwright's suggestion of Dave Funk's book. I think it's the clearest, least idiosyncratic, most accessible, and most systematic approach to explaining how a tube amp works to start with.
Dan Torres's book is pretty good--I think it's written so that basic information and mods are readily distinguished. I agree that the charts of numerical values are of questionable reliability.
Gerald Weber's two books have a lot of good stuff, but sort of piecemeal and scattershot. His video, "Basic Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing and Overhaul" is really good info on the practical aspects of tube amp servicing.
Kevin O'Connor's books are like the Encyclopedia Brittanica of amp books (I'm thinking of the old Britannica we had when I was growing up, not the "new" one with the "Micropedia" or whatever they call it)--densely packed with detailed information that's beyond a beginner's capacity to grasp or need to know.
All this, of course, IMHO. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2007 9:46 pm
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The issue I have with Torres' book is his mixing in what are actually mods (and very questionable ones) with hiss "theory".
I'd forgotten about Funk's and concur - that's good stuff as well.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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