Book for beginner building a kit?

[torta]

Hi,
I would like to build a simple kit like 5e3 or 5f1, but I do not have any knowledge of theory or amp building ... a total beginner!
:confused:
Can you suggest some books which could help me to start learning?

Thanks

[ricach]

I think you would benefit more if you build a kit from a company that provides support and is designed for beginners. Some kits will just provide you the parts, and a schematic and assume you have enough knowledge to go from there. Others are more thorough. Reading books is good, but until you have a source of reference (feeling, touching, seeing) what they talk about, it won't be as beneficial. Just by building the kit you will learn more than you ever could read on the subject of building kits.

[torta]

I agree ... but I would like to know some basic stuff ... like: how to check your work as you go along and when you finish ... what tools to have? It is probably not a good idea to build a kit and just plug it in when its finished?

[Brad1]

You may try a copy of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Amp-Handbook-Understanding-Amplifiers/dp/087930863X/ref=sr_1_4/105-4097528-3321239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205069451&sr=1-4

This is basically a good book for beginners. Goes into enough to familiarize yourself all the terminology, circuits, etc., without getting TOO deep, technically. A good starting point that should make more technical books easier to comprehend.

Zuzu learned a lot from this book, and now other books aren't so intimidating to him.

From there, check the "Customer's who bought this, also bought..." for more books.

Just a thought.

Brad1

[defaced]

I too am new to amp building and this site has been a great help.
http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/

The samples from this site make the books seem promising.
http://www.pentodepress.com/

[tubeswell]

I found this really useful recently - A layman's AZ guide on the workings and maintenance of guitar amps (get used to the '60's themed aims of the book):

http://www.pacificrecone.com/JackDarrBook.html

This site is useful for explaining basics of tube circuitry:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/tubedummy.html

The Tubes for Dummies page also has links to lots of other useful sites (which have lots of inks to other useful sites... ... ...)

[timeforheroes]

I think you would benefit more if you build a kit from a company that provides support and is designed for beginners. Some kits will just provide you the parts, and a schematic and assume you have enough knowledge to go from there. Others are more thorough. Reading books is good, but until you have a source of reference (feeling, touching, seeing) what they talk about, it won't be as beneficial. Just by building the kit you will learn more than you ever could read on the subject of building kits.


i am in the same boat....i am veru new and a little confused as to how to begin.

what kits are good beginner kits? i Know ax84.com has some basc kits...but i would rather buikd a 5E3 or an 18 watt project. what would you recommend? Ceriatone? Weber?? Metro (cant really afford thosebut...)????????

anyways....thanks in advance, i am new to the forum so good to be here

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

i am in the same boat....i am veru new and a little confused as to how to begin.

what kits are good beginner kits? i Know ax84.com has some basc kits...but i would rather buikd a 5E3 or an 18 watt project. what would you recommend? Ceriatone? Weber?? Metro (cant really afford thosebut...)????????

anyways....thanks in advance, i am new to the forum so good to be herePat Bunn sells a few small amp kits and a MOJO 5E3 kit. He includes some printed step by step directions with it.
Although the 5E3 shown is rather sloppily built, here is a link to his page....

http://www.stf-electronics.com/Page0015.Html
thumb down and you'll find it.

***********************************

Actually, after re-looking at the photos I think that 5E3 chassis is an older WeberVST chassis.

[Jag]

Or even check out Bruce's kits. And he's always right here if you have questions.

http://www.missionamps.com/5E3kit.shtml

[66merc]

I think some basic reading is good, but there is no substitute for diving in and learning as you go. I started in this crazy hobby by turning a couple of Bogen CHB10a amps into 5F2A Princetons. These old PA amps from the 60's can usually be won on ebay for less than $100. Buy a few caps, resistors, pots, screws and terminal strips and mod away. By the way, they use 7868 tubes that are available new, are more powerful than 6V6, and have a good, bright sound to them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bogen-Challenger-CHB10A-Tube-Amplifier-VERY-NICE_W0QQitemZ290218122895QQihZ019QQcategoryZ73369QQssPa geNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There is guy on the net whose handle is Platefire who has a pretty good schematic for converting this specific model. The original Bogen schematic to these is readily available and you will learn a lot by tracing out the schematic while looking at the guts. Sure it was painful at first, but it eventually makes sense.

Of course this is just a head and you would need a speaker cabinet. I use these space age-looking old projector speaker cabs by Bell Howell like this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bell-Howell-Orchestricon-II-12-Projector-Speaker_W0QQitemZ290217553423QQihZ019QQcategoryZ11719QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Be happy to help with a couple of gut shots of one of these if anyone ever needs it.

66merc

[Chad Etchison]

I'm bumping a thread on my first post but I just found this forum (very cool) and also just built an 18 watt amp from a kit.

I went with the GDS kit by Graydon Stuckey; it's an excellent kit but probably not for a beginner.

This was my first guitar amp project, I had built three other projects for my HIFI system: a phono stage, a simple 5687 pre and a SET 45 direct heated amp. I had some electronic experience, but I'm dumb as a stone and I don't have a lot of skill with electronics at all, I just love building my own gear and wanted to build an amp.

I got through the build as the kit was very good, utilizing high quality parts and excellent instructions. It is not for a beginner though. A stone cold beginner like I was a couple of years ago should probably start with something simple and work from there.

One thought is to start with effects pedals first, you get some experience soldering and working through problems that arise when building.

I've had good luck with the BYOC line, no affiliation of course.

[David Eugene]

As well as a lot of people here I'm in the beginner boat and am trying to really get deep into this amp building stuff. I've read a basic electronics book and understand the stuff, but it's a little bit tough to understand schematics. What I really need to see is a schematic, and a picture of it once it's built. I haven't seen that anywhere, and I feel like that's what I need for everything to make sense. Hopefully I'm not too beside the point, just sharing a thought.

[Paul P]

What I really need to see is a schematic, and a picture of it once it's built. I haven't seen that anywhere, and I feel like that's what I need for everything to make sense.

Fender schematics off of Schematic Heaven are good for this since
they include the schematic and the layout for the board. Not much
of a picture but enough to see how things fit together. Components
can vary greatly in size, especially capacitors some of which have
gotten much smaller since the time the vintage Fenders were built.
If if you were to redo one you could change a few things.

See :http://www.schematicheaven.com/fender.htm
Spend hours and hours going over these, follow wires, match them up
on the layout boards. Notice the differences that were brought to each
model as time went buy. There are many photos of finished boards and
amps on the net. Some websites describe complete builds.

A good book on what makes Fenders tick is Dave Funk's "Tube Amp Workbook"
available from various places, though apparently no longer direct through
Dave's website at http://www.thunderfunk.com (http://www.thunderfunk.com/). The book describes
each part of the amp and includes dozens of printed out schematics,
the same ones as on Schematic Heaven.

Paul P

[cminor9]

I found this really useful recently - A layman's AZ guide on the workings and maintenance of guitar amps (get used to the '60's themed aims of the book):

http://www.pacificrecone.com/JackDarrBook.html



+1 on the Jack Darr book. Tubeswell beat me to it. I was wondering if anyone mentioned it. If you know nothing at all about tube amps, that book will get you up to speed. Only then will you be ready for things like the Radiotron Designers Handbook.

[Old Tele man]

...FWIW, the RDH is also available on-line, over on Pete Millett's TECHNICAL BOOKS (http://www.pmillett.com/technical_books_online.htm) website.

[Borg54]

Try reading some Jack Darr. This book is out of print, but it's free and available right now. This is a decent first book on amplifiers, power supplies, with a good section on trouble shooting your work. Pay close attention to the Disturbance test in the trouble shooting section. The disturbance test is as old as the first amplifier, what else were they going to test it with? Download it, it?s a good read in PDF.

Chapter 1 - Amplifying The Signal
Chapter 2 - Special Signal Circuits
Chapter 3 - The Power Supply
SECTION II - Service Procedures and Techniques
Chapter 4 - The Amplifier Signal Circuits
Chapter 5 - The Power Supply
Chapter 6 - Output Stage, Transformers and Speakers
Chapter 7 - Cables and Pickups
Chapter 8 - Customer Complaints

http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr1.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr2.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr3.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr4.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr5.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr6.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr7.PDF
http://www.pacificrecone.com/files/Darr8.PDF

Also IMO GDS does make a fine kit, but you will find yourself IOYH. So + Plus one on a 5E3 (Mission has the best sounding one) and the best advice that I can give you is to build it with a power transformer that will allow for future expansion. For little things like reverb, vibrato, high gain tone stacks etc, etc.

And a word caution, it is additive! Good luck

Doug

[mr.jetski]

tubeswell sent me this page, technically dry as a popcorn fart but I got a solid basic understanding of how tubes work

http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard1...Gain_Stage.pdf

goodluck