Great Guitar Amp Related Tech Books

[Kitarist]

I would like to ask what are some great guitar amp tech books around here and if anyone is willing to share them or send them?

The only thing i found is Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing and Overhaul - Gerald Weber videos which are really practical and nice.

So if anyone is willing to help and share please do would love to gain some more knowledge and read interesting stuff.

Are there maybe also more "practical" books than just academic knowledge type of books?

Thanks

[nsubulysses]

Here are some of my favorites.

The Art of Electronics, Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill

The Electric Guitar Amplifier Handbook, Jack Darr

Solid State Guitar Amplifiers, Teemu Kyttala

The Circuit Designer's Companion, Tim Williams

RCA Receiving Tube Manual #17

Radiotron Designers Handbook #3

Inside the Vacuum Tube, John F. Rider

Electronics for Guitarists, Denton J. Dailey

Electron-Tube Circuits, Samuel Seely

Theory and Application of Electron Tubes, Herbert J. Reich

Basic Theory and Application of Electron Tubes, The Departments of The Army and The Air Force, February 1952


tubebooks.org - Vintage info from the age of vacuum tubes is a great re-source as well

I would recommend "Inside the Vacuum Tube," "RCA Receiving Tube Manual #17," "Electronics for Guitarists," and "The Electric Guitar Amplifier Handbook" as slightly less technical. The rest are pretty academic with lots of math.

[Kitarist]

Wow thanks for the links will sure check these out.

Does anyone have scans of :
Guitar Amplifier Handbook - Understanding Tube Amplifiers and Getting Great Sounds
All About Vacuum Tube Guitar Amplifiers

Would love to get hands on these 2

[Kitarist]

I did some digging myself and made a compilation of one of the most higly praised Tube amp tech books.

Here is the link for anyone who wants to download them:

Zippyshare.com - Tube Guitar Amplifier Tech Books Essentials.rar

Enjoy

[Tom Phillips]

I did some digging myself and made a compilation of one of the most higly praised Tube amp tech books.
Here is the link for anyone who wants to download them:
...

Kitarist,
You are on the right track with the type of books that you have selected. That is, books that will provide a good background in basic electronics theory.
However, I believe that the Denton J. Dailey book is copyrighted material and the copyright information seems to have been deleted from the electronic copy that you found. The book often goes on sale at Amazon. It is also a good value at full list price.
Tom

Edit: The Morgan Jones books are clearly marked as copyrighted material.

[Usable Thought]

I have mixed feelings about the copyrighted / pirated PDFs that float around. I like to get a sense of a book and these are a good way to do so. But I would not share a pirated link. I remember also the controversy over Google scanning books when that started. It's a huge effort to put in the time to write a book (I've written or co-written a few myself) & pirated PDFs take away from the very little money most authors get in royalties. Usually they do it for love not money but even so.

Usually if I like a PDF of a book and it's still in print in any form, I will buy it. I first got a look at an old edition of "Art of Electronics" as a PDF. I liked it, so now I own a used hard copy of that same edition. Morgan Jones, I got a peek at the PDF of his primary book; bought it new from Amazon, but found it too specialized for me and sent it back. The Dailey book I bought as a Kindle ebook and I may then have also bought the hard copy version but I can't remember just now - my books are in disorder at the moment.

At any rate I prefer a real book to a PDF and will pay for the privilege.

[ThermionicScott]

I have mixed feelings about the copyrighted / pirated PDFs that float around. I like to get a sense of a book and these are a good way to do so. But I would not share a pirated link. I remember also the controversy over Google scanning books when that started. It's a huge effort to put in the time to write a book (I've written or co-written a few myself) & pirated PDFs take away from the very little money most authors get in royalties. Usually they do it for love not money but even so.

Usually if I like a PDF of a book and it's still in print in any form, I will buy it. I first got a look at an old edition of "Art of Electronics" as a PDF. I liked it, so now I own a used hard copy of that same edition. Morgan Jones, I got a peek at the PDF of his primary book; bought it new from Amazon, but found it too specialized for me and sent it back. The Dailey book I bought as a Kindle ebook and I may then have also bought the hard copy version but I can't remember just now - my books are in disorder at the moment.

At any rate I prefer a real book to a PDF and will pay for the privilege.

Me too, if the author is still alive I will gladly pay for the privilege to have their work in print. In addition to the works listed above, Richard Kuehnel's and Merlin's books are just fantastic.

OTOH, Mr Langford-Smith and RCA (as we discuss it here) are long gone, so I'm not as bothered by downloading their PDFs.

[nsubulysses]

I agree a physical copy is well worth it. I have physical copies of The Art of Electronics, RCA Receiving Tube Manuals, and The Circuit Designer's Companion. I believe all the others are just old relics long out of print.

I have the Merlin Blencowe books too which are great. After reading the Jack Darr book as a warm up primer and some Gerald Weber stuff () that is in a loose laymen-style, Merlin's books really helped me reach a higher level of understanding. Wish I had PDFs of those so I could reference it at my workspace or out and about. The Gerald Weber books are pretty obsolete to me now, but they did help when I literally didn't know anything, because they are not technical at all.

Books are still cool. Reading The Art of Electronics on computer is not that fun.

[Enzo]

The Weber books are interesting, but they are worthless for learning anything. His typical mod will show some layout, and tell you to move this here and that there, and change this part to that. You are left with a new circuit, but zero idea what you did.

[tbonuss]

I've been reading excerpts from Valve Amplifiers by Morgan Jones this evening. I really like what I've read so far. Seems like a very nice mixture of narrative explanation, equations, illustrations and pictures. Everything that I've read so far seems accurate and intuitively communicated.

Any thoughts on this one? Thank you in advance--

http://https://www.amazon.com/Valve-Amplifiers-Fourth-Morgan-Jones/dp/0080966403/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=

[Chuck H]

I would like to ask what are some great guitar amp tech books around here and if anyone is willing to share them or send them?

Well, you don't get anything if you don't ask I guess

I don't think anyone would freely (or more likely at some shipping expense) give of their personal library. The suggestions so far should be great (as far as I know, I don't own most of them). And I must say that I agree on the pirating issue. For some really good, free and mostly downloadable stuff other than strictly printed books you can check out:

How to design valve guitar amplifiers (already linked above)

http://geofex.com/tubeampfaq/TUBEFAQ.htm

Aiken Amps

And then, of course, there is the search engine right here! I've learned most of what I know in my years of interaction here. As have many of us. Most of it is here or in the archives for the searching. Plug "tremolo" into the search box, dig through the results and you can learn as much (or likely more) about tube tremolo circuits than you can from any one book.

Cheers

[Mark Hammer]

I just received a copy of RG Keen's recently self-published book: Vox Owner's Safety Net: Fix Your Thomas Organ Vox Amp (or Convince Your Tech to Do It For You).

Niche market (solid-state Vox amps - not a tube in sight), but an excellent explanation and analysis of the circuits that made the Beatles and so many other British Invasion bands great. Profusely illustrated with diagrams. I imagine you'd have to buy it from RG, via the New Page 1 site (although maybe Small Bear will sell it).

[sgelectric]

https://www.amazon.com/Books-Merlin-...lin%20Blencowe

Especially the one on Guitar and Bass Preamp Design and the one about Degning Power Supplies for Tube Amplifiers.
SG

[robrob]

Free pdf:
https://robrobinette.com/images/Guitar/HowAmpsWork/How_Tube_Guitar_Amps_Work.pdf

[Tom Phillips]

...the one about Designing Power Supplies for Tube Amplifiers.

That one is out of print I believe. In any case, what's up with the listed price of "4 used & new from $1,872.21"
https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Pow...erlin+Blencowe