Book for beginner building a kit?

[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