Advice for learning

[jeremymiller]

Hey guys,
I'm totally new here. I bet you can tell by my post counts. I just would appreciate some advice. I do a lot of work with computers (very in depth, hardware, etc). I have a little bit of background with electronics. I would really like to start getting into Amp repair. I was wondering if there is any place that I should start. Is there any books I should read? First and foremost this is for pleasure. I own only tube amps and I don't want to have to count on anyone else for fixing them. On top of that many of my friends are musicians with nice equipment and I'd like to be their go to guy.

So, any advice on where you guys learned everything. Any Books, websites, tools I should get, etc.
I love my amps, but when it comes to how they actually work I feel pretty stupid.
Please! Any advice would be welcomed!

Who knows! i might want to open up a nice shop here in town.
Thanks so much!

[Richard]

Aiken amps
http://www.aikenamps.com/TechInfo_2.htm
has a lot of excellent information. Randall Smith also has some information on the Mesa/Boogie Site:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/f...s_articles.htm
(some consider his views "controversial")
Duncan amps has a tone stack calculator (you can see how changing the values of components affects the frequency response in very useful program)
http://www.duncanamps.com/
Of course this site is extremely informative although the knowledge may often be geared towards specific situations my questions were generally answered very promptly and clearly (literally within a couple of hours in one case). Google the schematics for your amps or any and start modding. It's best to start with an amp that you know works. Older handwired amps are much easier to work on that newer amps with printed circuitboard construction. (Silverface Fenders are relatively inexpensive, plentiful, and there are plenty of people familiar with them who can assist you). Also Google "mod for (your project amp name)" Virtually all tube amps operate on a few very simple principles and a few different kinds of components.

Be sure to find out what kinds of safety precautions to take, amps have nearly 500 volts at certain parts of the circuit. You can get started with wire cutters, screwdrivers, a soldering iron and a VOM. Good luck and happy amping!

[Gtr_tech]

Learn basic electronics first. That will help you understand what the components do in each type of circuit, and you'll learn to read schematics along the way. Once you have that down, there are several books available that deal with tube guitar amps exclusively. Several websites as well. Randall Aiken's site has alot of good info. http://www.aikenamps.com/

Pete Milletts site has a whole pile of books that have been converted to PDF format for reading on your computer.
http://www.pmillett.com/technical_books_online.htm

But none of that will make *any* sense until you get a good grip on the basics.

And...let's not forget....learn to solder, and solder *correctly*. It looks easy, and it is once you get the feel for it, but it takes some practice for newbs to get up to speed. Different rules apply for pc boards and terminal strip/eyelet/turret boards. Hell...different rules apply for different *types* of pc boards for that matter.

I learned tube electronics on my own. I had electronics classes all through high school, but everything was changing from radio and TV to digital electronics by that time. So I did what I had to do to get an A in the class (I really wasn't interested in digital at the time) and studied vacuum tubes on my own. My instructor thought I was batshit crazy, but he was an old timer so I was able to have certain theories explained if needed. The digital stuff came into play shortly after school when I started repairing arcade machines, but I did have to brush up. Since I didn't have a practical application for digital theory it didn't sink in as well as it should have.

It can be harder to do it on your own...you really have to want to learn. But fortunately for you we have the internet now so you can easily get information and help from bazillions of helpful folks out there. Back when I was learning I had to either write to/call the manufacturer to get schematics or befriend the tech at the local music store (not always easy) to get them to xerox copies for you.

[acorkos]

http://www.geofex.com/ampdbug/ampdebug.htm

don't leave home without it

[Amp Kat]

I would recommend Tom Mitchell's Guitar Amp repair book and Video for a good entry level. You can get it at Antique Electronic Supply or CE Distribution or I think it's called Tubes and More now. The links above are all great info but your not going to understand it right off the bat as a newbie in this. You have to get your feet wet which is why I recommend Toms book. Another great book for beginners is Dave Thunderfunks Tube book has excellent beginner info in it also at Tubesandmore.com. After you get an understanding of the basics you can move on to Kevin O'Connor books in The Ultimate Tone Series and ask questions on this site. These guys on this Forum are the very best and they have some extreme knowledgeable people here. Welcome to the Forum btw and best of luck to you.

[Twist]

In addition to the fine advice from the other guys, please find a audio signal generator, O'scope, variac with a AC current meter and a high quality multimeter. Don't be intimidated by an O'scope. I know they look complicated but your only going to use it to look at wave forms. Also expect to do alot more repairs on solid state gear than tube.

[Enzo]

I second a lot of the above. Learn the basics. I use Ohm's Law every single day, and I've been soldering over 50 years. My little calculator sits next to me for the arithmetic. And do learn to solder well. Build a couple kits or something. Even if it is just a kit that makes some Christmas tree thing out of LEDs that blink in a pattern. Get good at installing compopnents that way.

And in the repair game regardless of what we might WANT to service, Twist is right, you will see more solid state repairs. That may be beneath some of our repair brethren, but that kid with the cheap solid state amp today wil come back to you for more good service when he buys a big fancy tube amp later.

Most repairs are non-technical. Broken jacks, broken or failed controls, failed solder connections, bad tubes, burnt screen resistors caused by the bad tubes, etc.