Building tube amp

[surfsup]

Anyone know of any good sites to assist a beginner in circuit design and contructing a valve amp?

I have looked quite a bit and can't seem to find any site that is for a beginner, to go through the design process, circuit components, the math involved, etc.

If anyone has any links I would appreciate it.

[Hanglow]

http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/
http://www.ax84.com/
http://www.aikenamps.com/ - the tech section


should get you started 

[Derringer]

echoing what hanglow is saying ... but

tons of free info here
http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/

and you can get even more quality info if you purchase on of Merlin's books


also, I learned all about and built two tube amps (a P1 and P1Ex) through this site
www.ax84.com

[PRR]

> the design process, circuit components, the math involved, etc.

You may know I love the theory, BUT:

You do NOT need any steenkin' math to build a tube guitar amp.

The dead men did it all long ago.

(Or what they didn't do, isn't appropriate for a first build.)

Bulld an AA Champ from Fender's plan.

THEN reverse-think it and figure out why it works.

[defaced]

Very good sites listed above.  One more site that I'd recommend because these guys can help you is the music-electronics-forum.com.  Alot like this forum, but pretty much geared toward tube amps, SS amps, and making pickups. 

[surfsup]

I ordered a HO amp kit from ax84.com last week already. I'm just waiting for it to arrive. After building that, and doing some research I was thinking I could try my hand at an original design. I'll check out those sites, and was thinking of getting that book written by Self that everyone recommends. Should I get the book by Merlin instead? Would one or the other suit me better (for those that have read either)?

[PRR]

> that book written by Self

Very good; but transistor-only.

[surfsup]

So the books by merlin are a good starting point for a noob, huh... what do you guys think of:

Valve Amplifiers, Third Edition [Paperback]
Morgan Jones (Author)

[rplovanich]

I just completed a Champ clone. I purchased the PCB from the tube depot. They include complete instructions.

[JacksonRR]

Yeah Merlin Blencowe's books are great stuff man! He's a regular at http://music-electronics-forum.com/ Best amp site I know of and everyone there is really cool. Most people have really have their poop in a group. They've helped me with mods, resurrections, a KT88 power amp from scratch and just general "here's how it works". Good forum.

[petemoore]

  RCA Tube Manual [contents:


  http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/tubes/rc25/contents.html

  "RCA tube manual" googlepage:
 
  http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=RCA+tube+manual&fr=chr-offrhap

  Dated and very well written material, intended as an excellent tube-introduction-guide to explain and make tubes become popular items in households/military applications.
 A Kit is an excellent 1rst choice.
 
 

[gmoon]

If you want some math and theory (but not on the level of the RDH), I'd recommend the H. Lewis York book, Amplifers, The theory and practice.

You can find it here: (along with other tubey tech docs)
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm

(It's a PDF so I didn't link directly.)

[MikeH]

> the design process, circuit components, the math involved, etc.

You may know I love the theory, BUT:

You do NOT need any steenkin' math to build a tube guitar amp.

The dead men did it all long ago.

(Or what they didn't do, isn't appropriate for a first build.)

Bulld an AA Champ from Fender's plan.

THEN reverse-think it and figure out why it works.

I must say I'm surprised to hear you say this Paul, but I say it's true too.  The first amp I built I basically understood nothing about.  I'm on number 5 now, and with each one I learn more and more... although I still feel like I know nothing!!  The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.

My advice is this:  The most important thing to do when starting building valve amps is to lear how to build them safely.  That includes learning proper ways to work on them, as well as making sure you build them in such a fashion that they won't burn your house down. 

This is a good read to start:  http://www.aikenamps.com/SafetyTips.html

My favorite one "Get your wife/friend/co-worker/etc. to take a CPR course.  Don't argue if they ask you to pay for it."   

[jkokura]

Another good idea would be to build a kit before you try and build your own from scratch, similar to with pedals. I would personally choose Trinity Amps for a kit.

Jacob

[jasperoosthoek]

My second electronics project ever was the Real McTube. I didn't know much about electronics back then.

You don't need math to build a tube amp. You need to work safely.

[surfsup]

the tubebooks.org link at a glance looks great. The PDFs are free and just taking a quick glance they seem to be good for me. I will start with that thanks so much!

I'll probably wind up getting Merlin's book as well, but right now I'm going to look at these and check out the ax84 build and see how that goes. I appreciate all the responses for sure. Thanks again...

[Brymus]

I still think the best and cheapest way is to get a Valve jr and join SEwatt.com.
The Valve Jr is perfect for learning and modding as you learn more and gain more experience.
You can build several different classic amps using the EVJ chassis and power transformer which will support 2x EL84 and 2x 12**7.
Or one power tube and 3 pre amp tubes.VS the stock single EL84 and 12ax7.

But I must agree with the above statment about learning safety first.
I built about a dozen different tube amps before joining here.
And its much easier and safer learning on 9-18 volt circuits rather than messing with high voltage designs.
Not to mention ALOT cheaper.
And your TS808 clone isnt gonna kill you if you touch the wrong spot.

My first entirely from scratch build was an 18 watt Marshall head.
The guys at 18watt.com were very helpful in the proccess.

[Gordo]

I ordered a HO amp kit from ax84.com last week already. I'm just waiting for it to arrive. After building that, and doing some research I was thinking I could try my hand at an original design. I'll check out those sites, and was thinking of getting that book written by Self that everyone recommends. Should I get the book by Merlin instead? Would one or the other suit me better (for those that have read either)?

Good choice on the HO kit. Nice hardware, great transformers, and Doberman does a nice job with the kits.  +1 on studying the safety docs.  I've fried myself a few times trying to get stuff done in a hurry.  Very unforgiving and will knock you on your butt.  That said, just be careful and have fun.  It's AT LEAST as addictive as pedals.  Tell your wife/girlfriend/dog that we're sorry.

The HO is a really nice sounding amp.  I put a noval and octal socket in the power section on mine and it can run EL84 as well as any 8 pin tube (currently using a KT88).

[surfsup]

Gordo thanks for the reassuring words about the ax84 kit I ordered. I did get the EL84 octal kit upgrade (though not sure what that means). I figured if I was going to do this, I'd rather spend the extra $20 to have the best components at the end, than be done and say I wish I did. I also got the bias mod hardware (I am hoping there are good directions included for both these mods when the kit arrives).

I don't understand, however, how one can design an amp circuit and not use mathematics. I guess you could design and build the amp, but it might catch fire...? how does one design an amp without any math? If its so easy, why can't I find a simple summary on designing an amp?

[jasperoosthoek]

I said, build and amp not design . That's a very different story.