This article is a review of the book in a series of six books, the most complete explanation of the architecture and clear guitar amplifier tube circuits, sound, components and construction techniques for the home, that I have ever found. The review deals separately with each title, and recommends the purchase in a specific order to grow your knowledge of your experience with the pace of construction.
Kevin O'Connor from London Power has a series of books under the general title "The Ultimate createdTone. "These books are truly unique and carefully tailored to the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) pipe hobbies, guitar amps and boutique amp manufacturers. The books have a home" feel "and all illustrations are made ... hand books and photocopies are printed on 8.5 "x11" and bound with plastic and covered with translucent plastic plugs. There are now published six books of the series with the last in the late spring of 2008. buy the ' entire series all canonce and receive a modest savings, but I think you should consider buying one at a time and digest as you go, the construction projects along the route. An important point when ... Not necessarily want to buy in numerical order. I recommend the following order:
The Ultimate Tone Volume 3 - Generations of Tone The Ultimate Tone Volume 5 - Capture tone The Ultimate Tone Volume 2 - Systems approach to the sound stage Nirvana The volume of the tone last 4 - Advanced Techniques for the ModernGuitar Amp design The Ultimate Tone - Modifying and custom built guitar amplifier The volume of the tone last 6 - timeless tone built for the future now
The Ultimate Tone Volume 3 - Generations of Tone
This is the most important book of the series for the beginning of the tube amp builders.
Chapters 2-4 lay the foundations for a well built DIY tube amplifier, the padding is in good electrical connections, grounding technology, technical lead of dressing, and other sets of wiresLayout and mechanical installation, including methods such as terminal blocks, turret and eyelet boards.
In later chapters, but only a certain "iconic" amps, each amp iconic, a prototypical example of amplifiers in its class, and are examined in detail to the circuit that are unique tonal qualities, and the fatal errors that the product is known to . Kevin, the original patterns, and then shows how you can apply the techniques detailedin the preceding chapters to improve the performance and reliability without harming the sound of the symbol. The patterns are provided by redesigned layout and mechanical solutions for each chapter, a comprehensive, independent, has worked to build-it-yourself project amp.
The Bassman, Plexi, 800, Bull Dog, AC-30, Port Flex: This process is responsible for several versions of the Champ in Chapter 5 (this chapter a lot of my single-ended amp project involved), then repeated in rapid successionSVT Bassmaster, Custom Special, Guitar Mate, Duke and Laney amplifiers treated.
If you can only buy one book for your DIY guitar amp I recommend this hobby.
The Ultimate Tone Volume 5 - Capture tone
5 is the band stopped at volume 3, with a project-oriented approach and some more sophisticated DIY tube amplifier for guitar and bass.
The book begins with a chapter on the operation of vacuum tube called looking for "tube sound" followed by aChapter electronics and features guitar pickup.
The next two chapters are small projects: Sigma effects of shift-and triple-X for switching.
Chapter 5 and 6 are of transformers ... important components, but I was yawning, I'm sorry.
Beginning with Chapter 7, can be pulled out all the stops and the project you are in paradise ... More (200W), Soma 84 (EL84 amp), Standard (the London Power Standard Preamp from 1995 coupled with a 50W amplifier with four power tubes),Double probe (mixing types of hose), AX84 (Talk about the original goal of a power amplifier, low power), Kelly (from 4 6V6s 50W) and many other minor projects.
A popular project that I made was the review of Kevin's Matchless Hotbox tube preamp pedal in Chapter 16. I built this pedal in a true "real-to-point style" (which means, terminal) in a box by Doug Hoffman foot hose from a Baxandall tone control and rework of the preamplifierDumbledore esqe values (non-HRM-type).
What would you do to match the style of an amplifier Yngwie Malmsteen? See Chapter 18, "Swedish".
The Ultimate Tone Volume 2 - Systems approach to the sound stage Nirvana
Volume 2 is not oriented to the project. The main part of the book, chapters 2 to 5 deals with tricks and a comprehensive overview of power amplifiers, including tube, solid state and hybrid amps. Chapter 3, the power amplifier tube, has some very practicalAbout the mod and fixes for Marshall and Fender circuit bias.
I like the first and the final chapter of volume 2 of the best. The first chapter is a brief discussion of the stages and how your equipment on stage the best setting for the audience / band experience. The last one is in Chapter 6, entitled "Pillars of Tone" and in this chapter are the major contributors to the tone of a block-level design system guitar tube amplifier, in turn discussed and Kevin has some very valuable insightsSound design of the preamplifier / amplifier.
The volume of the tone last 4 - Advanced techniques for modern design and Guitar Amp
This is the book you want to buy, if you need to deeply entangled with the technology of the power scale, the feeling that Kevin developed. Power-scaling, and coined trademarks of Kevin's as if you are waiting in the output stage distortion (as opposed to amp distortion contrast) in the volume of sound can be in the bedroom. Volume 4 is no DIY project-oriented, butexamines the issues, including the scale damping force (both up and down), they say, and power management, supported by modern guitar tube amplifier designers to put in attack.
That is, the second to last chapter Volume 4 is important for a wider group of enthusiasts, builders ... The design philosophy. In this chapter, Kevin provides a hierarchical process design, major decisions, as you approach your next project could take.
The Ultimate Tone - Modifying and Custom Building Tube GuitarAmps
There is no volume number in the title of this book, was the first. Personally, I bought it for completeness. I especially liked the "perfect information FX 'having, even if the cycle is integrated into a project to tape 5. TUT also has some excellent material on the reverb signal and intervention methods that are not explained in other books. The first half of the TUT / panoramic tube amps, power supplies and then focuses on basic and pre-amplifierChanges in commercial amplifier amplifiers (eg Marshall / Fender) ... If you want to be completely new to the electronics of the tube, you can first band at the same time to buy Volume 3
The volume of the tone last 6 - timeless tone built for the future now
In many ways, the band 6 is the continuation and expansion of the material in Volume 4, which introduces the power scale. Volume 6 in a new "direct control" is also introduced version of Powerscaling vol. 4, butrinsed with large circuits and 'say' and keep control, as well as in 6 vol scaling new circuits have many advantages for a manufacturer to do it yourself, such as increased noise immunity and reduced sensitivity to the layout, etc.
I applied the new DC Power Scaling, and Trainwreck a similar project was really impressed with the improvement of "playability" at low volume ... the unmodified Trainwreck Express circuit is simply too strong for household use, they must be strengthenedGet the sweet tone, is known.
One of the chapters in the volume 6 is dedicated to the Dumble amp ... something I was very excited because a lot of focus on my hobbies, projects on those routes. I found this short chapter is a good introduction to the architecture of Dumble amplifiers do this from an evolutionary point of view of the first Alexander Dumble amplifiers modified standard began to be written, but I felt I missed the chapter in questionsome of the more important subtleties Dumble.
Volume 6 also has many other materials in it, including a tutorial really great design high power amplifier output and did a great chapter on design high-gain amplifier circuits with real and detailed.
In summary ...
Kevin's books have a very empirical approach. He encourages you to set aside convention in a few cases or no fear, the combinations of tubes or pipes also try to pulland clearly in all cases, explains why it is ok and does not indicate any reason why it would be ok All the examples in the book is very practical, and certainly the DIY in mind when writing.
Kevin's work is truly encyclopedic in nature, and consider that a feature sorely missing from his books, any kind of indexing ... This will be repeated by the fact that Kevin refers constantly to his early writings, rather than in a new tape is deteriorating and it is verydifficult to put your finger on the other reference book in hand. Perhaps technology of search engines like Google may have the ability to search secure content, be brought here for a charity raffle and a sort of 'auto-index "on the Internet very much for all of Kevin's books, not the book itself . Or better yet, how about an e-book format, the entire collection of books by Kevin DOING ... I think that all e-book readers are looking for ... and Kevin is hand-drawnSchemes would be appropriate scope and will have a very well read on the e-paper displays for these devices.
Meanwhile, as now Kevin's books? The best way to get books, is in direct them to London Power Press. Now you have a cart on http://www.londonpower.com.
