Members oates Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I'd love to learn about amps and how to build them. Do you build? If so, where did you learn? Any thoughts or sites I can use to do so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bal704 Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I build as a hobby. I started with a simple kit from Trinity amps. BYOC sells a small one, as do many others. They come with all the parts you need, plus nice instructions. Take your time with it, and move on to the next one. Experience is a great teacher. There are lots of amp building forums around as well, in case you have specific questions. You can learn a lot from reading the various threads on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 http://www.ax84.com/http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/ Should be enough to wet your whistle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 ITTtech After high school I didn't know what to do. I did roofing one summer...burned me up. My buddy suggested I call ITTtech, so I did. Best thing I ever done. Thanks ITTtech:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members afibmx Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 http://www.ax84.com/http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/Should be enough to wet your whistle I started with ax84, the valve wizard site has a lot of great information too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guidedbyechoes Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 lots of people start out doing mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 When I went to college we learned vacumn tubes. Damn I'm old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knope Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I started by reading absolutely everything I could find on amp safety... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knucklefux Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I learned electronics in the navy, learned how to build amps by trial and error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 What sort of tones are you interested in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SteveiJobzz Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I bought a kit. It's a nice way to have everything parted out for you. Start simple, and build something you want to play. I built a plexi because it's what I wanted. Some guys build 5e3's, some guys build 18 watt variants. Don't be worried about making mistakes, but be absolutely sure that you are thorough. Be prepared for a LOT of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drewl Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 After fixing a few thousand amps, building them is pretty easy. Engineering and electronics school, and working on electronic equipment for a living, although they sure didn't teach tube stuff, once you know the basics it comes together, good building and wiring techniques etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted January 29, 2012 Members Share Posted January 29, 2012 I suppose I first started learning about electronics at the dump of a school I went to because it was a more vocationally orientated {censored}hole than academic... All the boys did engineering: metalwork, woodwork and electronics and those subjects were taught by working class tradesmen who knew their {censored}; not yuppie wankers who've never been out of the education system and don't know crap about life. Next phase was when I got heavily into playing and couldn't afford to shell out on bench fees, I knew various techs so learnt things off of them. My mentor is a hardcore electronics genius who's invented a bunch of stuff, used to run pirate TV & radio stations, used to build and run the Glastonbury sound-system before it became a commercial pukefest, etc, etc.I worked in an inductor/transformer factory whilst at school. Plus I educated myself all along the way -- this is ongoing and, presumably, never-ending.Learn the fundamentals of electricity then learn how it's applied in amps. Not to diminish any builders but amplifiers are essentially very simple devices. You just need to find a good balance between hands on experience and studying, whatever works for you. In this age of the internet there is no excuse for not educating yourself. I grew up pre-internet when you really had to work at gaining knowledge. Now it's all just laid on a plate if you can be arsed to click your mouse a bit. Read the old valve manuals from Mullard, RCA, Western Electric, Radiotron Designer's Handbook, etc. They are all freely available online. And I concur that Valve Wizard is a quality bloke as is Randall Aiken, check out his site too for some good nuggets of solid info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hookandcanman Posted January 30, 2012 Members Share Posted January 30, 2012 I've heard good things about this book. It's pretty expensive though.http://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Guitarists-Denton-J-Dailey/dp/1441995358#productPromotions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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