Members Joranges Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Once upon a time I used to love prowling around Harmony Central, heavily abusing the search button looking up whatever I didn't understand or to get some opinions on whatever gear. Except now I don't have that luxury. And I never got around to finding out how amplifiers really work. Anyone wants to help me satisfy my curiousity? All the pages I've gottne from Google were pretty confusing. (I know the very basics of circuit/graph theory - so I'm not entirely clueless about electronics.) And statements like "pushing power amps is for overdriving your amps" isn't really going to answer my question. Or "amplifiers take the signals from your pickups and amplifies it and sends the signal to the speaker which vibrates so you can hear it". I actually ordered one of those tube-amp kit things and assembled it and I still know close to nothing about how amps work. I ended up taking it to my closest guitar shop (I couldn't test it and was afraid of accidentally killing myself) and selling it to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blargh Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 So what the hell kind of answer do you want? Get a little more specific, an amp has many parts. The very basics: in a tube, electrons flow from cathode to anode, and the grid in between them modulates the current. Your input signal is applied to the grid, and behold, the tube amplfies it. The preamp section of your amp is what gives your amp most of its tone, it shapes the signal with various filters and such. The preamp isn't amplifying it enough to drive a speaker. The preamp signal goes to the power amp, which adds a more subtle color to your tone, and puts out the power needed to drive your speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldMTDP8350 Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Amps don't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GRAF Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by veil This is how I understand it to be as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Joranges Posted November 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by blargh So what the hell kind of answer do you want? Get a little more specific, an amp has many parts. That's exactly the problem - when I put together my little kit together, I had no idea what this and that was. The only reason I could put the things together was because capacitors, reisistors, etc were labelled. :S Originally posted by blargh The preamp section of your amp is what gives your amp most of its tone, it shapes the signal with various filters and such. The preamp isn't amplifying it enough to drive a speaker. The preamp signal goes to the power amp, which adds a more subtle color to your tone, and puts out the power needed to drive your speakers. That's a lot more clear than what I've read. (Thanks!)So, technically if I had a pre-amp with enough power; it'll be able to drive a speaker with the absence of a power amp? Except everything would be pretty clean - right? From: http://www.amptone.com/g087.htmHybrid amps are a scam; tubes are needed in power amp, not preamp "Hybrid amps" using solid state power amp and a preamp tube are a failure; they sound no different than completely solid state amps. Except, for example..[Voltage Source]----[switch]----[Lightbulb]----[Ground]Is there a simple-dumbed-down version for a (guitar) amplifier? I mean, you can replace the lightbulb as a resistor to calculate what would happen in terms of power/energy/etc. Is there some equivalent for all the parts in a (very simple) amp?Also - with amplifiers, a lot of humming is usually associated with bad designs; where is that humming coming from? My brother once told me to plug an amp head (which has both pre/power sections) into another amp's preamp - which has a connect. And yeah, I didn't listen to him and I'm not going to try it because knowing him; he's going to make me blow up everything. And blame it on me. (I'm acutally really curious as to what would happen but I've always been too chickened to. Ugh curiousity will kill me one day)[btw, I'm sorry if I'm asking a 'stupid question'; feel free to ignore my posts then ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 496dart Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 bLARG pretty much explained it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DirtyBird Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by Joranges So, technically if I had a pre-amp with enough power; it'll be able to drive a speaker with the absence of a power amp? Except everything would be pretty clean - right? Look up the Zvex Nano head. It's just 1 tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lucius Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by Joranges So, technically if I had a pre-amp with enough power; it'll be able to drive a speaker with the absence of a power amp? Except everything would be pretty clean - right?What do you mean by cleaner????My brother once told me to plug an amp head (which has both pre/power sections) into another amp's preamp - which has a connect. And yeah, I didn't listen to him and I'm not going to try it because knowing him; he's going to make me blow up everything. And blame it on me. (I'm acutally really curious as to what would happen but I've always been too chickened to. Ugh Don't listen to your brother, you'll blow up your amps. Cheers, Lucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 End of thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoodleFace Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 1. Insert guitar cable from guitar into amp2. Turn on amp3. ???????4. Profit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nik Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 I know people with degrees in electronics who have been designing amps for a living for 20 years or more and still would not claim to know how they work. To get a basic understanding would take several months or years of study, depending on where you are starting from. And you want ot learn it all from a couple of questions on a Web forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Negative K3 fan Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 go to ax84.com create an account, then go to the p1 section and download a pdf document in which its principles are being explained in a very understandable way. also, on the mesa boogie site there is a document about class A i believe, its also very easy to understand and teaches a thing or two about how tube amps work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rememberduane Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by DirtyBird Look up the Zvex Nano head. It's just 1 tube. Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harvest Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 /// Those are just LED Christmas lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DirtyBird Posted November 13, 2006 Members Share Posted November 13, 2006 Originally posted by rememberduane Really? One of them is fake. Oops! I know better now, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.