Just saying hello...

[Tropicboy1983]

Hi all!

I just registered on this forum so I thought I'd say a little hello and introduce myself... my name is Avi and I am currently completing a Phd in Philosophy in Paris, France.

I have been playing guitar for about 16 years now and I play mostly blues, fusion and flamenco.

I am also a tube amp fanatic... I just love those things!! And although I am not a builder, and do not even pretend on being able to solder properly, it has always been a dream of mine to build an amp... so I am here to learn as much as I can from you guys and eventually try to get my little project started.

I'm really looking forward to delve into the different discussions here, as well as getting to know you guys.

Thank you!

Regards,


Avi

[martin manning]

Welcome. What do you see as needs for accomplishing your goal? Manual skills like soldering? Theoretical knowledge of electronics? Availability of materials? The scope of learning can become very large if you want it to, or you can take a very practical approach and just acquire and assemble the parts (but this is frowned on by many as painting-by-numbers ;^). The group will be better able to point you to the right resources if you ask specific questions or about specific subject areas. You can start by browsing the "Reading Material on Steriods" thread in the Technical Discussion section. As far as availability of materials, there are a number of EU members that can give advice.

[Reeltarded]

Hi Avi! Welcome to the best pages on Earth!

[Tropicboy1983]

Hi!

Thanks for the welcome messages.

I am not sure yet so as to where to begin... I do have an amp project in mind (a TrainWreck Express clone), but I guess that the most important thing for me would be to try to understand how an amp works to begin with... what the different parts are for and what happens at the different stages of the signal chain... really basic stuff!

I have no knowledge of electronics whatsoever and cannot read a schematic to save my life but I really wish to learn to do that, as well as learn to solder properly. So I guess that manual skills with electronics and theoretical knowledge of electronics would be a great place to begin with.

What I had in mind was to get a kit with all the parts and put it together to begin with... but as you can guess, this will have to come a little further down the road... the first step for me would be to really understand how a tube amp works to begin with.

Cheers!

Avi

[Reeltarded]

I read for 5 years before I felt comfortable with proceeding. Don't wait that long.

[Bob S]

Hi Avi - welcome aboard.
Cautionary advice.
Amps use lethal voltages - remember safety first.
Building amps is highly addictive.
Have Fun,
Bob

[martin manning]

Probably the best place for someone in your position to start is to get a copy of Dave Hunter's "Guitar Amp Handbook." It contains a walk-through of a basic guitar amp circuit, basic information about the various components, and a chapter on building amps. There are also some interviews with well-known amp builders, including Ken Fischer.

The Express is really a very simple circuit (for a push-pull, fixed-bias amp). It has it's challenges due to the wide-open way that the stages are connected together, and therefore it requires careful routing of the internal wiring (called "lead dress") to keep it stable. The recent printed circuit board Express developed by forum member RJ, or the eyelet board version that I made, solve a lot of those problems and IMO make that circuit manageable for a beginner.

Good soldering skills are needed regardless, and that that might be developed on a small, simple, and inexpensive project like an effects pedal. You'll need access to a few other tools, too. My short list would include:

Soldering station or iron
Solder and solder wick
Needle nose pliers
Diagonal cutting pliers
Wire stripper
Various socket wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.
Wooden stick(s) to help bend wires around terminals (small chopsticks, e.g.)
Digital multi-meter

[stelligan]

Welcome!
Dive right in - Much good info located in the "reading material on steroids" sticky here: https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=9023

First order of business would be reading up on how to not shock the $H!T out of yourself...
Find out where lethal voltage reside in your builds.

[Tropicboy1983]

Thanks for the advices everyone... I have heard a lot about Dave Hunter's book... I just ordered it and will get myself lost in it as soon as I get it! lol

[xtian]

but this is frowned on by many as painting-by-numbers ;^)

I don't know if you were teased as a novice amp builder, Martin, but the reception here at ampgarage is never unkind. I think a good kit with full, paint-by-numbers, instructions is a great way to start. Because as soon as you deviate from a layout or a schematic, Pandora's Box opens.

Fortunately, the people here are beyond generous with their time and knowledge…with Martin as an exemplar.

+1 on Dave Hunter's book.

[martin manning]

Thanks xtian :^) Nothing wrong with working from a kit, it saves a lot of time and trouble selecting and sourcing parts, which can be tackled in a future build.

The PBN type I was thinking of is the guy who blindly assembles the parts without any attempt to understand the theory of operation. This often results in an amp that doesn't work due to some obvious but hidden-from-view error that would never happen if the builder knew just a little bit more than how to melt solder.

Ideally, as each component is placed and each connection is made there should be an awareness of which part of the circuit it belongs to and the electrical function that that particular component or connection serves. Seems to me that tropicboy is on the right path.

[Tropicboy1983]

I have a friend who put an amp together from parts he bought in a kit (I think that it was from Ceriatone Marshall 50W)... he's pretty good at soldering and can read schematics so he just followed the different steps and put his amp together. He does not really understand how an amp works though.

He actually very kindly offered to help me put an Express together, but all he would really be showing me is how to solder things together... which I will gladly accept, but I also really wish to embark on my Express to understand how an amp works, not just to solder parts together

I'm actually thinking of doing a little mod to my Mesa LoneStar to get working on an amp... I read on a forum somewhere that it was possible to make the 2nd channel of that amp sound much better by interchanging the gain and the master volume pots, making that channel an exact copy of the 1st channel in terms of sound, but with the added gain stage. It seems simple enough and should make for a good "deflowering" lol

I'll try to cut my teeth on that this afternoon... will keep you guys posted on it, hopefully I won't blow anything!!

[martin manning]

Poking around in an amp you already have is a good way to learn. As suggested above, one of the first things to figure out is how to make the amp safe to work on by draining any stored energy from the large filter capacitors. Many amps have a bleeder resistor that will drain the power supply in a few minutes, but some don't. This is where you need some ability to read schematics, a meter, and knowledge enough to know how to verify that the filters are drained. If you don't know how, but you have at least a schematic folks here can help.

If you don't have much soldering experience, be very careful to avoid causing damage to components or circuit boards with too much heat. Working on a modern amp requires good soldering technique to avoid making a mess.