Free introductory level book download

[KellyBass]

This was a very good read!:

https://acrobat.com/#d=UjgTcfpvfqvboIiQLKn5rQ

If this has been posted before, please forgive.

[David Root]

I've never seen this before, and it does look like very good basic stuff, and aimed at guitar amps too.

I think on the weekend I will print it out and read it on the plane next week, then report back on it in a bit more detail.

[Structo]

Thanks for the link, that seems very good!

[Ken Moon]

Good stuff

Does anybody have a copy or a good link to the spreadsheet mentioned in the book?

The filename is vac_tube_amp.XLS, and it's 132.00 kB.

I found a link to webfilehost.com mentioned by the author on the Jazz Guitar forum (www.jazzguitar.be), but I couldn't get the file to download.

Thanks!

[Cliff Schecht]

I've read this for the past 30 minutes or so. It's kind of an interesting read but the author has some misleading and wrong information in there. My first big gripe is his claim that fixed biasing is somehow worse than cathode biasing. The tube doesn't care how you develop a bias as long as it's stable.

[M Fowler]

Maybe he was just saying he prefers cathode bias to fixed bias for it's perceived smoothness to his ears rather than a debate on functional characteristics

[mlp-mx6]

What I got from that part was that he says with cathode biasing tube matching is less important.

[vibratoking]

As a matter of interest, we note that the production of vacuum tubes is totally dependant upon the opinions of the people who believe that tube sound qualities are superior and are willing to pay HUGE sums of money to support those opinions. We mention this as an indication of how important opinions can be and how the market - especially influenced by the internet - influences opinions.
Large sums of money are spent, not on overt advertising, but on advertising disguised as user opinion. Take care, especially avoid "reviews" that state that differences in similar vacuum tubes produce audible differences in musical quality.
The human ear is the most unreliable, ever-changing, non-traceable, un-standardized measurement device one could devise. The adjectives that "reviewers" use to describe subtle differences in quality offer a clue to the substance of their observations.
Objective, double-blind scientific tests universally reveal that "reviews" are biased from the knowledge of what is being tested and why. In other words, there is probably an agenda. An interesting article, written by a highly respected designer can be found here:
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/ampins/p ... bjectv.htm

Wow, how do you feel about that? Those sound like fightin words.

[M Fowler]

I finally got home downloaded for this for the first time now, so my previous comment was just in fun

Now I can start reading and see what he has to say.

Thanks for the link.

[PCollen]

As a matter of interest, we note that the production of vacuum tubes is totally dependant upon the opinions of the people who believe that tube sound qualities are superior and are willing to pay HUGE sums of money to support those opinions. We mention this as an indication of how important opinions can be and how the market - especially influenced by the internet - influences opinions.
Large sums of money are spent, not on overt advertising, but on advertising disguised as user opinion. Take care, especially avoid "reviews" that state that differences in similar vacuum tubes produce audible differences in musical quality.
The human ear is the most unreliable, ever-changing, non-traceable, un-standardized measurement device one could devise. The adjectives that "reviewers" use to describe subtle differences in quality offer a clue to the substance of their observations.
Objective, double-blind scientific tests universally reveal that "reviews" are biased from the knowledge of what is being tested and why. In other words, there is probably an agenda. An interesting article, written by a highly respected designer can be found here:
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/ampins/p ... bjectv.htm

Wow, how do you feel about that? Those sound like fightin words.

Les Paul gigged regularly with a Tech 21 amp. I've seen Jimmy Thackery
gig with a Flextone, and Elvin Bishop with a solid-state Fender combo amp.

[KellyBass]

And there's a comment in their somewhere about "capacitor types having no particular tone"...or somethin' like that. I think I need to go back and reread that part...cause we all here know, that's way, way wrong.

All in all, though...I really like the book...especially the front cover.

It was actually Merlinb who pointed this link out on another amp site...so Thanks, Merlin!