Book/Gar Gilles-The How and Why of Tube Amps as Gar Sees It

[charliewired]

There is a new book out by Gar Gillies - the Guru of the Great White North, and founder of Garnet Amps fame, entitled - The How and Why of Tube Amps as Gar sees it " Normally I wouldnt be shouting it from the rooftops, but not very often does a book come along that is so amazingly and specificly devoted to attainment of that elusive Vintage Tone! Few if any are more qualified than Gar Gillies in explaining how to build a circuit of this nature. Those who have played with, or alongside Garnet amplifiers know what I mean. I recieved my copy in the post the other day - cracked it open and was blown away.
Many books have landed on the market lately concerning the subject of tube amps and pedals - having a very biased skew in many cases - leading to alot of discussion as to which is best, and whos opinion really counts - Gar doesnt propose to illuminate you on the right or proper way of doing things - in fact the book is pretty much what it claims - amplification as "he sees it" - from what I can tell he sees it pretty well - This book doesnt delve into the latest techniques and methods on amp building {although some modern techniques are covered} but rather focuses on how to get the most amazing vintage tones and why the companies did what they did back in the day to achieve the tones we all know and love. This isnt the offering of a man who has been recreating vintage tone over the last few years or someone who studied it in college, but rather a man who was one of the pioneers of those amazing tones since the 60's, and was repairing radio and televisions prior to that! In addition to working with top acts of the day such as The Guess Who and others, Gar is also a musician - something that alot of amp designers were not. Jam packed with amplifier schematics, and schematic diagrams outlining every concept he refers to, this book is a real treat and focuses very little on the math side of electronics - something which I personally find very refreshing{and something which alot of "old schoolers" think is really the best way of approaching the subject}.
A large portion of the first half of the book deals primarily with power supplies, how different configurations, and the way they interact with other factors within the circuit, affects the overall and end tone, a topic that is seriously overlooked in alot of amplification tomes. Few could give this topic its due, more so than Gar Gilles, who has created literally over a hundred different models, and many, many, more custom builds.
The rest of the book gives alot of insight to every aspect of the building of classic amp circuits, and achieving that "ultimate tone", with ideas that are easily implimentible by average builder, from the perspective of a man who was "ahead of his time " in many aspects of amp design in the opinions of both Apen Pittman and Kevin O'Conner, what endorsement can I give that is superior to that?
The book concludes with some very cool pieces of buildable bench equipment that Mr Gillies developed that would be an amazing asset to any workshop, plus a boatload of schematics that the reader will be referrencing and experimenting with for years to come.
Seriously, the prize of my collection! This is the definitive vintage tone tips and tricks book in my mind. One small complaint would be that it could have been laid out a little better perhaps, with some pages left half blank, spaces that could have been crammed with more info. But I guess leaving me hungry for the second volume{I hope?} is not a bad way for Mr Gillies to leave it. Not to mention that Gar, at the prompting of, and with the help of his freinds put this together themselves for the benefit of people like us, who crave that tone that is so elusive. With his help, we will be one step closer to its re-creation. Thanks Gar.
Cheers
Charliewired
heres the address, hurry if you would like a copy - they are in limited supply
http://www.garnetamps.com/orderb.htm
heres the official Garnet site
http://www.garnetamps.com

P.S.
Please let Pete Thiessen - the official Garnet site owner{and good freind of Gar}, if you bought a copy on account of my review - who knows mabye I'll get Volume 2 for free!

[Elcabong]

Hey CharlieW, you posted the same exact text on at least three different forums. What is your goal? Gather Gar points?

[charliewired]

I wish to inform ppl of this cool release - Gar never really did get the recognition he deserved - as alot of people didnt over the years, tis true - I want people to be able to build the amps they want with tone they want , with the least amount of BS possible - this book will get them much closer - I collect every book I can get my hands on concerning the subject of amp modding and building, but some people just want to get the specific volume that will help them with thier particular needs - I wish there were more people who posted reviews with the straight goods about some of them{amp books} - some are just shit and I would have known better than to buy them - then I would have more money to buy parts, or that oil on velvet painting of Gar. LOL - Gar points.............hmmm, mabye there should be Gar points. Gars a cool guy, and like I said no-one I have read a book by, has more experience than him - can you name one?
Charliewired

[Elcabong]

I have not read a lot of books written by knowledgeable persons. I have a couple of K O'Connors TUT books that I like but they are expensive and it took me long to decide which one to buy. I have a couple of small ones by Tino Zottola; not bad but cheaply constructed. It is often hard to make up your mind when purchasing a book and, you are right, any information is welcome.

As I told you in another forum, I am looking forward to get my copy of Gar's book and see how it compares to other books.

[charliewired]

Yeah - luckiliy when I made the decision to become an amp tech/builder luckily I came into some money at the same time, I bought everything bookwise I could find. Plus a bunch of tools - but I still have alot to acquire/learn, but dont we all.
Mod on!
Charliewired

[Elcabong]

Any book I have not mentionned and that should be on my wish list?

[rhinson]

hello there, i emailed them about 3weeks ago about getting a copy and never got an email in return. i guess they don't want to sell me one!! i even offered to pay instantly with paypal once given instructions from them but no response.....yet. i'm still waiting. rh

[charliewired]

Really ? I had to wait at first for a response also - but i did get one after a few days - Pete Thiessen may have spaced out on emailing you back - or mabye he got swamped with orders and you got lost in the shuffle - but I doubt he doesnt want to sell you a copy of the book - I have his paypal account info - so email me at cpward@shaw.ca - and I will give you the paypal info - then you will get a copy - just be sure and put your adress of course - cheers - its a good book that you can take straight into the shop and start experimenting with -I got my copy in 3 days.
Charliewired

[charliewired]

Well ElCabong -
I have Gerald Webers books {and videos} which are pretty cool, it was a great place for me to start anyhow - they focus mainly on repair and mod - but the stuff you learn from them could be applied to amp building -
I have all Kevin OConners books - They are like a math exam man! But I'm wading through it all because I want to be one of those guys who can write out a complex electronic ideas on a scrap of paper from right out of thier head, eventually I hope to be able to do that anyway.
I have Tino Zatollas books - they are ok - but not worth the money in my opinion.
I have Aspen Pittmans book which is informative and really cool - but then again I dig all the model information and history of the Biz - and all the eye candy - I wouldnt buy it if I just wanted the technical information though, although the CD Rom of extra schems is alllllllllllright.
Im getting a book in the mail right now about the innards of Fender and Marshall amps that deals a good amount on the theories behind the builds and focuses a great deal on mods - I'll let you know when that one comes and I get a chance to delve - although Im drowning in information already - Yikes!
Tom Mitchells book is a great introduction to the whole art and a good place for beginners or people who want to fill in the gaps with respect to basic electronics and the different components of amplifiers - it can come with an accompanying video as well that has some cool {if not common} mods,
I have the Blue Book of Amps which keeps me aprised of the rising cost of everything{dang it all}
I have building Valve Amplifiers by Morgan Jones on order as well as The High-Power Audio Amplifier Construction Manual by G Randy Slone. I'll let you know about them as well .
If you are really interested in getting into the books that the people who wrote the books read before going into it all - get the Radiotron Designers Handbook I believe its called - the old RCA tube manuals and if you wanna really rack your brain get The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill - the main author is a Harvard prof. Its a good place to really fry a few brain circuits. I occasionally dig into this meaty tome to try and really get grounded in theory. If you have a university style used book store its a good bet to find it there. Mullard Tube Circuits for Audio Amplifiers is another good one as is Audio Power Amplifier Handbook by Douglas Self
The list goes on and on and on
Im looking all the time for applicable info, so if you hear of anything let me know too - Theres a few books that I have on the list for the near future including
The Complete Guide to Guitar and Amp Maintenance : A Practical Manual for Every Guitar Player
The Fender Amp Book
ahhh life is too short - so many books to read, so many amps to build, so little time.
Cheers
CharlieWired

[ixolib58]

Yea, I second that opinion, the Horowitz and Hill book The Art of Electronics is the best book in the last 10 years. It urges you to learn an intuitive approach to electronics.

I have a copy I would sell of the fourth edition of The Radiotron Designers Handbook if anyone is interested.

[Elcabong]

Very interesting. Thanks for the detailed answer.

I myself have KOC TUT1 and TUT3. They are the ones I prefer so far even if sometimes I would like him to go in more details on the how and why.
I agree with you about Zottola books; contents is OK but the quality/price ratio just does not make it a good buy.
I have the Saga of the Vacuum Tube; very interesting but some lenghtly parts when you are not a collector.
Then a copy of RCA Receiving Tube Manual; 70 pages of applications and close to 400 pages of technical data. This one is special to me; it was owned by a teacher I had in college.
Also Vacuum Tube Amplifiers from MIT; this one is heavy reading. I went fast over integrals calculation section. Been there a long time ago but I forgot most of that stuff.

Bye!

[tubeampguy]

Any book I have not mentionned and that should be on my wish list?

RADIOTRON DESIGNERS HANDBOOK VOLUME 4

[/quote]

[charliewired]

I might be interested in that radiotron designers handbook {for the collection} I have scanned portions of the book but I really have a hard time reading off of a comp screen.- How much would you want for it? Its a difficult one for me to find locally - I live on an island - you know like Gilligan.
cheers
Charlie
ElCabong - That MIT volume sounds pretty cool where did you find that one?
Oh yeah ElCabong - where abouts in Can are you? - I live on Vancouver Island

[Elcabong]

I got the MIT book on eBay for a reasonable price. Sometimes, books are sold at a ridiculous price because they have the words "vacuum tubes" in the title.

I am living north of Quebec city; it is pretty cold here.

[wrecked]

Hi Charliewired!

The University of Victoria's McPherson Library has a copy of the Radiotron Designer's Handbook that's due back on the 30th of April, 2005, and I'd bet they've got a few other great books on tube design and theory there as well. A person not affiliated with the University can get a library card for $20 a semester. I'm an engineering student at the University of Alberta, and it seems that the books in our tech library have the same call numbers (I'd guess to facilitate inter-library loans), and I'd imagine that like our library there's probably a lot more tube material there than can be easily found through the online search, so it's certainly worthwhile to browse through the EE section. If you can find it, Karl Spangenburg's Vacuum Tubes is a great tube theory book to look out for. There's a couple others whose names elude me at the moment, but if you're interested I could find out the call numbers for them (like that MIT book).

Matt