Opinions on Best Tube AMp Book

[wavey63]

I am looking at 2 different boks to help me n the learning of tube amp building and mods. It is beteween the Dave Hunter "The Guitar AMp Handbook" or "Tube Amp Essentials" by Gerald Weber. I am a beginner at building but know a bit on tubes and amps.

[fyrwyr]

Dave Hunter's book is a good book, I haven't seen the other one...

[LowellH]

Dave Hunter's book is very educational. I like it much better than the two Gerald Weber books that I've read, but haven't picked up the one you mention. Reading Dave Hunter's book really helped me plan my first amp build. The book is comprehensive and simply stated - Gerald's books, from what I've read, are quite opinionated, and I think he even gets some facts wrong.

I suggest you call bookstores in your area and try to find one that has both books in stock. That way, you can peruse them before making a decision. I bought my copy of Dave Hunter's book from Borders of all places. They had a Weber book in stock too, but I think it was mostly a collection of schematics. :)

[scottywompas]

You may also want to check out the free info available on the internet.

These are just a couple I thought of off the top of my head.

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm
http://www.firebottle.com/ampage/

Scott:JAM

[JamesO]

I've learned a lot from The Guitar Amp Handbook over the past two months, the book by Dave Hunter.

[epluribus]

Wakarusa Amplification has the entire US Navy NEETS series avaialable online. It's what they use to teach electronics from the ground up. It's about twenty modules--you can do one in a weekend without breaking a sweat. (If only I had twenty free weekends. :) You can probably safely skip the one about radar.) Todd recommended it to me very highly.

--Ray

Oh yeah...Wakyamps.com is down right now. The company just moved to Atlanta. What's in Atlanta that you can't get in Wakarusa is beyond me, however...:rolleyes:

[tjs]

I am looking at 2 different boks to help me n the learning of tube amp building and mods. It is beteween the Dave Hunter "The Guitar AMp Handbook" or "Tube Amp Essentials" by Gerald Weber. I am a beginner at building but know a bit on tubes and amps.

I'm pretty much at the same point you're at. Dave Hunter's book is very well written, easy to understand, and an excellent intro to understanding how tube amps work, but it doesn't go into very much detail and there isn't anything in there that you can't get off the web besides the interviews with famous amp makers. If you don't feel like spending the time to search for the information on the internet and want the convenience of having everything printed out and assembled in book form, though, it's well worth the $17 price.

I haven't read the Weber book, so I don't know how it compares. From what I've heard, if you're serious about getting into this sort of thing, Kevin O'Conner's The Ultimate Tone series is the way to go (it's next on my list). If you've got a decent background in electronics, Richard Kuehnel's book on preamp design is also excellent - I've really gotten a lot out of that one.

[wavey63]

Well, I bought the Hunter book and had a chance to start it. It seems about right for where I am at. Thanks for the post on the free info, too. If it's free, it's for me, I'll take three!!