Anyone know of a good (beginner's) amp repair book?

[cristobalwj]

Hey guys,

I'm just getting into amp repair/pedal building/general DIY musical electronics, and I was looking for a good book to get started.

I'm no engineer, but at the same time I've done my fair share of physics and other hard sciences, along with some outside reading on amps. I'm willing to put in the time to understand higher-level books, as long as they aren't working towards a graduate-level engineering audience. Anyone ever been in my position, and if so, what got you started? I'm especially looking for understandable explanations of circuit diagrams and explanations of the parts I'd be handling. I've got a simple old West tube amp I'll be tinkering away on, if that makes any difference. Frankly I'm more interested in the practical aspect than the theoretical, though at the same time I understand they're related and I'll need to dabble in the theoretical. I'd just like this book to directly inform my work on this amp, not only tell me what the insides of any amp might look like (as the few I've grabbed from the library have, giving me no insight as to how I should go about working on an amp in the real world).

On a related note, any particularly good - and affordable - soldering kits someone knows of? I'm just going to grab a mid-range one unless I hear there're problems I should be aware of.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

[jay42]

Someone was nice enough to scan this out of print SAMs book and put it out for free. It's probably what you want. If it turns out to be too complicated, come back and repost.

http://www.pacificrecone.com/JackDarrBook.html

[cristobalwj]

Someone was nice enough to scan this out of print SAMs book and put it out for free. It's probably what you want. If it turns out to be too complicated, come back and repost.

http://www.pacificrecone.com/JackDarrBook.html

Hey, this is EXACTLY what I was looking for - thanks a lot!

[sliberty]

Has anyone ever found the last three chapters online? The ones with the amp schematics?

[gtrnstuff]

I have an old copy of the Jack Darr SAMS book.

This isn't free, but I think it's clearer, at least to me. Tom Mitchell's book.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Service-Your-Own-Tube/dp/0962817007

I like the troubleshooting flowcharts. I'm no EE and what I know about fixing and enhancing tube amps I got from books like this.

Also, Doug Hoffman has some good info on his parts site.
http://www.el34world.com/schematics.htm

[jdh]

The Jack Darr book has been reprinted. It is worth every penny.