Guitar Tube Amp Project
Some years ago I bought an electric guitar and so I had the need for a small guitar amp. The idea was born to make this a little ‘do-it-yourself’ project. I've searched for schematics and documentation on the internet and found all the detail that I needed to start with. Amazingly, it just took a few parts to put a basic tube guitar amp together. I still remember when I switched on the amp for the very first time. It did work right away, a loud, clear & clean, tone, that came out of my 12’’ speaker.
Be aware: Tube Amplifiers and all used components are electrical products with extremely high voltages that if mishandled or carelessly used for improper purpose can cause life hazards and serious personal injuries. Such equipment is dangerous, even when turned off or unplugged. Precautions must be observed under all circumstances.
Below, a list of a few websites that I found worth visiting while researching details on tube amps:
- Rob Robinette's Tube Amplifier Website -> https://robrobinette.com
- The Valve Wizzard -> http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/index.html
- Duncan's Amp Page Tone Stack Calculator -> http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/
- Chasing Tone / Guide to Single Knob Tone controls -> https://chasingtone.com/guide-to-single-knob-tone-controls/
- Dan Torres Engineering -> https://torresengineering.stores.yahoo.net/
- EL34 World Tube Amp Schematics -> https://el34world.com/charts/TubeAmpSchematics.htm
- AX84 The cooperative Tube Guitar Amp Project -> https://ax84.com/archive/ax84.com/projects.html
Enhancements
My DIY experience could have ended here, but then I had the idea to optimize my guitar tube amp. I tried around a little bit changing part values and started to assemble several circuit iterations.
More to follow - in the meantime, please don't hesitate to get in touch - I'm happy to share what I have learned.
Have fun!