How I started to learn about tube amplifiers.

[armann]

I just thought I should talk about how I started to learn about
amplifiers and maybe it will make you interested about working on your own tube amplifiers.

It started about one year ago, my Fargen Blackbird started to loose volume
very slowly, I didn't think much about it at first but at a gig while I was playing,
it lost all it's volume, the power light was on and all the tubes where showing
life so I couldn't understand it. Maybe the speaker was dead, took a 12V
battery and put it on the speaker input jack and there was noise so it's alive.

I thought ohh man now I have to take it to a tech and here in Iceland there
is really only one guy that everybody trusts with their fancy amps and it's
hard to get in and it's expensive so I thought, I should just fix it.
The first thought that went through my head was your going to kill yourself.
I started reading Electronics for dummys, got the Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing & Overhaul dvd and started learning from the internet.

Well I took the amplifier out, looked at the fuses, one was blown, so I
changed that one, powered the amp up and everything looked good for
about 5-10 seconds then I saw the rectifier tube have a power surge.

So I started learning more and reading about rectifiers and figured out
what was blowing the fuse, the rectifier was bad.
Got a new one, changed the fuse and everything is good again and
it cost me a lot less then taking it to a tech and now I know more about
amps and I'm still learning and will continue to work on and fix my amps.

I know for you that work and know tube amplifiers that you would figure
this out in five minutes but I wanted to learn and fix the problem myself
and by fixing a basic problem I'm more confident that I can fix bigger ones
in the future.

Just stay safe, learn about basic safety like draining the caps.

I hope that maybe this will get somebody interested in working on their own
amps and get another hobby besides playing the guitar.

I think it's a good dvd so I put the link here:

Amazon.com: Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing & Overhaul: Movies & TV

Thanks.

[SamsDaddy]

Nice post Armann. I haven't had to do anything to my Fender DRRI yet, but I am dreading the day something goes wrong. I need to learn this stuff. I'll check out the DVD you mentioned.

Also, I saw a book in the store - I think it was something like "Tube Amplifier Maintenance." It seemed pretty complicated when I was skimming it, but I might have to give it another look.

[armann]

Thanks SamsDaddy, that's what I thought, it's complicated and I can never learn it.
I didn't know anything about electricity but slowly you start to understand it and it's fun when you fix something yourself and understand just a little bit how it works.

+ the wife was shocked that I actually fixed it myself.

[glp]

You guys oughta know about a DVD called Tube Amps 101. It's for beginners and is meant to get ya started - especially draining the electricity, maintenance and repair.
I found it at www.recyclesound.net (but saw it on eBay first).

[kluson]

Originally Posted by armann

I just thought I should talk about how I started to learn about
amplifiers and maybe it will make you interested about working on your own tube amplifiers.

It started about one year ago, my Fargen Blackbird started to loose volume
very slowly, I didn't think much about it at first but at a gig while I was playing,
it lost all it's volume, the power light was on and all the tubes where showing
life so I couldn't understand it. Maybe the speaker was dead, took a 12V
battery and put it on the speaker input jack and there was noise so it's alive.

I thought ohh man now I have to take it to a tech and here in Iceland there
is really only one guy that everybody trusts with their fancy amps and it's
hard to get in and it's expensive so I thought, I should just fix it.
The first thought that went through my head was your going to kill yourself.
I started reading Electronics for dummys, got the Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing & Overhaul dvd and started learning from the internet.

Well I took the amplifier out, looked at the fuses, one was blown, so I
changed that one, powered the amp up and everything looked good for
about 5-10 seconds then I saw the rectifier tube have a power surge.

So I started learning more and reading about rectifiers and figured out
what was blowing the fuse, the rectifier was bad.
Got a new one, changed the fuse and everything is good again and
it cost me a lot less then taking it to a tech and now I know more about
amps and I'm still learning and will continue to work on and fix my amps.

I know for you that work and know tube amplifiers that you would figure
this out in five minutes but I wanted to learn and fix the problem myself
and by fixing a basic problem I'm more confident that I can fix bigger ones
in the future.

Just stay safe, learn about basic safety like draining the caps.

I hope that maybe this will get somebody interested in working on their own
amps and get another hobby besides playing the guitar.

I think it's a good dvd so I put the link here:

Amazon.com: Tube Guitar Amplifier Servicing & Overhaul: Movies & TV

Thanks.

That DVD is so good, it is also very funny, well worth watching!

[specflec]

Good stuff. Thanks!


I love these little thing...

[Jester]

I've always been worried that if I decided to crack open my amp, bad things would happen - like death!