info on tube amps

[shark]

howdy,

I 'm planning on buying a tube amp (an engl powerball)... this will be the first I will ever own...I always played on ss before.... now here is the deal: I would like to know more about how all the thing work and what they do... like what's the difference between pre amp and poweramp...

can someone give me some good websites or so where I can find this kind of info?

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: info on tube amps

check out mesa/boogies site
amplifier blueprinting

http://www.tubefreak.com/tubefreak.html

http://www.watfordvalves.com/mainindex.htm

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/ampvendor.html

[shark]

Re: info on tube amps

thx.... now all I have to do is find some time to read them

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: info on tube amps

to put it simply, the preamp is the part of the amp where most of the tone shaping takes place (eq, gain, and so on). most people typically use 12ax7 tubes in the preamp, and you can swap them out with other different types of preamp tubes without making any adjustments to the amp.

the poweramp is the part of the amp that amplifies the signal from the preamp in order to drive the speakers. the most common types of power tubes are 6L6, EL34, EL84, and so on. in *most* amps, changing the power tubes requires a bias adjustment, which controlls how much current the tubes are getting. and with *most* amps, you have to use the same type of power tubes, unless the amp can accept more than one type(like how mesas can accept 6L6 or EL34), or if modifications are done to the amp to compensate for the change.

[marvar]

Re: info on tube amps

There is also lots of good info at this site-

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/index.html

[LesStrat]

Re: info on tube amps

I usually go to this site for my info.

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: info on tube amps

[shark]

Re: info on tube amps

I usually go to this site for my info.

LMAO

I also did a little search on the forum and found a thread in which gearjoneser did a review on different tubes... very helpfull

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: info on tube amps

LMAO

I also did a little search on the forum and found a thread in which gearjoneser did a review on different tubes... very helpfull

Yes, asking GJ on everything amp related is always a good idea... he has plenty... amps and knowledge