circuit modifications in amps
- Thread starter usernamename
- Start date
pricklyrobot
Well-known member
I don’t have much to add to what others have said:
i.e. read up on existing resources, come up with and articulate a plan about what you’re trying to accomplish, etc.
I will say, as someone whose day job is Master Electrician…
Things I would do:
go poking around in a 480V electrical panel, as needed
vs.
Things I wouldn’t do:
Start vivisecting an amp without a clear goal.
Even if you have a solid grasp on safety, it’s still pretty easy to brick a perfectly good piece of gear if you’re flying mostly blind…
i.e. read up on existing resources, come up with and articulate a plan about what you’re trying to accomplish, etc.
I will say, as someone whose day job is Master Electrician…
Things I would do:
go poking around in a 480V electrical panel, as needed
vs.
Things I wouldn’t do:
Start vivisecting an amp without a clear goal.
Even if you have a solid grasp on safety, it’s still pretty easy to brick a perfectly good piece of gear if you’re flying mostly blind…
drew.spriggs
Well-known member
My previous job was working on power supplies capable of putting out 52v....with a short current of over 100kA. You had to use fully insulated tools everywhere; not for the risk of electrocution, but because a short would likely turn whatever you were holding directly into plasma and the temperature/shockwave from it would take anything off up to your elbow while spraying your entire body with molten shrapnel.
Working with that sort of stuff is much, much less dangerous than working inside a tube amp with no clue what is going on IMO.
ICTRock
Well-known member
setting aside the safety aspects, it's just plain expensive to be tearing around in a tube amp without a clue. plenty of us are capable of helping you give it a go with some reasonable boundaries and goals but just diving in like you're asking about is something from which you may not physically or financially recover.
usernamename
New member
Luckily I've been on the internet long enough to expect the meme brutality to general questions.
But yes, to the naysayers I'm going to cover myself in something copper, sit in a vat of water and probe the amps power source with my tongue (which will also be covered in silver or something) during a thunderstorm!
I'm also thinking about replace some of the higher voltage components with dynamite!
My first thread to be reported, will i be deported by ICE?
But srsly, what would be required technical learning for a solid foundation to move forward.
Should I download an introduction EE course and focus on circuit basics or would that be pointless without prerequisite EE knowledge? (Most things I've looked at would be jumping into the deep end)
The issue I have with amp sites is they arent structured learning A then B then C in required detail, they're usually various bits some general some specific thrown together by the author. Great for learning some things, but usually leaves more questions and adrift in the wilderness searching.
But yes, to the naysayers I'm going to cover myself in something copper, sit in a vat of water and probe the amps power source with my tongue (which will also be covered in silver or something) during a thunderstorm!
I'm also thinking about replace some of the higher voltage components with dynamite!
My first thread to be reported, will i be deported by ICE?
Patience, to hell with that!
But srsly, what would be required technical learning for a solid foundation to move forward.
Should I download an introduction EE course and focus on circuit basics or would that be pointless without prerequisite EE knowledge? (Most things I've looked at would be jumping into the deep end)
The issue I have with amp sites is they arent structured learning A then B then C in required detail, they're usually various bits some general some specific thrown together by the author. Great for learning some things, but usually leaves more questions and adrift in the wilderness searching.
owlexifry
Well-known member
take the advice given in this thread - that would be the first required technical learning.
ICTRock
Well-known member
there's a holy grail set of books (yes, plural) by Merlin Blencowe https://valvewizard.co.uk/Luckily I've been on the internet long enough to expect the meme brutality to general questions.
But yes, to the naysayers I'm going to cover myself in something copper, sit in a vat of water and probe the amps power source with my tongue (which will also be covered in silver or something) during a thunderstorm!
I'm also thinking about replace some of the higher voltage components with dynamite!
My first thread to be reported, will i be deported by ICE?
Patience, to hell with that!
But srsly, what would be required technical learning for a solid foundation to move forward.
Should I download an introduction EE course and focus on circuit basics or would that be pointless without prerequisite EE knowledge? (Most things I've looked at would be jumping into the deep end)
The issue I have with amp sites is they arent structured learning A then B then C in required detail, they're usually various bits some general some specific thrown together by the author. Great for learning some things, but usually leaves more questions and adrift in the wilderness searching.
PunchySunshine
Well-known member
Both Uncle Doug and Psionic Audio on the youtubes are great resources of information on tube amp modification and repair.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
There have already been a large number of resources suggested in this thread. Start with those.
Also, as stated before, if you want to share what your general goal in modification is we can certainly point you in a more specific direction.
falco_femoralis
Well-known member
That's how it all is. There's no one source that tells you everything you need to know for this specific thing. If you take a bunch of EE courses they won't be super specific about our range of AC, and if you learn just from guitar courses they won't get into the theory and math behind it. You just have to spend the time and go through all the articles and youtube videos and piece it together yourself. You have to recognize how thorough your understanding needs to be and then absorb information until you feel satisfied. Unfortunately you have to put in some work to really see what's going on.
Just go through and click all the resources mentioned here and spend a couple weeks getting familiar with them. This is the pedal version of learning music theory for guitar.
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
But yes, to the naysayers I'm going to cover myself in something copper, sit in a vat of water and probe the amps power source with my tongue (which will also be covered in silver or something) during a thunderstorm!
I'm also thinking about replace some of the higher voltage components with dynamite!
My first thread to be reported, will i be deported by ICE?
Feral Feline
Well-known member
Find a mentor — doing so may help you from being silenced.
Caps in a tube amp can store deadly voltages long after the amp is switched off.
A mentor will be able to teach you how to safely drain the caps and further guide you on how to handle an amp, safely acquiring knowledge along the path A to B to C... to ... better Zed than dead.
Maybe even stick to just pedals for a little while longer.
You can learn a lot from pedal-building that can be then applied to amp-building, such as understanding what you need to do to modify an EQ, or overall tone-shaping aspects from input to output...
For instance, try putting an LFO right next to the input/output of a pedal, then see what it takes to get the pedal to stop "ticking". Pedal-building can give you a strong foundation in trouble-shooting methods, which may be critical in Amp-Builds... Some knowledge will transfer well, other information won't — like how understanding a Bbm+9 is good for both bassoon and double-bass, but learning how to blow a bassoon won't teach you how to bow a double-bass.
Wishing you safe passage into the amp-realm.