The Valve Wizard

Since I set up this site I have received many complimentary emails from amp enthusiasts around the world. Some of you asking for advice, some making useful suggestions for the site, others just thanking me for making this sort of information available. Several people also asked why my site isn't available as a PDF, so that you can print it out for ease-of-reading. Well, this is partly because I like to edit my site, and then I would have to edit the PDFs too, which means a lot more time and effort. But my other excuse is that my site doesn't contain nearly as much information as I would like. One web page per subject hardly does justice to the infinite creativity that is possible with music electronics. That's why I have spent the last three years collecting my thoughts into a book. As revolutionary as the internet is, it will never be as reassuring and authoritative as a real, hold-in-your-hands, made-of-paper-and-ink, good old-fashioned book!

"Ok, we get it, you wrote a book. So what's in it, man?"
Good question. As you might have guessed from the title, it only convers preamp design. (No power supplies or power output stages then. That's for another day, and another book. Or two.) What it does cover is everything on this site already (about preamps), but in much, much greater detail. It also covers some new topics including coupling, tone stacks, effects loops and more. Every nuance of gain-stage design is covered with full mathematical and written explanation, and useful guidance on the tonal properties of various circuit blocks is given throughout. Classic designs are examined, revealing their advantages and flaws, but the emphasis is always on new, original design, not tired old copies of long out-of-date amps.
It is written in a similar style to this website. But beware! It's not a beginner's book! It is aimed at those of you who are already experimenting and building, and want to push your knowlege far beyond the pseudo-science hype and techno-waffle of most other 'amp tech' sources, and understand valve preamps at the most intricate level. See below to read the contents and first chapter for free!

"Sounds reasonable, where can I buy it?"
My book is available to buy print-on-demand from Lulu.com priced $32.30 (£23), hardback. Lulu ship to anywhere in the world, and they even accept Paypal. The book is print-on-demand so after you buy you will have to wait a few days for printing. If you live outside the US but use Paypal you can sometimes get a better deal from Lulu by paying in US dollars.

My book is also available to buy from Doberman who have an exclusive advanced stock, for quicker delivery and personal service.

It is also available from Amazon and other major online booksellers worldwide.

Synopsis: Designing Tube Preamps for Guitar and Bass is the world's first comprehensive guide to the design of tube-based preamplifiers, specifically for musical instrument use, in a single volume. From the input to the phase inverter, this book discusses the inner workings of every part of a conventional guitar preamp, including the use of triodes, pentodes, tone controls, effects loops and much more. Eliminating all 'guess work' and 'audio myths', this book reveals the science behind good tone. Not intended for the beginner, it brings the intermediate-level circuit designer to the advanced level, with over 200 circuit diagrams and figures, as well as new research into the distortion mechanisms of tubes and unique tone manipulation techniques. An essential reference text for any amp enthusiast!
Read the first chapter for free here.
View book contents here.

Welcome to the wonderful world of valve guitar amplifiers. If you're here, it's probably because you've come to realise that valve guitar amplifiers are just better than solid-state amplifiers, but you either can't afford a commercial one, can't find one that suits you, or simply want to build one out of curiosity (with me it started out with all three).
Building your own guitar amp is a rewarding pastime, but learning how to do it can be time consuming and frustrating sometimes. It is relatively easy to find introductory information on how to design simple amplifier stages, and it is also fairly easy to find extremely advanced information on complex circuit design, and nearly all of it is intended only for hifi! This website aims to fill the gap between the two extremes. I have also tried to remove unnecessary maths and leave only the essential formulae and rules of thumb. This should make the design process quicker and less confusing, leaving more time for the actual building.
However, this site assumes that you know some basic principles already, like Ohm's law, what a capacitor does, roughly how a valve works, what a transformer does etc. If you don't know these things yet then I recommend you read some introductory electronics material. Even so, I have done my best to write these tutorials cook-book style, so that even a layman can follow the instructions and design a working circuit without actually knowing how it works- but it certainly helps to understand first.

Although aimed specifically at designing guitar amplifiers, principles of hifi have been included here so that audiophiles may find something of use too, and guitarists should be able to learn some of the science behind the mojo.

This site is always under construction.

Disclaimer: Building and modifying amplifiers is DANGEROUS (like most fun things). Valve amplifiers invariably contain both very high voltages and high currents, capable of killing you. Whilst anyone can learn the skills to build an amazing amplifier, it goes without saying that you must never work on a live amplifier! I provide the information on this site free of charge and have done my utmost to make it accurate and succinct. It is up to you to exercise caution and common sense at all times to avoid electrocuting yourself, and make your amplifiers safe to use. I will not be held responsible for your negligence. Building valve amplifiers is also more addictive than heroin and nicotine; you have been warned.

Contact: Suggestions, comments, criticisms welcome. I am also available as an amp tech in York, Yorkshire.