Vacuum Tube Amplifier Basics Paperback – 26 Aug. 2014

I've got several books on valve amplifiers and valve electronics in general. I was looking for a more 'hands-on' book which would give me more pointers on practical valve amp construction and refurbishing. I've done a fair bit of work with modern chip-amps and 70's/80's transistor amps but want to start working (safely) with tube amps. Having looked at the samples online and downloaded a kindle sample I decided to give 'Valve Tube Amplifier Basics' a try, so i bought the paperback version.The format is listed as 'paperback' but if you look at the dimensions you'll see that its a large-format paperback around A4 size with very clear text, black-and-white drawing and photographs. The only colour is the front cover. I'm very pleased with the size and format and the clarity of the content, although to be fair it does have a slight self-published 'photocopier' feel about it which i find enjoyably retro old-school.If I was an expert in valve amplifiers (which I'm not) and wanted to pass on my knowledge to a wider audience then this is the book I would write. The diagrams and text are clear and work well together and are pitched at just the right level for the beginner/intermediate. Its also very practical, favouring hands-on advice and construction information rather than theory. Armed with this book and some solid guidelines on electrical safety I now feel confident to have a go at my own valve amp projects.This is also great value. I'm not in a position to compare content with the other texts on valve amps (apart from 'Vacuum Tube Audio' by Whitaker - which I own and would recommend), but similar books covering the same ground are £10-£20 more expensive.

For someone looking to pick up this hobby and be able to understand the theory, this book is great. It explains everything in an accessible way and also relates it all into the practical side of how to apply that theory when building an amp.If you find Morgan Jones a bit heavy going, get this first, it's the perfect gateway.

I have had some success in making the projects in this book. However before buying this book you need to know that the projects specify Edcor primary transformers. There is not always an equivalent e.g by Hammond, and Edcor no longer ships to the uk or the eu (following brexit). Edcor’s distributor in Europe (don-audio) does not stock the full range of Edcor transformers and don’t answer emails either! So if you are planning to build any of the projects you might have to get the primary transformers custom made.Edit. after building more projects I believe I overstated the transformer difficulty! In practice buy an overrated transformer and use high wattage dropping resistors - that is the simplest solution!! Not elegant I know but practical and pragmatic. Projects in this book are really good and easy to build as the author sets out the wiring needed. Highly recommended book.

Explains clearly how valves and valve amplifiers work, gives some basic electronics information and formula, invaluable to beginners and good as an ade memoir for those with some experience. Ideal book for those familiar with modern transistor circuits but not familiar with the workings and applications of valves. Highly recommended, especially for the very reasonable cost.

Clearly a lot of work went into this book. I think it could have been better if it went a little bit further in explaining some of the characteristic curves with some simple design examples. Like many other tube/valve books there are some beginners titles and some advanced but very little if any in the middle. This is an excellent beginners example. Lets hope the middle ground starts to get filled up as well.

I have previously read Merlin Blencoes book on PreAmps. Its a little over my head. I have high hopes after a quick scan of this book which gives a lot of space to good explanations that I had not encountered before. Best of all are the projects which I have noticed all go together to make one huge audio command centre...in stereo. I'm very happy with the purchse, the Amazon printing is well done although the front page is a little colour washed out...who even cares? Great stuff for £12.

Clarity and brevity of expression are much to be commended in a work on thermionic valves, this does both. Handy for pillaging for ideas as well as for use as a cookbook. In this day and age of USB powered fluff it is nice to see real circuits. But that does bring to mind the one area where I thought this could use a little expansion, from none to a smidgeon: low voltage valves. Handy for guitar pedal pre-amps and innovative ways to fry iPODs alike. A bus powered headphone amp might make a neat introduction to some old-fangled ways for audio newbs.

let down by poor typesetting. Poor choice of font, but at least it was not Comic Sans. Diagrams could do with colour, especially when discussing electrical wiring. Looks like it was written on Microsoft Word!Regardless, this must be the go-to-book for anything Tube Amplifier related.