I have zero knowledge but want to build a nice tube amp. Can i start from scratch as an old 50 YO alcoholic not taken this very seriouys?
Start with refurbishing an old amp, and reading up on tube amps and electronics. Or there are kits.
You'll need some test and construction equipment.
You'll need some test and construction equipment.
Good advice from Rayma. One relatively inexpensive (at least it used to be) source for amps to refurb would be a stereo amp from an old console (amps from Magnavox or Zenith or Motorola come to mind), or an amp chassis from an old tube-based organ (you may need two of those). Sometimes the console will even be free if you haul it off, as they can sometimes be seen as huge space hogs.
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That looks to be a solid state amp. though a fairly beefy one. If you are looking to get into vacuum tube amplifiers, refurbing an already extant amp would be a relatively painless way to get started.
Start with a pre-designed board. The Tubelab boards get great reviews. I built Pete Millet’s engineers amp as my first build.
Be prepared for some expense. Transformers aren’t cheap.
Observe the one-hand rule at all times when poking around with it powered on. Put your hand in your pocket or sit on it. If you slip up and 400V crosses your heart because that’s the shortest path to ground you can die. Don’t screw with that bit. Better still, get clip leads and attach them with the power off.
You shouldn’t run tube amps without a load, so make sure you have speakers attached or a dummy load. It’s probably fine for short periods of time, but coming from solid state you may not be familiar with this.
Read up on the dos and donts of heater wiring and grounding. Twist your heater wires, and figure out a plan for grounding before you begin.
Chassis work is a pain, you’ll need some way of cutting holes in metal for tubes.
Be prepared for some expense. Transformers aren’t cheap.
Observe the one-hand rule at all times when poking around with it powered on. Put your hand in your pocket or sit on it. If you slip up and 400V crosses your heart because that’s the shortest path to ground you can die. Don’t screw with that bit. Better still, get clip leads and attach them with the power off.
You shouldn’t run tube amps without a load, so make sure you have speakers attached or a dummy load. It’s probably fine for short periods of time, but coming from solid state you may not be familiar with this.
Read up on the dos and donts of heater wiring and grounding. Twist your heater wires, and figure out a plan for grounding before you begin.
Chassis work is a pain, you’ll need some way of cutting holes in metal for tubes.
Ben me bewust van de veiligheid en 1 hand in de broekzak te doen. Heb naast audio ook andere hobbies zoals bier brouwen. Waarschijnlijk gaat dit niet allemaal samen.