Customer Reviews

A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps

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Gerald Weber has build guitar amps for years, the Kendrick Amps. These are copies of the original Fender tweeds. He's also built a few amps of his own. However, he's really no expert on the real issues as they relate to tube amps, even though he has a lot of good information.

Here are some examples of the misinformation I found in the book:

He states, in the first chapter, that the reason tubes amps sound so good, in the early days, is the fact that they used diode tubes in the early supplies. When current was drawn across the tube, it developed a voltage drop which causes the output tube voltage to sag, thereby causing a mid-rangey distortion type.

While the action (dropped voltage across the output tubes) is true, the explanation behind it, is not.

The real issue, here, is the fact that the power supplies, back then, were not stiff supplies. They didn't have enough capacitance in the output filters to compensate for loading issues (i.e. instantaneous current draw). The newer supplies are much "stiffer" and they regulate better. A solid-state supply could be made to match the older vacuum tube supplies.

There are other obvious electronic explanations, in the book, that do not follow real physics and/or electronics models. What he is saying about the final result in the amplifiers sound quality and operational charactaristics is correct, however, the explanation of how it really works is not correct.

If you're into vintage amps, modifications, or just building one from the schematics Gerald has done an awesome job compiling information. He's got great, readable schematics, layout diagrams, etc. in the book. It's a bit biased toward Fender, however.

He also has some great historical information, as it relates to the Fender amps, as well.

Overall, I think the book is good. It's just hard to read because of the indescrepancies in the electronics section.

Weber does a good job of covering the basics of tube amp design, with a clear bias towards Fender amps. You can learn a lot about these amps, and feel (relatively) comfortable servicing or modifying your amp. It is comprehensive enough to use as the guide in building your own amp from the information and schematics provided.

Good collection of schematics. The few "hip" amps Weber touches on in detail are all Fenders, leaving out dozens of holy classics. With an almost total lack of subjective analysis, the book ends up as a big Kendrick Amp advertisement (his company)
blah blah blah...

This is an interesting book, but it is not, as it calls itself, "a desktop reference of hip vintage guitar amps," unless the definition of "hip" is made so subjective as to be meaningless.

The only amps regarding which this book could be considered a reference are a handful of old Fenders---one brand, and not even all of them. In fact, it only mentions Marshall amps occasionally, and there is practically nothing about Vox, or Ampeg, or Silvertone, much less any of the less-common vintage amps. With a title like this, I expected a book that one could leaf through and learn about vintage amps. This is not that book.

But that's not to say this book doesn't have its good points. The author was an amplifier repairman and builder for many years, and he shares a lot of insights and tricks that I have not seen elsewhere. Most of the information in the book is aimed at, and of greatest use to, somebody who builds, refurbishes or repairs amplifiers, and there are a lot of hobbyists in that category (like me), and not a lot of resources available to them, so this book definitely can be an asset. But again, from the title, it is far from clear that it's for that audience.

And, while Weber was a knowledgeable amp builder, he's not really a writer, and whoever edited this book for the publisher didn't really do much of a job---it's disjointed, and while it contains a lot of good information, it's not really organized. One chunk of the book is reprints of Trainwreck newsletters, presented without any context. And almost half the book is reprinted schematics, most for amps not even mentioned elsewhere in the book. In this book, they are padding, adding heft but not much useful information.

If you build or tinker with amps as a hobby, there's probably a fair amount of information in here that you will find interesting and possibly useful. But if you leave the soldering to somebody else, this book is probably not for you. If you want a reference that will give you some basic information about hip vintage guitar amps, Pittman's "Tube Amp Book" is probably better, although it covers a lot more stuff and doesn't go into great depth. Or, if you're looking for a book that explains how amps work, Hunter's "Guitar Amplifier Handbook" would be better. But if you already have those and you're looking for more, this book might be up your alley.

Although there is a lot of great information in this book along with a plethora of schematics (Which I cannot read), I found the other reviews to be spot on. The book is a thrown together outline of the Fender revolution and then there is a copy of the Trainwreck manual thrown in the middle of the book (which looks photo copied) and it ends with a guide to buying what else, but Kendrick amps. Therefore I agree it with the other post that the book is disorganized and thrown together. Furthermore it does not get into the basic of what and amp is and the architecture of the stages.

It may sound funny but I keep one copy in the "library" for schematic reference while pondering new designs and mods, and the other at my workbench. It has the best, most complete collection of vintage Fender schematics and diagrams and plenty of others as well. Also filled with great reference info, tips and tricks. A must have.

Gerald is the "Godfather" of amp's. This book along with his others offer a comprehensive information source for those who listen to amps to those who "roll their own" (Gerald's term).

I have this one too! More good things you can do to your amp.
Worth much more to me for reference, ideas and info. than what it costs. His years of successful experience have helped me.

This will give you a step up on the information you need, to understand tube amplifiers, period! The schematics are clear. I wish some of my old amps were in it, but alas, the ones that are, are excellent! Goawwal dawng nabbit, if you want to learn a thing or two about what makes a great tube amp sound great,,,,,,get the book, and take a look.
(If you're a repairman=====repair Man, (folks, I hate political correctness), then this book is essential for us Fender Amp kind of guys.
Get it! Enjoy it!

I own this book and have read it several times. Am skilled at electronics and have hands on tube amplifier repair and modding experience and am a telecom professional have been working with electronics for 28 years.

Darwins review is wrong!

Here is a quote from his review that is an inadequte explanation and a simplistic criticism from his obvious limited tube amplifier knowledge based on this statement-

"states, in the first chapter, that the reason tubes amps sound so good, in the early days, is the fact that they used diode tubes in the early supplies. When current was drawn across the tube, it developed a voltage drop which causes the output tube voltage to sag, thereby causing a mid-rangey distortion type."



Darwin mentions Webers book stating that the reason vintage amps have better tone due to something called "Diode Tubes". This is your first clue that this review is based on his limited knowledge and is not technically accurate for its simplicism. No where in the book does this term appear.

This book is an excellent read and chock full of information for an amatuer or even a pro looking to gain additional knowledge specifc to fender in addition to some of Webers observations which in my opinion are as valid as anyone out there.

Where Darwin reallys goes wrong in his review is in summing up how Weber relates his opinion on why vintage amps sound as they do and are coveted for their tone.

Let me sum up Webers reasoning for you-
1) lower tube operating voltages, both preamp and output found of some older vintage amps, specifically tweed amps
2) simpler designs (fewer rc coupled gain stages) means lower tonal losses
3) paper interleaved output transformer in contrast to plastic bobbin ot's found on modern amps
4) capacitors that were of higher quality and/or more pleasing when used in tube guitar amps in contrast to some caps more suited for use in audio
5)cathode biasing of output sections
6) tube rectification
7) cabinet materials and design
8) differences in vintage speaker components versus today

If you want to expand on these points in more depth while applying this to Fender amps specifically, then this book is for you. Despite this book detailing Fender designs, the knowledge herein can be applied universaly.

The book is also chock full of schematics, questions submitted by Kendrick devotees which Weber answers and this section alone can serve as a database of troubleshooting tips which can assist one in diagnosing your own amp problems while expanding your knowledge.

The fact that Darwin does not even mention the Trainwreck Pages section tells me he has never heard of Ken Fischer who contributed this section and who has left a legacy of hand crafted reference tube guitar amplifiers that are coveted universally.

Dont base your decision to purchase this book based on a review by someone who apparently has not read it or does not understand tube guitar amplification, you would be missing a good read and informtion assembled over Webers and Fischers career.

The only other way to get this knowledge is to actively work at it for the same 40 years as both of these gentlemen have.