The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps (Book & CD) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is really a treasure of information on Fender amps with enough pix to make you salivate.

The CD is ok but I expected more.Greg Koch's over the top playing (and commentary) can get a bit annoying.

Also, they just don't cover enough amps for my taste.No tweed pro, no tweed super, not enough time on the bassman.

The CD's are broken into two CD's.Vintage and Modern.

When they are talking about vintage deluxes, Koch decides to demo and spend most time onthe '57 Tweed Deluxe REISSUE!!!!!!!!!This to me dropped them a star since that should have been placed on the modern CD.

I guess there is not enough time to cover everything but I wish he did more.

The idea of a short clip of every Fender amp model ever made played with a tele, strat and LP makes me salivate ;).

This CD was an attempt to do that but falls short IMHO.However, it's better than nothing.

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Product Description:
From the same "dream team" that created The Fender Stratocaster Chronicles (Vintage Guitar magazine's 2004 Book of the Year) comes this new publication covering the other side of Fender's legacy, the instrument amplifier. Revered as much as one's guitar, the Fender amplifier gets its due in this full-color, richly illustrated book. Features over 400 images, including legendary guitarists such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Neil Young, Pete Townshend, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Robbie Robertson and Dick Dale, and two CDs featuring over 100 tracks that make terms and topics come alive.

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Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone (Book & CD-ROM) (Blue Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)When this book showed up I couldn't put it down until I had read everything relating to the half dozen Gibson amps I already own. It was very easy to pinpoint the models and years of manufacture.I popped in the CD and immediately printed out the operators manuals for all the amps I own, as well as the tube charts for each. A copy of this info will always be with each amp.

Reading through the amp descriptions, I've settled upon a couple of amps I'm now dying to own, and will be searching out.

Layout of the book is pretty straight forward, the pictures are all clear, and the year-to-year production totals is nice to know. I would have liked to see the inards of a few more of the models, and some servicing recommendations. I know that there are other books about tube amp repair, but a small section could have easily been included.

There is really no mention in the book as to which of the models are collectable or desireable. You'll have to come to your own conclusions as to that subject.

I'm am really gratefull to the author for compiling this information and finally having a book dedicated to just Gibson amps. Yahoo!!!

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Product Description:
Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008 is the only book available solely on Gibsons amplifiers, featuring a full history of Gibson amplifiers between 1933 and 2008, an individual model listing for every standard production Gibson amplifier with pictures, and a 12-page color section. Also included is a thorough history on the development of amplification in the early 20th century, and an exclusive CD-ROM that includes PDFs of the entire Gibson Amplifier Master Service Book with owners manuals and schematics of most Gibson amplifiers from the 1950s and 1960s! The information contained in this book and CD-ROM is simply not available from any other single source!

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A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)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.

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Product Description:
by Gerald Weber Kendrick Books If you have questions about guitar amplifiers-how to fix them, how to restore them, or how to hot-rod them-this book has the answer. This book is written for the guitarist or collector who desires a common sense approach to understanding the essence of vintage tube amps and vintage tube tone. Not written for engineers, it does not contain engineering formulas, polar mathematic equations, or abbreviations that are assumed you should know. Gerald Weber, a regular columnist for Vintage Guitar magazine, shares the knowledge he has accumulated over the years of repairing and building his line of Kendrick amps. 6 inch. x 9 inch..

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Ultimate Bench Warrior: How to Design, Build, and Modify Custom Guitar and Bass Amps (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)The author begins with a cursory look at the tools used when building and servicing amps. Unfortunately, how to use the less common tools, such as an oscilloscope, in practice is not discussed. We do, however, find a few pages on how to make a guitar cable with a soldering iron.

Plenty of reprinted tube and solid state component data sheets made it into the final product--as did a guide to reading resistor color codes. A few vintage transformer data sheets are included as well. In light of the book's title, a section covering transformer selection along with power supply and output stage design would have been more useful.

The author does include schematics for some isolated circuits, but many are of little value or irrelevant to the subject matter expressed in the title. For example, one schematic shows how to wire a foot pedal to control three separate Fender amps. Other included circuits may have broader appeal, but there is little guidance as to how to implement them in original or existing designs. In some cases, component values are not included.

The "Extensive collection of top Amplifiers schematics, including all of Lee's equipment" and "A great collection of Effect Pedal Schematics, Vintage and New" promised on the author's website are not in the book.

The biggest issue, and the reason for the single star: this volume doesn't deliver what it promises in the title. There is nothing about designing or building amplifiers. Instead the reader is offered an eclectic collection of data sheets, isolated circuit mods, and rudimentary, yet incomplete, information. But there's no math! :| (When I pre-ordered this work, I was unaware of the diminutive page-count, which would have made me question the depth of material covered.)

The Guitar Amp Handbook by Dave Hunter would be a better choice. It's not an exhaustive treatment of the subject, but it covers two important areas that Jackson's book does not: how an amp works and how to build a vintage-modified amp. For those interested in the math, check out Richard Kuehnel's works. Tino Zottola has three volumes on building specific amps--all of which contain step-by-step instructions, component lists and schematics. For the well-funded, Kevin O'Connor's Ultimate Tone series would be another option.

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Product Description:
Amp guru Lee Jackson covers: tools of the trade; the basics of soldering; different tube types, with specs and histories; electronic symbols; amplifier modifications from gain stages to adding reverbs; schematics of solidstate circuits and power supplies; lists of parts suppliers; and more. Features 180+ photos and illustrations.

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The Guitar Pickups Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)If you love guitars, tone, and modifying your instrument, this book is a must-have. But it has a couple of problems that keep it from being perfect. Hopefully a revised edition will take care of these issues, but as is, it's still worth getting if you're interested.

Even if you're just considering ordering a set or two of pickups, it's worth the $17 to read this book, and make sure you're getting the right set for you and your guitar. There's a lot of great information here.

Dave Hunter has (once again,) done a great job with this book. It discusses the history of pickups, from all the major companies. Then goes on to describe most of the major pickup makers, as well as many big boutique names like Lollar and Fralin.

His writing is clear, and to the point, and makes a sometimes tedious subject fun and interesting.

What's very useful is that it breaks down the specs of almost every pickup made by these makers, and gives a good description of the tone they produce, (the descriptions are independent of the makers descriptions.)

There's a lot of useful tech info, and specs, but plenty of stuff for just interesting reading.

The best part, imo, is the in-depth interviews with the makers.
Dave HUnter talkes to Kent Armstrong, Joe Barden, Larry Dimarzio and Steve Blucher, Seymour Duncan, Mike Eldred, (Fender Custom Shop,) Lindy Fralin and Jason Lollar.

It's interesting, for example, that Seymour Duncan designed the Alnico Pro II's for Billy Gibbsons, (as well as the Pearly Gates later on,) the Duncan Custom was for Santana, the Full Shred for Nancy Wilson, and his strat and tele pickups had input for Eric johnson, Mark Knofler, Ralph Trower, James Burton, Jerry Donahue, Albert Lee, on and on.

It's a recent book, and mentions the TQR articles on PAF's, and has a lot of information on Gibson's pickup history.

There's also a very useful CD that demos many different kinds of pickups, from several vintage PAF's, to boutique stuff and production line pickups.The downside is that there appears to be an editing problem. I have a version with a black cover, and in the Dimarzio section, it seems like a page is missing,( pg. 134-136 don't follow.)

You could also argue that with the huge numbers of small hand-winders, it would be nice if the covered some of these makers as well, (WB, WCR, Tom Holmes, etc.)
I wouldn't be surprised to if save space, they cut out some of the more obscure names in pickup making.

That said, it's a very comprehensive book, and for the majority of its audience, it covers more than you'll ever need to know.Anyway, that aside, it's a great resource, a fun read and provides great answer for many common pickup questions.

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Product Description:
For every electric guitarist, a book that goes right to the source of the sound! The pick-up may be a humble piece of technology, yet without it there would be no electric guitars. In The Guitar Pick-Ups Handbook, guitarist and author Dave Hunter explores the history of the transducer that captures mechanical vibrations, from its beginnings in the early 20th-century through to the present day. He explains why different designs affect the sound of classic electric guitars, and provides complementary aural demonstrations on a specially recorded accompanying CD.

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