Understanding Tube Amps

I studied electronics in high school but haven't done much with it for (mumble) years and was looking for a refresher. It helps if you already have a basic understanding of electricity and electronics but Gerald Weber walks you through the details step by step. This isn't really a "how to repair and mod tube amps" video; this is a "how tube amps work" video. After going through the material you will be able to make sense of a schematic and recognize the sections of an amp in front of you. The content of this video is good background knowledge before diving into videos,books, and articles on servicing, restoring, and hot rodding tube guitar amps. For example, I see many recommendations for replacing filter caps but none of them explain why this may be useful or how different values affect sound and performance. In this video Gerald Weber does both. Nothing in this video will be news to experienced techs but if you're a little rusty or new to the inside of tube amps this is an excellent place to start.

This is a fabulous DVD for anyone with a mild to wild interest in Tube Guitar Amplifiers. Gerald has the ability to explain the workings and foibles of these gizmos without getting bogged down in all the math involved. Yes, there is a bit of elementary math that a 3rd grader could understand, but it is far from confusing and enhances the ability to understand the finer points of any electronic item. Gerald's video may seem a bit difficult to follow from time to time, but not to worry; watch it several times and things will begin to fall into place. I would highly recommend this to folks like me who are very interested in this stuff, but have a hard time following where all the electrons are going and just what they are doing at any given moment. As an aircraft mechanic, I find the circuits in amplifiers to be a bit confusing since AC and DC are doing different things at the same time in the same wires! But Gerald explains this sort of thing in a way no other individual I've run across has been able to do. The beauty of this format is not just that you can watch it as many times as you like, (which I have done and find very helpful,) but you get to watch as he draws out part of a circuit and explains what each bit is as he goes. Does he cover everything? Heck no! That would take 100 DVD's. But he does give you enough to get started in a firm understanding, and leaves you in a place where you want to know even more. I suggest purchasing some of his books, as they follow in his simple style of explaining things so the average individual can understand even a fairly complex circuit. Trust me, you WILL find yourself understanding this stuff if you have a desire to do so. It may not be on the first viewing of this DVD, but give yourself some time and watch it more than once. Then when you feel comfortable, you can go back and watch his circuit analyses over a few times and you will be surprised at how much better you will get what going on inside these things. It's fascinating and fun. Worth the price of admission.

I have made quite a few nice sounding amps in the past 3 years on my soldering and fabrication skills alone. I understand the basics, but have been unable to leap the gaping chasm between basic knowledge and competency in troubleshooting and design. The main reason is that I do not think well in math; and almost all the books I have tried are written for people who think well in math. And although I don't think they mean to, their writing is aimed at right brainers. Most of the forums I have been active in are the same way. They get to a certain point, and then their "inner mathematician" takes over and I am LOST, but quick! If this describes you, then get this video. Gerald Weber gets the fact that not everybody can make instant leaps into math and he is really good at setting you up and easing you into it. After one viewing, some of the stuff my math brothers have been throwing at me began to make sense. And don't listen to the Gerald Weber detractors. Most of them are right brainers. I'm sure he's not right about everything, but I'm saying he gets you to a point where you can begin to understand the math and subsequently, most of the literature out there on amps. Invaluable, in my opinion.

Very well done and thorough. I have a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and was very impressed with how he explained the electrical concepts clearly without ever getting bogged down with RLC calculations of any kind. He touches on a lot of history and takes you from a very basic amplifier design and explains how the design works and what it's strengths and weaknesses are. He then takes you to the next historical 'version' of an amps design and explains how they 'tweaked' the previous version to improve weaknesses of the old version and how that in turn sometimes created other 'problems', etc, etc. Pretty quickly he's up to talking about how the legendary Fender Twin Reverb, Bassman, and the british products like Vox and Marshall work and what makes each have their own musical 'flavor'. Even if you don't plan to build or repair your amp I strongly recommend this DVD. I wouldn't try to watch the whole thing in one sitting.. he tries to keep it 'lively' but hey, we're talking electrical circuit designs and you're going to get bored and 'saturated' with info if you don't take a break every 30-40 minutes. If you've always wanted to know more about the guts of the magical old tube amps, this is a great primer!!

> Mr. Weber rambles constantly down every possible tangent and as a result often never actually gets around to explaining his basic point.> Extremely disorganized mess.Agreed. He obviously knows his stuff but not well organized and uses a ton of jargon. Sorry Mr. Webber.

I bought two of Gerald Weber's videos, and 4 books. Gerald isn't pretty to look at in the videos, but the books and videos are very helpful, though a lot of information is re-hashed from guitar magazine columns he wrote. Still, I learn something each time I watch or read them. Recommended for technically-minded folks, not for those with serious electronics/tube amp background or training.