Amplifying With Vacuum Tubes: Circuit Design Guide for the Novice Paperback – July 13, 2018

I have bought about 6 other tube books with some of them costing more than $70 and this is by far the best one yet. Most of the other books would jump right from being way too basic into confusing, complex equations. Here the author introduces the simple equations slowly and uses drawings of the tubes to show what each value represents. That way you don't have to have what ig, vg, rin, ia, ik, etc. represent memorized to understand what numbers are being worked with and what they mean to the amplifier. They also include multiple examples of the equations with different values to see how they changes in voltage and current will affect the function.If you are fluent in advanced calculus then you may not need this but for those with only a basic understanding/memory of algebra it is perfect.It takes real skill for someone that has a deep understanding of a complex subject to explain it to someone with little or no knowledge of it and here they do an excellent job. Nothing is too basic and things also don't get too complex too fast. This will be a handy reference book, to look back to, for years of amp building.

I've purchased several books on tubes over the years and I wish I'd have found this one first. I wanted a book to learn the basics of how tubes work; that's all (for now). By the 2nd page of this book the author already has a tube circuit with an input and an output through a plate resistor - bingo! I have a strong background in electronics and I know transistor amps fairly well so both of those help a lot; I wouldn't consider this a book for a beginner necessarily but I taught myself electronics decades ago from a few different books and if you want to understand how tubes work and how to build an amp with them and you are capable of taking apart a tube amp without killing yourself (the voltages in a tube amp are deadly) then I highly recommend spending some time with this book.

You need a basic electricity and electronics before you open a tube amp. This book is a very good primer for learning about how amps work. Love it!!!!!

This reads like somebody's class notes. The first page has a picture of a test rig with volt and amp meters, power supply, tube sockets, and jumpers to a bread board, but the text has no mention of it. The same box is shown throughout the book,but never is directly referenced to text or drawings. There is very little basic electronics theory, only practical circuit design, breadboarding and scoping injected signals. This would be a really good book if it had a few more pages of introduction. I'd recommend it to intermediate students.

Of the ones I've read on this topic, which are several, this one is good.

I haven't done any Tube amp design since the 1970s so I was beyond rusty. But this guide quickly brought me up to speed. It's basic but just right for a novice and a rusty old electron head like me.

Lays it all out in easy to understand examples. Quite easy to follow. And I want that tube breadboard box he uses!

The book has great explanations and examples but throughout the book he uses a nice home made power supply-breadboard but gives no reference on how it was made, much less instructions how to make one. For me that is and incomplete book.