FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Electric Guitar Amplifiers

Question:
There is a vacuum tube based amplifier in a recent issue of popular electronics. I was wondering how it could be modified to be used as and electric guitar amp. I really don't know much about how and electric guitar works. I guess there is a small current, that is passed through the pickups, that is then amplified. I would also assume that it is a DC current. It would be helpful do know what kind of voltage is applied to the guitar. It would also be helpful to know if anyone has seen an article on How to build an electric guitar amp. In any event, any info would be appreciated.

Answer:
should have known that this would cause a lot of trouble. I started working on guitar amplifiers when they were all tubes. Then the tubes disappeared, and everyone raved about transistors. Then came a new generation who wanted tubes again, but everybody'd stopped making the damn things, hooray, so they became nostalgic. Musicians are artists, and those whom I fixed amplifiers for were tough to reason with from a technical standpoint. Most, in fact, admitted as much. It is true that the beloved auld Fenders distorted quite nicely. Their power and output transformers were undersized and thus had a tendency to saturate. This did, of course, add to the tone of the entire instrument, which is the idea. I think that much of the poor reputation of solid-state guitar amplifiers derives from their poor durability under the gross abuse inflicted by young experimenters. You can do darn near anything to a tube-type Fender.