Product Description

Electric guitar players can choose from a library full of guitar books, but comparatively little has been written about the other 50% of the electric guitar: the amplifier. This book takes a giant step toward redressing the balance, providing the first overall view of amp-dom, including: how amps work, profiles of the major manufacturers, 'transistor dinosaurs' and their place in amp history, reissues vs. vintage amps, and troubleshooting. Terms are defined in the margin as they are introduced, and plenty of photos and diagrams illuminate the text.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495166 in Books
• Published on: 1993-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

Customer Reviews

Hopelessly out of date
Not much point in buying this book unless you enjoy living in the past. Far too many musicians like to do that, in fact. There have been so many advances in amplifier technology in the past 13 years that this book can only interest those who collect vintage amps or are just looking for old sound. And there are better resources than this for that.

Besides, any amplification book that neglects brands like Peavey (!!!!), Carvin, Trace Elliot, Hughes&Kettner and Traynor (!!) among others is incomplete. Would you buy a book about the Japanes auto industry if it didn't discuss Honda and Subaru?

I say, keep looking dudes.

Not even one fourth of Rock 'N' Roll
Seemed to be more of a book for the author to get out his obsession with amplifiers and a photography hobby. Had some historical significance but missed great opportunities to explain basic electronic significance of different types of amplifiers, including diagrams from involved schematics to simple textbook layouts. Difficult to refer back to as the book lacks both an index and a glossary so the reader is forced to search all over for information. The book lacks a "how-to" guide for selecting an amplifier based on the reader's level of performance/learning, even using 1993 date of publication examples. I could care less about vinyl coverings and the glue to hold them or how different companies in the 1950s started as much as I would like to see explanations about reverb units, parallel and series signals, splitting signals, and how different effects, both pedal and rack type interact with different types of amplifiers. It would also be nice to see the plusses and minuses of different manufacturers' offerings. The book didn't explain a lot of the basics well, including bias.

Ever heard of Peavey
Very interesting book, but I've heard that there's a little company in Mississippi that has made a few amps. How can a book about guitar amplifiers leave out one of the largest producers in the industry?