The Ultimate Tone

This book 'The Ultimate Tone' is the first in a series of books explaining musical instrument vacuum tube amplifiers. At the time of this review, there are 6 books in the series, each focusing on different aspects of tube amplifiers. Tone of voice is one of the most powerful ways of expressing brand identity and earning customer loyalty and trust. Most of the time, if we like a person it has a lot to do with their tone of voice. How they speak to us, make us feel and generally treat us.

Description

The Ultimate Tone Vol. 4 – Advanced Techniques for Modern Guitar Amp Design

417 pages, 8-1/2″ x 11″, spiral bound with clear protective covers;
548 figures (schematic diagrams)

The Ultimate Tone Pdf

View the Table of Contents
Read a magazine review of the TUT series

Deciding which TUT volume to purchase first (next)? See our TUT Selection page.

Modern amplifier designers can draw from an ever-expanding range of technologies. When they design any new product, they have the choice to use tube, transistor, fet, integrated analog circuits or digital approaches, or any combination to achieve their desired goals for tone and cost. Smaller amp companies tend to experiment more with new ideas and new ways to get good tones compared to the Big Four: it is these small companies who set trends in design.

London Power’s products designed by Kevin O’Connor have set many design trends which others are following. TUT4 has hastened this process by outlining, in schematic form, many approaches that achieve the goal of Power Scaling. The kits offered by London Power demonstrate certain methods of Power Scaling, but this text gives a complete history and discourse on the technology, outlining how to implement multiple Power Scale controls, alternative circuit forms and the system impacts. Fully integrated systems are presented with full explanations of the choice of components and circuits, and of how to achieve seamless installations into existing equipment.

Further tutorials outline the methods for Super Scaling with both fixed and variable boost ratios, using both solid-state and tube methods. True Super Scalers as designed by the author and built by London Power afford large-amp loudness with small-amp tone. Other systems touted as being “transparent” or “scaling” are shown for what they truly are: tone distorters.

Power management in its greater context is explored, covering AC and DC current limiting, voltage restoration, voltage clamping, sag control systems both active and passive, and composite zener circuit applications – the latest trend in tube amp biasing. Mains noise abatement and line adjustment are also dealt with. In musical instruments amplifiers, power management is crucial to attaining great tone.

The Ultimate Tone By Kevin O'connor

Expansive ideas filling technological voids.

Guitar Tone Guide

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