Table Of Content

Denton J. Dailey Electronics for Guitarists Third Edition Electronics for Guitarists Denton J. Dailey Electronics for Guitarists Third Edition DentonJ.Dailey ButlerCountyCommunityCollege Butler,PA,USA ISBN978-3-031-10757-3 ISBN978-3-031-10758-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10758-0 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSwitzerland AG2011,2013,2022 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors, and the editorsare safeto assume that the adviceand informationin this bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland This book is dedicated to my son, Wayne. Preface From an electrical engineering standpoint, the guitar is simply a signal source. Of course, the guitarist knows that it’s really so much more than that. The guitar is a conduittothesouloftheguitarplayer.Ontheotherhand,mostguitaristsknowthat the electronic circuits used to process and amplify this signal are more than just a collectionoftransistorsandtubes.Thesecircuitsandtheguitarsignalarerelatedin complex and fascinating ways. There are few areas of art and engineering that combinewithsuchdynamicsynergy. Ifyouknowabsolutelynothingaboutelectronics,startingintothisbookmightbe somewhatlikeshowingupforswimminglessonsandbeingthrownintothedeepend of the pool. You may panic and struggle to tread water at first, but in the end I’m certainyouwillcomeoutwithsomesignificantknowledge,andmaybeevenasweet tube amplifier or effects box you designed and built yourself—and actually under- standinghowitworks! If you already understand basic circuit analysis, and transistor/linear IC circuit analysis,thenthisbookmayservetogiveyousomeinsightintothebasicprinciples of various effects and signal processing circuits. If you understand electronics but haveneverstudiedvacuumtubecircuits,whichprobablyincludesmostofyouwho were born in the 1960s or later, I think you will find Chaps. 6 and 7 the most interesting. Ifyouarealreadyanoldproattubecircuitdesign/analysis/troubleshooting,then youmayfindmyapproachtotubecircuitdesigntobesomewhatunconventional.I learned tube theory a long time after I learned transistor theory, and I tend to approach tube circuit design and analysis in a way that is quite different from the typicaltubeeratextsthatyoumighthaveseen.I’mnotsayingthatmyapproachis betterorworse,justdifferent. vii Preface ix Who This Book Is Written For If you would like to know how transistor- and vacuum tube–based amplifiers and howvariouseffectscircuitswork,thenthisbookisforyou.Inmanyways,thisbook should be of interest to any musician or recording engineer interested in analog signal processing circuit operation. This book should also be useful to electronics hobbyists,technologists,andengineersinterestedingeneralaudiosignalprocessing andrelatedapplications. This is the book I wish I had when I was in high school—or even junior high school. Would I have understood everything covered here? No way! But there are plenty of basic circuits to experiment with, and qualitative descriptions of circuits and concepts that make some quite advanced material accessible to any curious, technicallyorientedperson. Analog Rules! As with previous editions, the main thrust of this book is old-school analog cir- cuitry—lots of coverage of discrete transistors and diodes, classical filter circuits, andofcoursevacuumtube–basedamplifiers.Ihaveaddedjustabitmoreintermsof digitalcircuitsthistimearound.Itwasdecidedthatgoingdeeplyintodigitalsignal processingandsoftware-relatedareaswouldjustmakethebooktoobig.Asbefore, wearestickingmainlytoanalogcircuits. About the Math Themainobstaclemostoftenassociatedwithunderstandingelectronicsismath.Itis notnecessarytounderstandthedifferentialequationsdescribingthedynamicsofthe guitar inorder tobecomea virtuoso. Infact, it isnotreally necessarytoknow any mathematicsatalltobeagreatguitarplayer.However,itisnecessarytounderstand some basic mathematical concepts to gain even an elementary understanding of electronics. At first glance you’ll see that there is a lot of math in this book. While in the strictestsensethisistrue(therearetonsofequationshere!),mostoftheequationsare simply analysis formulas that I present without derivation. If you have a basic understanding of algebra and trigonometry, you are in great shape to digest about 90%ofthemathpresented.Familiaritywithlogarithms,exponentials,andcomplex numbersisalsohelpful.Wheneverpossible,Ihavetriedtoexplaintheprinciplesand motivation behind the equations and circuit theory as clearly and succinctly as possible. A few unavoidable derivatives are used here and there, but no integrals wereharmedinthemakingofthisbook. x Preface Building the Circuits Mathisveryimportant—infactabsolutelyessential—ifyouwanttolearntodesign yourowncircuits.Butifyouonlywanttobuildandexperiment,youcanskipmost ofthemathandstilllearnalot.Allofthecircuitspresentedherehaveatleastbeen prototyped and are great starting points for further experimentation. With the exception of the vacuum tube–based circuits, all of the circuits presented operate atrelativelysafe,lowvoltages.Thebattery-poweredcircuitsareespeciallysuitable forbeginners. Most of the transistor- and op amp–based circuits in the book can be built for under$20.00.Often,themostexpensivepartsoftheeffectsbox–typeprojectswill be the case, or perhaps the switches. Should you decide to use an online printed circuitboardservicetoproduceyourownPCBs,youcanexpecttopayabout$50.00 andup,butthenit’seasytomakemultiplecopieswhichwouldmakenicegiftsfor yourfriendsandfamily,oragoodwaytostartanewbusiness. Vacuum Tubes Chancesaregoodthatoneofthemainreasonsyouarereadingthisbookistolearn something about vacuum tube amplifiers. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Unless you have studied electronics or it has been your hobby for a while, I recommend that you work through the chapters leading up to vacuum tube amplifiers. It’s a good idea to learn to build safe, low-voltage circuits before tackling a scratch-built tube amp. You also won’t feel too bad if you burn up a few 25-cent transistorsasyouclimbtheelectronicslearningcurve. Thereisnowayaroundthefactthatvacuumtubeamplifiersareveryexpensiveto build.Eventhesmallesttubeamplifierwillprobablycostabout$200.00tobuildif you order all new parts. A moderately powerful, scratch-built tube amplifier will probablycost$400.00ormore.Evenso,thereissomethingthatisverycoolabout seeingthewarmglowofthosetubesasyouplaythroughthisampthatyoubuiltfrom the ground up. You might also end up being the amp guru of your neighborhood someday,whichisnotabadthingeither. The Third Edition As with the second edition, I have made corrections, cleaned up some schematics, and clarified a few concepts and explanations. Based on valuable feedback from readers ofthepreviouseditions,Ihaveaddedanumberofnewcircuitsanddesign examples, including noise gates, analog multipliers, some basic digital signal processingconcepts,effectsloops,andadditionaltubeampdesignexamples. Preface xi Safety Any circuit that derives power from the 120 V AC line can be dangerous, and common-sense precautions should be taken to prevent shock hazards. This is especiallytrueofvacuum tubecircuitswhichusepowersuppliesofover500Vin some cases. These voltages can be lethal, and extra caution should be exercised if you decide to build any type of vacuum tube circuit. It is recommended that you consultwith aknowledgeable technician orhobbyist ifyouareinexperiencedwith high-voltagecircuitry. Disclaimer Theinformationandthecircuitsinthisbookareprovidedasiswithoutanyexpress or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of theinformationcontainedinthistext,theauthorassumesnoresponsibilityforerrors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Acknowledgments Asbefore,Iwouldliketothanknotedtubeampguru,andguitaristforthebandX, Billy Zoom for engaging in very helpful and informative discussions with me relating to this work. I would also like to thank Gearmanndude for posting an entertaining and informative review of the first edition on his channel http://www. youtube.com/user/gearmanndude. Contact Information Although my personal email is easy enough to find, I have created an official Facebookpagehttps://www.facebook.com/ElectronicsForGuitarists/whereIanswer questions, post occasional updates, new circuit designs, designs submitted by readers, and even the occasional demo of my amps and effects. Please feel free to checkitoutandsayhello. Butler,PA,USA DentonJ.Dailey Internet Links and Descriptions Used in Text Popularguitar-effectsreviewYouTubechannelwithgoodreviewofthefirstedition. http://www.youtube.com/user/gearmanndude FacebookpageforElectronicsforGuitarists https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicsForGuitarists/ Sourceforelectronicscomponents. www.jameco.com NSFGuitartechnologywebsite. www.guitarbuilding.org Supplierspecializinginguitar-relatedelectroniccomponents. www.smallbearelec.com Supplierspecializinginguitar-relatedelectroniccomponents. www.buildyourownclone.com Supplierspecializinginguitar-relatedelectroniccomponents. www.coolaudio.com Supplierspecializinginvacuumtubeandvintageaudiosupplies. www.tubesandmore.com Supplierspecializinginvacuumtubeandvintageaudiosupplies. www.tubedepot.com Supplieroftransformersforvacuumtubeapplications. www.hammondmfg.com Onlinerepositoryofvacuumtubedatasheets. http://frank.pocnet.net/ xiii