Any Kevin O'Conner books on PDF??

Tube or solid-state, this section goes to eleven!
User avatar
freq67
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 211
Joined: 22 Apr 2010, 14:13
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by freq67 »

Haven't seen any.

User avatar
okgb
Diode Debunker
Information
Posts: 768
Joined: 16 Mar 2010, 03:58
Has thanked: 226 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Post by okgb »

Unless someone scans them , it seems not . there's at least one other thread about this, but
I'm not inclined to pay his price for a book [ no new knowledge ? ]

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

I have all of those books except the last one on powerscaling.

I have been an electronics engineer for nearly 30 years now, but I have never come across better books on contemporary circuit design and application, even in semiconductors.

The books are expensive, but if you get TUT 2 (the book it started with), and maybe TUT (1) on power supplies, you are very well off.

I enjoy those books and used to have a very good contact with the author, however at some point I must have said something wrong and he grew downright insulting. To the day it is not quite clear, what that was.

The author describes how basically anything can be done in the signal domain (preamp), yet continues with another series of expensive tomes on modding of power amps to achieve the same tones. I have pointed out that he was self-contradicting and ambiguous on that and maybe that was what he did not want to hear, but this is only assumption. I was pretty concerned about the whole thing and was trying to resolve that, but it seems I failed. Despite my approaches, I never received the truth on that.

Basically the series of books describes, how you hot rod your tube amp into a fancy overdrive machine.

I employed some of those ideas and modified a tube amp, but, besides its stock operation, you are limited to just so many sounds. I was not overwhelmed with many of them overdrive sounds.

As a result, I use the knowlegde I have gained and, these days, if I get an amp to repair, I rather resotre it to its initial beauty and simplicity. All other things can happen outside at a much easier scale (stomp boxes, digital effects processores, Kemper type amps...).

There will be a small niche of people that enjoy their hot rodded sound, and just that, so this is the right way for them. For me, versatility is the way, and with all those bells and whistles, you rather reduce versatility IMHO. The books also describes many of the design flaws that have come about due to marketing reasons or just plain penny pinching and how to overcome them. They also describe how to avoid to fall for marketing arguments by contemporary tube sellers.

I suggest you get TUT2, which is not too expensive, and outperforms any of the tube amp books on the market. With this knowledge you are able to restore your amp faithfully to its original condition. He approaches his subjects (amps, speakers, musical instruments) on an engineering basis rather than a sales basis. However, towards the end, I get the impression, he gets entangled in his own sales trip web, both books and kits.

have fun,

-helmut

User avatar
snofla1900
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 129
Joined: 23 Sep 2012, 13:33
Has thanked: 83 times
Been thanked: 7 times

Post by snofla1900 »

I have a few of his books , they aren't bad but he describes too many ways how not to make an amp sound right before he gets to the point .

Also they are overpriced in my opinion. Merlin Blencowe's books are much better and worth their price imho.

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

snofla1900 wrote: Merlin Blencowe's books
Well, maybe I was too big mouthed in saying "I have them all". I certainly don´t know that gentlemen´s books. Will look into them. Thanks.

-helmut

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

Man am I naive? Those books sprout like mushrooms.
aquataur wrote:---and outperforms any of the tube amp books on the market.
This was true at least at the time I purchased it.

However, Merlin´s books get quite good reviews too. snofla1900, you know both of them, you think Merlins books are better?

-helmut.

User avatar
snofla1900
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 129
Joined: 23 Sep 2012, 13:33
Has thanked: 83 times
Been thanked: 7 times

Post by snofla1900 »

However, Merlin´s books get quite good reviews too. snofla1900, you know both of them, you think Merlins books are better?
I only have Merlin's first book on preamps but it's the best book I've ever read on the subject ! Highly recommended. I still have to buy the poweramp book.

I built Kevin's "ultimate preamp" but was rather disappointed with it. His "best fx loop" is very good however.
And Kevin doesn't like to be contradicted that's my opinion too.

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

The tube amp I built (starting from a Twin Reverb) sounds technically ok, but I never got this one sounding so good to my ears that I would discard any mosfet amp I have.

I think, with those people who spend their whole days concentrating on nothing but this subject for years and years, so many things go without saying, so that when you read their books it is assumed you know all of those delicate details that make or break a good sound.

Since those details are never known to everybody, sometimes you wonder why an amp does not sound that great and what all the fuzz (pun intended) is about.

I don´t think those people in the teaching field do deliberately hold back with such information, but maybe some things cannot be conveyed easily.

For a plain customer, there is not much left than to scan the internet and pick up random bits of doubtful wisdom, such as when you look for a good sounding tube.

"Good Sounding" is subjective as well.

I finally built a mosfet amp, using the complex fx-loop circuitry outlined and make all of my tone outside. The time and the investment was not in vain.

-helmut

User avatar
MoonWatcher
Diode Debunker
Information
Posts: 715
Joined: 28 Jul 2008, 12:27
Has thanked: 40 times
Been thanked: 52 times

Post by MoonWatcher »

aquataur wrote:I think, with those people who spend their whole days concentrating on nothing but this subject for years and years, so many things go without saying, so that when you read their books it is assumed you know all of those delicate details that make or break a good sound.

Since those details are never known to everybody, sometimes you wonder why an amp does not sound that great and what all the fuzz (pun intended) is about.
I can relate to this. I've read all the Aiken pages and all of that stuff, multiple times.

I've also gotten bits and pieces of info that Ken Fischer said on the record, over the years. He had a very non-academic way of conveying things. I also am not so sure I agree with his ideas on the need for an aluminum chassis, for example. Needless to say, the first 7 or 8 Trainwreck-derived things that I built sounded terrible - absolutely so. I realized that I had to take more the essence of how Fischer viewed and ultimately implemented things, and just deviate from there. His amps were so stripped down and basic anyway.

The amps that I built that finally sounded good have an unbelievably small amount in common with any of Fischer's implementations. Again, part of that is subjective taste. But at the same time some things simply sound bad. I've had enough good sounding amps (that I didn't build) to realize when something sounds good, and when it sounds absolutely fantastic. The problem is that the best ones are more than the sum of their parts, typically with tolerances and variations that are all over the place. The "magic parts" are never in one place or clearly broadcasting that they are the responsible elements.

Oftentimes, even with the best and most scholarly of teachers, the most we can hope for is a good breadcrumb trail. And unless we are comfortable just being a protege or disciple, that's probably good.

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

MoonWatcher wrote: The problem is that the best ones are more than the sum of their parts, typically with tolerances and variations that are all over the place. The "magic parts" are never in one place or clearly broadcasting that they are the responsible elements.
To come to the rescue of their honour, those guys probably never claimed so.
7+ builds...I did not have as long a breath as you had :D
MoonWatcher wrote:Oftentimes, even with the best and most scholarly of teachers, the most we can hope for is a good breadcrumb trail. And unless we are comfortable just being a protege or disciple, that's probably good.
My words. I started to follow this path, my path, even with playing music. There already was a Hendrix out there, and his soul had reasons to go, so no more Hendrixes needed :thumbsup

-helmut

User avatar
drbob1
Cap Cooler
Information
Posts: 452
Joined: 21 Dec 2010, 20:30
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 40 times

Post by drbob1 »

I've read parts of the first book. I've also got a LP Studio amp (fairly simple NMV implementation with power scaling, triode/pentode,output impedance switching, fixed/cathode bias, individual bias for power tubes and a knob that goes from single ended to push-pull continuously!). It's a good sounding little amp and pretty flexible, but not better than a decent 5E3 really.

And I got into the middle of the Kevin O'Conner vs Dave Zimmerman (Maven Peal) arguments for a while, that was a drag. BTW, if someone wants to make a little money, just sign on as the repairman for all the MP amplifiers out there, when they break now no one wants to fix them and Dave's widow wants more than anyone wants to pay for the schematics and the name...

User avatar
okgb
Diode Debunker
Information
Posts: 768
Joined: 16 Mar 2010, 03:58
Has thanked: 226 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Post by okgb »

Hey , this sounds interesting " single ended to push-pull continuously " I'll search it now
but can you post or point me in a direction to look for it [ without buying kev's book ]
tia

o.k. here's the first thing i found , suppose I should start a new thread in the amps section
http://www.ampbooks.com/home/amp-techno ... t-7173488/
a boogie debate , really

Kev's book's still seem pricey to me , now having heard more opinions here , sometimes
I think it's right to support people's work , hmmm I'll think about it

User avatar
aquataur
Solder Soldier
Information
Posts: 161
Joined: 21 Mar 2010, 17:41
Location: Innsbruck, Austria
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 27 times
Contact:

Post by aquataur »

I have encountered such "gurus" in all sorts of technical fields. Once a person has built up a certain status they are prone to arrogance and overestimation of their own capabilities, or rather, underestimation of somebody else´s capabilities.

I agree, people need support as far as acknowledging their effort (by paying for their work).
However, if I were in the place of starting with a book, Iwould certainly look into Merlin´s books too.
His books look promising, I have read this in other places too.

-helmut.

User avatar
tip142
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 109
Joined: 08 Nov 2009, 00:32
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Post by tip142 »

I buy the Merlin B." Designing tube preamps for guitar and bass" ,i'll conferm that is a great book;believe me.
:thumbsup

User avatar
chicago_mike
Tube Twister
Information
Posts: 1754
Joined: 03 Jul 2008, 04:38
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 316 times

Post by chicago_mike »

Dan Torres' book is very good. I wish I still had my copy. Lost it with my Oconnor books. I only had tones of tone and vol. 3 of his tone books.

Kevins' books are indeed good material. Nothing that you really can't get out in the wild here..BUT...he does break things down very well.

The torres book, gave me some insight I hadn't thought of and some circuit snippets to try in a couple amps that worked out great.
Skyline FX 2013

User avatar
pamaz
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 71
Joined: 14 Jan 2008, 19:55
Location: Italy
Has thanked: 32 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by pamaz »

I own all of the TUT books and the 2 written by Merlin Blencowe.
And it's all you need among the amp books.
Blencowe's are really well written.
O'Connor' s at times are too biased along the vison of the writer, but in any case , the most important and valuable books on guitar amps ever written. Money well spent IMHO.
All of the other books (weber, torres, hunter) i've read on this topic are not even comparable to the above ones.

edit: what happens with all of the other books, is that they are addressed in a too practical way. I mean, they explain how to solve a specific problem, but they give you no background on the solution adopted and on "why and how" to perform such solutions. O connor and Blencowe, on the other side, are giving you both theory, maths and practical implementation of what's proposed.

User avatar
tip142
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 109
Joined: 08 Nov 2009, 00:32
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Post by tip142 »

Sometimes is good to use a Scanner.......
And then share ,share, share.....
Is this impossible?
:thumbsup
:horsey:

User avatar
tip142
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 109
Joined: 08 Nov 2009, 00:32
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Post by tip142 »

Share,share, sharing..........
:thumbsup

User avatar
okgb
Diode Debunker
Information
Posts: 768
Joined: 16 Mar 2010, 03:58
Has thanked: 226 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Post by okgb »

let's see , if enough people chipped in .25 a page would that do it ?

or selected gems of enlightenment ...........

User avatar
pamaz
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 71
Joined: 14 Jan 2008, 19:55
Location: Italy
Has thanked: 32 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by pamaz »

yes, sharing is good . Once you own what you are sharing or it's something that is supposed to be shared freely.
I spent a bunch of money for the books , and I need to spend some more money to have the pdf done.
Furthermore I'm stealing an intellectual property to someone that is basing his own living on that books.
Please give me some good reason to share that are not going against what I've written here above, and I will do it immediately. No jokes.

Post Reply