Guitarist's Tech Workshop
Guitarist's Tech Workshop
Class Description
Performing a proper setup for your guitar can seem like a dark art requiring a copper chalice filled with incense. Reading a schematic of a tube amplifier can seem like you’re staring at ancient Sanskrit. Guitar and tube amp masters Kurt Bloch and Ben Verellen are here to help.
In this two-part workshop, Kurt and Ben will show you exactly how to get the best sound out of your gear.
In part-one Kurt will teach the basics of setting up your guitar – you’ll learn about:
- Truss rod adjustment
- Bridge and nut adjustment
- String gauge and playing style
- Guitar maintenance and upkeep
- Guitar electronics and pickups
Part-two is your primer on tube amplifiers. Kurt and Ben will explain how they work and show you how to keep them sounding great. You’ll learn:
- Tube biasing
- Block diagrams and understanding schematics
- Basic amplifier maintenance
- Capacitor, resistor, and transformer replacement
- Speaker repair and power-matching
Kurt Bloch is not only Gibson Guitar’s in-house guitar guru, he’s a legend in the Seattle music scene. He plays in The Fastbacks and Young Fresh Fellows and has a producer credits for his work with The Presidents of the United States of America and Tokyo Dragons. Ben Verellen started Verellen Amplifiers in 2000 and now has a full-time staff churning out hand made custom tube amplifiers for some of the most respected artists in rock and metal. He also fronts Helms Alee, a rock band based in Seattle.
Don’t get caught with crappy tone and blown out speaker – let these two masters show how to take care of your gear and get the best possible sound.
Lessons
- Basic Components of the Electric Guitar
- Problem Areas of Maintenance
- Proper Stringing Techniques
- Proper Standard Rock Setup
- Action and Tuning Adjustments
- Proper Drop Tuning Setup
- Electronic Maintenance
- Electricity Basics
- Reading a Schematic
- Using a Multimeter
- Power Matching Speakers and Amps
- Adjusting and Understanding Tube Bias
- Building Blocks of an Amplifier
- Preamplifier Circuit Design
- Power Amplifier Circuit Design
- The Phase Inverter
- The Power Supply
- Final Q&A
Reviews
Patrick Marc
This is a fantastic course. I was forever looking up Youtube videos on how to set up all of my guitars for different things, and opinion varies wildly on-line, so it's really great to have these videos detailing the entire process in clear and easy terms. The information on the amplifiers is intensely interesting too. Fantastic!
Andrew Synowiec
I bought this course for the amplifier section and skipped straight there. It's fantastic. Right at the perfect level for me, a newbie DIY-er with a few pedals, a kit amp and an Electronics 101 course under my belt. Well done! I'll update my review if I have time to watch the guitar section.