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Can your amp take the heat—literally?

Dimed & Dangerous: The Joy and Heartbreak of DIY Amp Building

April 12, 2019

A tale of filter chokes, rectifiers, 60-cycle hum, and the perils of self-navigation.

Dimed & Dangerous: Listen Up—With Your Ears and Your Gut

March 1, 2019

Practice the art of assessing sound—and character.

Signal to Noise: Are Handwired Amps Superior to PCB-Based Designs?

February 8, 2019

Amps with printed circuit boards often get a bad rap, yet that’s not always justified.

Dimed & Dangerous: Amps, Pedals, and Pizza Delivery

January 18, 2019

The internet can lead to great discoveries, but so can delivering pizza on a dark and stormy night.

Signal to Noise: The Brown Sound

January 11, 2019

How did EVH achieve his signature tone?

Dimed & Dangerous: Preamp Tubes—Little Bottles, Big Sounds

December 21, 2018

Obey the law—Ohm’s Law, that is—and avoid tube burnout!

Signal to Noise: Demystifying the Tube Rectifier

December 16, 2018

Exactly how does this glowing bottle affect your tone?

Dimed & Dangerous: So Many Tubes, So Little Time

November 23, 2018

Thinking about a tube swap? Here are four factors to consider.

Signal to Noise: Glass Inside—Handle with Care?

November 15, 2018

Let’s debunk some myths about tube reliability.

Dimed & Dangerous: A Day in the Life

October 25, 2018

How our columnist lives the dream of being an amp designer.

Dimed & Dangerous: Solving Occupational Hazards

October 4, 2018

Lessons from the gigging guitarist’s handbook.

Dimed & Dangerous: How Bright Caps Shape Tone

August 31, 2018

Discover the sound-sculpting properties of bright caps and how to tame treble acoustically.

Signal to Noise: Slave to the Sound

August 15, 2018

Explore the reactive load box and the role it plays in reamplification.

Anatomy of an Amp Cab

July 13, 2018

C.J. Sutton

It may not be the sexiest part of your rig, but the speaker enclosure plays a crucial role in the signal chain. Here’s what’s going on inside.

Ask Amp Man: A Fond Farewell

June 4, 2018

Our beloved Amp Man signs off after 13 years of answering readers’ questions from under the hood.

Ask Amp Man: Adding Gain to a Tired Regal R-1160

May 11, 2018

Transforming a vintage pedal platform into a powerful player.

Ask Amp Man: Tone Tweaks for a Carvin Series III X

April 6, 2018

Bolstering an amp that boogied its way alongside the ’80s competition from Petaluma.

Ask Amp Man: Revisiting the Dawn of the Sundown Artist

March 20, 2018