This is where things get really nifty.Ī fourth component called a grid comes between the plate and the cathode. So far, we haven’t talked about how the vacuum tube amplifies the signal from your guitar pickup. It collects the electrons emitted by the cathode at the center and also picks up the signal from your guitar pickup. It works by attracting the negatively charged electrons towards itself inside the vacuum tube, which makes it the anode. The filament will be located next to the cathode in the center to facilitate this alternatively, the element itself will be the cathode and coated with special material to provide the flow of electrons.Ī plate with a high positive charge surrounds everything else inside the vacuum tube. ![]() The cathode needs to be heated so that electrons can flow freely. The second condition necessary to ensure the flow of electrons is heating. With the right control, this flow can be used to manipulate a signal. This difference in charge attracts a high flow of electrons because unlike charges tends to attract. One of these “right conditions” is the presence of another plate with a much stronger positive charge (the anode). These electrons pass through the vacuum to a second plate with an even stronger positive charge. It is an element with a slight positive charge located at the center of the tube, and which emits a stream of electrons (negative charge) in the right conditions. The most basic design of a vacuum tube mainly consists of fourĪ cathode is a positively charged pole. The added parts in this image are metal grills used to control the flow of electrons and reduce capacitance, thus improving the performance of the tube immensely. We will have a look at what each of these parts does in the assembly. Here is a simplified diagram showing the internal components of a vacuum tube:Īnd here is a more detailed image of a vacuum tube showing the internal components. They consist of a cathode (electron emitter), anode, grid (with the input signal), as well as a few more components depending on the desired purpose. The basic design of a vacuum tube hasn’t changed in over a century. Some of the components you will find inside the tube include a cathode, heating element, grid, and plate. The whole purpose of a vacuum tube is to control the flow of electrons. ![]() They work because electrons can travel through space in a vacuum, while they cannot do that easily through non-conductive air (it does happen when high voltage lines cause arcing). What is a Vacuum Tube?Ī vacuum tube is an electrical component made of a tube with the air sucked out and fitted with various electrical components inside. When it comes to amplifying signals, inverting their polarity, or splitting and mixing signals, vacuum tubes (also called valves) perform outstandingly well and add a unique personality to the result. Tube amps work because vacuum tubes have excellent audio characteristics. With that, let’s start with an overview of vacuum tube technology. ![]() In other words, don’t touch anything inside your tube amplifier if you don’t know what you’re doing. Some of their internal components operate on several hundred volts (450 or more) and contain some seriously lethal capacitors. Tube amps come from way back when everything was trying to kill you. “How do tube amps work?” This lesson will take you back to the fundamentals of vacuum tube technology, the components and assembly of tube amplifiers, and everything else you need to know to make even better use of them.īefore we start poking around at the parts of a tube amplifier, we must sound a warning. Amps with vacuum tubes simply sound too good to be replaced by anything else as yet. Learn more about our process hereĮven though vacuum tubes are technology from the 30s and 40s, the best guitar amps today still use vacuum tubes despite the availability of more modern technology. We may earn a commission through products purchased using links on this page.
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