The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 72: "You Look Older" Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Episode 72 of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where amp tech Skip Simmons reminisces about cheap regional beers, smooth trailin' and Brazilian cocktails. As always, he also fields your questions on all-things-tube-amp. So keep the questions coming...

This week's episode is sponsored by Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

2:46 Sam Plecker from Pulga 4:51 Skip's music recommendations: Jim Hall & Paul Desmond; Chuck Wayne; Kenny Burrell; Luiz Bonfa; Phil Baugh; Pat Martino 8:24 Skip's Red Foley Guitar, a Vox book giveaway 16:06 Analog Outfitters, redux 17:11 Funky tremolo on a 6SL7 Ampeg Rocket 23:44 Vingtor amps, Part Fire (that's "four" in Norweigan); East German PAs 27:45 What does the cathode follower do? 31:20 Magnatone 480 reverb fix , NPN transistors (thanks Chris at guitaramptech.com.au) 34:40 Premier 100R; Vega and Ampex amps 37:12 RIP Ned Beatty, Fat (not Short) Monroe 37:38 The magic of Kalamazoo Model 2's, Fender-style inputs 41:37 A 1970 Traynor YGM-3 with howling reverb 47:01 Why the plus in B+ voltages 50:35 Recommended reading: Allen Furst's Night Soldiers 51:50 Skip needs an horologist 53:20 WD-40, again; moisture on a Mesa Boogie PCB board 1:00:39 The Oroville McDonalds 1:03:11 A Yamaha EM-100 mixer (free), a Remington Model Five, California Typewriter 1:07:08 An in-person taping of TAVA? Jason heads to California; the Crumb Brothers from Reno 1:10:21 Booze talk: Leblon Cachaca from Brazil; caipirinhas 1:13:17 Recommended replacements for Astron caps; Mallory 150s; regional cheap beers 1:17:23 Josh Yenne's extended family?

Co-hosted by the Fretboard Journal's Jason Verlinde.

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron (yes, Skip does get the money) and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848. And don't forget to share the show with friends.

Ep. 71: "I Analyze My Spectrum" Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

It's the 71st installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps, featuring noisy Fenders (and a Vingtor!), clip-on fans, more candy cigarette talk and other surprises. As always, tech Skip Simmons is here for you, fielding your questions on all-things-tube-amp.

This week's episode is sponsored by Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

1:26 Jury duty 7:14 Cool tools: Using a rifle brush to clean a 1/4" input jack (thanks Acmeverb.com!); feeler gauges; Jay Knox's film roll hack; Pinnochio 14:50 Skip is an idiot; a sleeper '60s Gibson amp 19:44 Mr. Valco 22:44 Ned Boynton; variable intensity vibrato on a Magnatone 24:54 A 1967 Fender Princeton Reverb with fading volume 32:51 A 1972 Fender Deluxe Reverb versus a Silvertone Twin Twelve in a band setting; the Clientele's 'Suburban Light'; Ilegal tequila mezcal 40:12 Chewing matches 42:27 A damp and noisy Norwegian Vingtor amp 48:45 Instapot talk; ground switch redux; using a Variac to break-in speakers; Bob Newhart; Nelson Riddle; sweet potato fries 58:35 Grant Willis (valveheaven.com); using halogen lamp isolating transformers as output transformers 1:01:15 Restoring a free vintage Precision ES-550 oscilloscope 1:07:58 Multiple output taps and negative feedback loops on a Fender clone build 1:11:49 Fender Super Twin opinions 1:17:38 A hot transformer on a boutique tube amp in (Analog Outfitters The Road) 1:20:58 Allen Encore amps 1:23:22 A Magnatone M-12 with one channel that doesn't work

Co-hosted by the Fretboard Journal's Jason Verlinde.

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848. And don't forget to share the show with friends.

Ep. 70: "Everything Matters and Nothing Matters" May 20, 2021

Show notes

On this very special TAVA episode, Skip and Jason welcome audiophile guru Michael Fremer (Analog Planet, Stereophile) for a lively talk about modern day hi-fi, tube vs. solid state stereo systems, vinyl's comeback, affordable stereo gear and more! We also field a few questions that actually involve guitar amps, talk tomato paste, Bathyspheres and more. Don't worry amp purists, we'll get back to all of your gear questions on Ep. 71. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy!

As always, we're also sponsored by Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

5:04 7199 to 6GH8 tube adapters from Amplified Parts

14:34 Customer Tom picks up a Fender Bassman with a 1949 Beechcraft Bonanza

20:08 Herbie Mann and Duane Allman

20:44 Deluxe's 200th El Pato-Tone practice amp (farewell video here)

21:40 Special Guest: Audiophile writer Michael Fremer (analogplanet.com!): Michael's lefty Strat; Max's Kansas City; tube vs. solid state audiophile gear; vintage Saabs, CDs vs. vinyl; Elac speakers; AR turntables; Schiit SOL turntable; U-Turn phono pre-amp; A/C cords; double-blind tests; Quincy Jones vs. Michael Jackson; the size of the audiophile industry; recommended records (Herbie Hancock's 'My Point of View', Duke Ellington's 'Masterpieces', 'Plastic Ono Band'); cocaine; reel-to-reel players!

1:21:24 Skip's book pick: 'Descent: The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss,' by Brad Matsen

1:26:27 Aftermarket transformer picks in a post-ClassicTone world

1:33:14 How to test a bunch of tubes, easily; old tubes in new amps

1:38:03 Using a loop pedal to voice amps

1:39:30 When Fender eyelet boards go bad

1:44:31 A Magnatone 480 baffler

1:47:07 "Medical grade" 12AX7s?

1:52:13 Amp packing 101

Ep. 69: "Candy Cigarettes" May 07, 2021

Show notes

The 69th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Once again, amp tech Skip Simmons is fielding your questions on all-things-tube-amp.

Use the discount code TRUTHV150FF to save $15 off Caddis readers.

As always, we're also sponsored by Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

3:09 Skip gets his Caddis readers

5:52 Skip's $260 Ampeg Reverberocket 2; vintage mono hi-fi speakers

11:53 Skip's Champ mod, redux; radial caps instead of axial caps

16:37 A Gibson GA-5 reissue with extra stuff between the coupling capacitor and the second stage of the 12AX7

22:32 Wandering Boy Guitars (link)

29:00 Why velcro on the speaker grill cloth? John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series

35:07 Jason's new podcast: Sweep the Floor (link)

35:42 Presence control versus top cut control

42:10 The Gibson Hawk's one-tube reverb circuit

46:29 Mismatching speaker impedance on a 1959 Gibsonette GA-8; Roald Dahl's 'Kiss Kiss'

51:37 Maximum efficiency speaker mismatching with a Supro 1610RT and a Dr. Z Maz 38 S; washing white rice

55:58 Music recommendations: Blackalicious' "Feel That Way;" Steve Wonder's 'Talking Book,' Sam Plecker's "Mr. Gray Cloud"

1:00:50 Using keyboards and synths with vintage tube amps

1:05:00 All-Clad's factory second website (homeandcooksales.com)

1:05:42 What to do with 100v line output transformers in old PA amps

1:09:49 Filter cap values in relation to power transformers; Arnica gel

1:15:44 The three pillars of BBQ sauce; basquecompany.com

1:19:25 Bulging caps in a Bogen DB-130 amplifier; La Costena Salsa Taquera

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848. And don't forget to share the show with friends.

Ep. 68: "All Will Be Revealed" Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

The 68th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps with special guest Jef Brown!

Use the discount code TRUTHV150FF to save $15 off Caddis readers between now and April 30, 2021.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

7:30 The details you should never annoy your amp tech with

12:23 El Pato references, explained; the El Pato-Tone practice amp (almost sold out); Knorr bullion cubes

19:19 A reissue Fender Twin Reverb with an irritating noise floor and vibrato

23:42 What to do with old 2 ohm Rola speakers; funky capacitors from a vintage Yamaha organ

30:96 Special guest: Jef Brown (Leighton Amplifiers; Southside Guitars) with more amp hacks and troubleshooting knowledge: The 3.3 meg resistor mod to 5E3s (revisited); Southside Guitars; Gibson KEA amp hacks; chokes in a power supply; a Super Reverb soaked in WD-40; new parts gone bad; a buzzy Princeton Reverb; a Fender Tone Master with misplaced grid stop resistors; a Marshall Plexi with a bad LCR filter cap; lead dress; filter caps on a clone Princeton; when to move on from a new speaker; using Fela Kuti/Burning Spear to break in a new speaker; the proper way to wire a three-prong cord to an amp with a fuse.

Technical Note: Around 28:00, Jason's good mic somehow stopped working. Thankfully, this episode becomes the Jef and Skip show shortly thereafter so it won't affect you too much.

There's a lot of deep knowledge in this episode; dig in!

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

Bonus: Mini Wall of Sound Builder Anthony Coscia Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

TAVA Discounts: Use the discount code THETRUTH10 to save 10% off your order from Amplified Parts between now and April 15, 2021.

Use the discount code TRUTHV150FF to save $15 off Caddis readers between now and April 30, 2021.

The Truth About Vintage Amps' Skip Simmons and Jason Verlinde talk to Anthony Coscia, who just completed one of the wildest passion projects ever: a working, 1/6 scale model of the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound, the audiophile-grade PA system the band employed during their concerts in 1974. Coscia, a deadhead who makes speaker cabinets and guitars as Coscia Guitars (Facebook link) ended up spending over 200 hours building cabinets, individually soldering and installing 390 tiny speakers (some meant merely for cell phones), and even creating a lighting rig for this miniature PA. He posted the updates to followers on his "Petite Mur De Son - Mini Wall of Sound" Facebook page (link). Upon completion, Coscia donated it to non-profit HeadCount, where someone contributed $100,000 to be the next Mini Wall's owner. With momentum and a recent Wall Street Journal front page article (link) celebrating his accomplishment under his belt, Coscia is already plotting his next, even bigger Wall. It's the real life tale of one of best pandemic projects we've heard of.

Apropos of nothing, Skip and Jason also go over the Geloso G-18R discussed on Ep. 67 of TAVA.

We hope you enjoy this joint Truth About Vintage Amps / Fretboard Journal Podcast bonus episode.

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Have a topic for a future episode? Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

Visit fretboardjournal.com for more photos and a partial transcription of this episode.

Special thanks to our sponsors: Grez Guitars, Amplified Parts, Caddis, Folkway Music, Retrofret Vintage Guitars, and Mono Cases.

Ep. 67: "Space Food Sticks" Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

The 67th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps!

TAVA Discounts: Use the discount code THETRUTH10 to save 10% off your order from Amplified Parts between now and April 15, 2021.

Use the discount code TRUTHV150FF to save $15 off Caddis readers between now and April 30, 2021.

Highlights: Capacitor talk (leaking and otherwise), fancy square dance rigs, more reverb taming and a special guest from the craft beer industry!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:29 Colleen Fazio's YouTube channel (YouTube link; listen to Colleen on TAVA 44)

:40 Recommended amp tech in Seattle: Jesse at Acmeverb.com

3:07 This week's sponsors: Grez Guitars, Amplified Parts, Caddis

6:12 Taming the reverb in a combo amp with a tone circuit, redux

10:39 The '68 Custom Line from Fender

16:14 Vintage capacitors in Fenders: Myths and realities

20:26 What to do with leaky caps that sound great?

25:24 Replacing electrolytic capacitors with exact value matches or close enough? Plus: Eric Johnson's pilot lamp hack returns!

31:08 Skip's "George Thorogood" story

35:05 Skip finds a Red Foley cowboy / stencil guitar

36:55 Can too much boost hurt your amp?

39:39 Special guest: Marty from the Oregon Coast (Martin Bills, Director of Brewing Operations, Pelican Brewing!): Everybody's Brewing, the Mini Wall of Sound, the actual Wall of Sound, McIntosh Amps, Jerry Garcia's onboard buffered effects loop (Wolf Guitar), Deluxe Reverbs with 6L6s, gumbo explorations

1:13:00 Ampeg B-15/B-12 reliability, blackened cabbage

1:18:43 Putting a 6SL7 tube in a Gibson BR-9

1:22:35 Taming the "Traynor tang" on a YGM-3

1:26:04 The two-amps-in-one Hilton HP-95

1:28:56 Turning a low-watt amp into a harp amp, Kalamazoo Model 1s

1:31:48 What's going on with the Geloso G-18R; 6N7 tubes (Note: We'll walk through this schematic on our next episode)

1:35:16 Test equipment for grabs: a Ballantine volt meter; a Hickok 532 tube tester

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Have a topic for a future episode or a beer question for Marty? Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

Ep. 66: "The Doves and the Turkeys" Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

TAVA Discount: Use the discount code THETRUTH10 to save 10% off your order from Amplified Parts between now and April 15, 2021.

Skip takes a fall, but still manages to help you troubleshoot your tube amps. Plus: Our long-awaited Deluxe schematic primer, recommended short stories, obsolete bass lures and more. 1:33 Skip and the haystack 5:30 This week's sponsors: Grez Guitars, Amplified Parts (Watch Josh Yenne demo a Grez Mendocino here.) 9:57 Jason's new podcast on makers and creators: Sweep the Floor (Apple Podcasts link); plus: The Truth About Recording & Mixing podcast (Apple Podcasts link) 12:35 The new issue of the Fretboard Journal (link) 16:54 A 1965 Ampeg G-12 with screeching reverb; a Silvertone 1484 with a rusty transformer, eddy currents 26:59 Is it worth restoring a Tweed Tremolux that works but has all-new caps and resistors? 34:34 The Johnson Silver Minnow 36:12 Putting Bozak audiophile speakers in a guitar amp, making a hi-fi into a guitar amp 43:06 Taming a Bogen PA head-turned-5C3-Deluxe style amp 47:33 Is canned salsa the circuit board amp equivalent of Mexican food?, Diana Kennedy 53:06 Two nearly-identical 1960 5G9 Fender Tremolux amps... one sounds way better. Why? 1:01:13 Potential guest: Roy Rogers 1:02:39 What to do with asbestos in your amp? 1:05:50 Goldentone amps, redux, and a music recommendation (Eddy Current Suppression Ring's "That's Inside of Me" Spotify link); get Mat Fitzwilliam's Goldentone amp book here 1:08:27 Taming a Fender Blues Deluxe reverb with a reverb volume control box 1:13:05 Baxandall tone stacks in a 1972 Traynor YGM-3 1:18:26 Skip's Deluxe schematic walk-through, part one (Robrobinette.com has the 5C3, 5E3, etc. schematics you may need here) 1:31:52 Skip's literary pick: Tim Gautreaux's 'Same Place, Same Things'

Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Have a topic for a future episode? Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

Ep. 65: "Aim High" Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

Bribed with cans of El Pato, guitarist Nels Cline joins Jason and Skip on this week's Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast for a transparent talk about amplifiers and hot sauce.

Plus... listener questions, PA conversions, upcycling all those holiday spices, animal husbandry and more. Some of the topics discussed on this week's episode: 0:12 Special guest, Nels Cline! Amplifiers (Webster-Chicago, Milkman, Studious, ZT Lunchbox), hot sauce (Mellow Habanero from heatonist.com), and music (Wilco, resonator sextets, Oregon, Ralph Towner, Weather Report, Ohmme, and more) 45:01 Today's sponsors: Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars 46:07 Poll: Skip walks you through Tweed Deluxe and Brown Deluxe differences OR Fender Princeton iterations 47:59 Schematic Heaven (link) 49:49 The answer to last week's Where's the Fender Death Cap? baffler 51:10 Fine tuning the reverb on a Gibson-made Maestro Reverb Echo 57:58 Marriage advice 1:02:53 What to do with a 100-watt Lafayette PA with the expander circuit? Make a Sorrel cocktail with old holiday spices (link) 1:09:21 How to determine when capacitors need to be replaced 1:15:06 Fixing a Gibson EH-150, in pieces, with a bad field coil speaker; putting a field coil speaker in a non-field coil amp 1:22:02: Is a Gibson EH-150 Class A Push-Pull? What is Class A? 1:24:34 The Country Side of Harmonica Sam (YouTube link) 1:25:52 Streaming radio stations on the internet 1:27:15 Why do so many amps in the Jack Darr book have the volume in the front of the first stage? Support the show as a TAVA Patreon patron and get bonus episodes, in-depth articles on amp circuitry and other surprises.

Have a topic for a future episode? Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

Ep. 64: "Little Tiny Kites" Feb 27, 2021

Show notes

Once again, guitar amp tech Skip Simmons is fielding your questions on all things tube amp.

This week's sponsors: iZotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your order), Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed on this week's episode: 1:36 What's on Skip's Bench: A Magnatone / Estey T-32 amp; Digs of Marysville, Calif. 7:51 The TAVA Patreon page (link) 11:04 The TAVA Index Page: See nearly every topic we've ever discussed (link) 15:28 Tolex tips 20:52 Gibson EH-150 vs. EH-185, Larry Chung, trebuchet hobbies 26:01 Changing the tone of a reverb tank on dual-channel Fenders, speaker-driven reverb 30:54 Going two-prong on a 1963 Fender 6G15 reverb tank, re-installing carbon-comp resistors 35:21 Baffler! Why don't reverb units have a death cap? 38:04 Making reverb less bright with a volume pedal hack 40:45 A DeArmond's volume controlled via a pedal 42:30 Skip's cocktail sauce, Jason's kale (h/t Frank Prisinzano on Instagram) 46:37 Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary 49:29 What to do with an Epiphone Futura and speaker reconing, Ted Weber recone parts (link) 56:03 Removing extraneous parts in a PA conversion, making an Ampeg B-15 clone 1:00:00 Sticking an amp in an old Conn StroboTuner, power cords, amprepairparts.com (link) 1:05:41 The tone of a 1959 Bassman, without the Bassman

Have a topic for a future episode? Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

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