The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

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**The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons**

Twice a month, guitar amp guru Skip Simmons fields your questions on vintage tube amp repair, restoration and collecting. Often hilarious and always insightful, it’s like no other guitar podcast out there.

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 53: "Kids Love It" Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

1:11 A new TAVA Baffler 4:41 An Angela Super Single Ended amp group build? 10:28 Mrs. Simmons' favorite amp? 13:16 Identifying the work of Fender's Lily, Lupe, Eileen, etc. 14:43 Strategies when you discover an amp with few original parts 19:50 Saving amps with fire/smoke damage 26:07 Driving larger power tubes 101 29:14 That tube amp fizz / hiss 34:25 Why smacking the top of your amp sometimes fixes it, microphonic tubes 39:22 Vintage Guild amplifiers and homemade taco seasoning 49:18 Why did 1955 tweed Deluxe shock me? 54:27 Sticking new caps inside of an old capacitor 57:59 New USA-made tubes, revisited 1:04:27 Cleaning the lead wires on old parts 1:07:07 Numb mouth after eating El Pato 1:07:50 Adding the tone control of a Magnatone 213 to a Magnatone M2 Custom 1:10:39 Selenium rectifiers going bad 1:13:49 Al Di Miola, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia 'Friday Night in San Francisco 1980' 1:14:14 Sleeper amps that need a boost or overdrive pedal to shine, Harmony H415 1:16:58 Zep Smoke Odor Eliminator Pro 1:18:22 Using a 6 volt rectifier in place of a 5 volt 1:24:06 Converting the power tube bias modulating tremolo on a Princeton to the pre-amp tube bias modulation of a Vibro Champ; recommended dining: Shan Dong in Oakland, Calif.

Have a question or 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.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts (who happen to have Jack Darr's 'Electric Guitar Amplifier Handbook' in-stock now), with special audio help from Izotope. Use the discount code RUIN10 to save 10% off your Izotope order.

Ep. 52: "Dogs Riding Bicycles" Sep 19, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar amp questions from around the world, except this time we're joined by special guest, Jef Brown!

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

8:54 'Practical Amplifier Diagrams' (1947) 17:02 The grounds on an all-original 1962 Fender Tweed Champ 22:34 Power section filtering 26:30 Special Guest: Jef Brown! (Jef's band, Jef's amp blog) 1:13:32 A Gibson GA-25 RVT Hawk that smells 1:19:23 Bass-ifying a single-ended amp build 1:23:00 A Silverface Princeton Reverb missing its foot switch 1:25:15 El Paso fajita seasoning 1:26:04 Turning your amps on-and-off during the workday

Have a question or 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. 51: "Generator Edition" Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

4:35 Soundmaster PAs, revisited

16:20 Turret boards versus freestyle wiring

21:24 Adjectives for the tones of tweed-era Deluxe and 4x12" Bassman

27:37 Matching a 16 ohm speaker to a 4 ohm amp output with a transformer

31:20 A schematic, but no layout

33:33 Power tubes in series (Milkman amps)

35:54 A Gibson GA-15 that rattles its tubes out

40:54 Silvertone 101

45:50 Advice on a 1966 Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve: Watts, speakers, tips

52:26 A Silvertone 1474 and desoldering components from terminal strips

1:05:50 Using Telefunken EAM86 indicator tubesin an amp application

Special thanks to Derek Taylor for the intermission music.

Have a question or topic for a future episode? Submit it to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 50: "Another Hobby, Another Hobby, Another Hobby" Sep 05, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

It's the long-awaited, prize-filled 50th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast! And, once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

6:11 Pyko de Gallo 7:09 Deluxe Amplification's El Pato Tone practice amp (link) 11:51 A circuit to investigate: the Kay K550 15:34 DJ Cruise Ship Derek 22:48 Hy Bloom, founder of Soundmaster, redux 28:36 Is the RCA Manual the reference for tube specs? 32:11 Can amps be cursed? 36:01 An Ampeg that gets mushy 37:39 Skip's fallback job 38:14 Model airplanes 39:28 Netflix recommendation: 'John Was Trying to Contact Aliens' 40:13 When caps go on a 1964 Fender Champ; El Pato & yogurt 45:23 Win stuff from Manbroidery, Voyager Guitar Cabs and Chris Vincent of R2R Electric!! 49:44 Special guest Chris Vincent (DJLavalamp on Instagram, R2R Electric) 1:06:26 Occasionally farty bass on multiple amps 1:11:04 A Philly Roast Pork Sandwich 1:12:19 The bologna sandwich from Oklahoma 1:13:27 A Fender Champion 600 with a disconnected pilot light 1:15:55 Special guest: Matt Clouston of Clouston Amplifiers 1:31:18 Music to solder by: The Peddlers 1:33:56 Australia's Goldentone 1750 / Broadway amplifier and the 6GW8 tube 1:37:48 Schematics in the public domain? 1:39:28 A reissue Fender Vibroverb with a reverb that rings with a C-note 1:43:09 A life changed thanks to Skip 1:46:58 Ranch Water; pico de gallo 1:48:58 Skip's riff when testing out an amp

Have a question or topic for a future episode? Submit it to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 49: "You Could Have Just Left It in the Trash" Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

3:32 A brief moment of despair 10:34 Our new Patreon page: Hear Skip's actual voice! 21:30 Colin Cripps' Filmosound, revisited 25:15 Skip's chassis stand 30:37 Changing the linear taper volume pot on an early '80s Princeton Reverb 34:53 Putting a guitar input into the pre-amp of a Hammond L-100 organ 40:33 Salvaging tubes from a free Lowry organ 43:40 The 5F10 Fender Harvard 47:17 "Peekofarad" or "pykofarad" 48:35 The light-dependent resistor on a Gibson GA20-RVT tremolo 52:30 Replacing the 6CA7/EL34 power tubes with new old stock Sylvania/RCA or brand new Electro-Harmonix 57:40 Bass cut on a Tweed Deluxe clone 1:02:20 Vibro Champ tremolo revisited 1:06:17 Boutique parts & homemade ramen 1:17:32 Patton fans

Have a question or topic for a future episode? Submit it to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 48: "Looking Out the Window" Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons also fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

2:55 Special guest: Greg Cravener from Amplified Parts (watch the video on how Amplified makes can capacitors here) 33:27 Plate load resistor function 39:00 Power conditioners and vintage amps 41:23 Building a simple hi-fi from scratch 44:52 Building an amp with two different power sections and two different output transformers

Have a question or topic for a future episode? Submit it to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 47: "You Played for Money" Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Once again, Skip Simmons also fielding guitar amp questions from around the world. This week, we are also joined by special guest Colin Cripps (Blue Rodeo, the Jim Cuddy Band, Kathleen Edwards), who helps shed light on some of the very special amplifiers to come out of Canada.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

:55 "The unluckiest dude that there ever was," Skip's advice to fellow amp techs 10:16 The Truth About Vintage Amps Patreon page (fireside chats, a Skip grab bag of vintage "stuff"!) 16:24 Special guest: guitarist/producer Colin Cripps (Bernie Raunig's Filmosound amps, Johnson Amplifiers, TEX amps) 55:07 Music Picks: Emitt Rhodes, Esquerita, The Melodians 58:31 Replacement pots of choice 1:00:18 A Magnavox amp with a push-pull output but no phase inverter stage 1:02:10 What to do with a busted 1962 Fender Deluxe output transformer 1:04:39 Vibro Champs that lose volume when tremolo intensity is increased, revisited

Have a question or topic for a future episode? Submit it to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 46: "Man-Made Interference" Jul 29, 2020

Show notes

Support the Truth About Vintage Amps through our brand new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps Steve Melkisethian of Angela Instruments makes his eagerly anticipated second Truth About Vintage Amps appearance and it doesn't disappoint. Included: Tracking down vintage Marshalls in the UK, selling gear to U2, Ken Fischer, tube sockets, recommended books, Orange amps, Jesse Quitslund of Acme Instruments, Jef Brown, Steve plays drums for the Cramps, and more!

Note: Steve recommends two books by author Pete "The Jukester" Sheridan. You can read about them via his website. Both can be purchased by sending him a check/money order to the address on the homepage.

Special thanks, as always, to our sponsors Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts.

Ep. 45: "I Sheared a Lot of Sheep" Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

Once again, Skip Simmons also fielding guitar amp questions from around the world.

Submit your question to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

10:24 Chris' Tone Scoring System 14:12 The three colors of El Pato 17:07 Silverface vs. late Blackface Champs 21:46 A Sherwood Master 8422 amp 24:55 Installing a pre-amp switch on a pair of tube amps 30:05 A TAVA handbook? 35:32 Modding the volume on input two of a reissue Princeton 39:06 "Expansion Control" on a Knight PA amp 43:23 Dan's summer BBQ marinade

Ep. 44: "Heavy Rotation at the Prison Library" Jul 12, 2020

Show notes

Once again, Skip Simmons also fielding guitar amp questions from around the world, but this week we have a special guest: Colleen Fazio of Fazio Electric!

Submit your question to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

This episode is brought to you by Grez Guitars and Amplified Parts

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

:54 A silverface Twin left on without a speaker 3:44 A tweed Deluxe with two serial numbers 5:58 Meet our new sponsor: Amplified Parts 16:57 Deluxe Amplification's 1949 Ford and car radio reverb units 21:14 Special guest: Colleen Fazio of Fazio Electric (mid-century modern inspired amplifiers, repair tips, Vero amps, pasta sauce!) Follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her new YouTube channel. 1:03:10 Fender Vibro Champ XD pre-amp tubes; extending transformer leads 1:08:45 The tonal impact of a loose ground connection with a three-prong replacement cord 1:13:55 Free green onions forever 1:15:15 Recommended combo setup for an organ and guitar player 1:19:21 Using an extension cord with a GFI outlet 1:22:50 An underwhelming Massie 966 Squire amp 1:28:09 A Peavey Vintage 4x10 with compaction 6C10 tubes 1:31:37 Appreciating the Fender Bassman 70

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