The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 102: "I Relapsed" Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Special guest Bryan Sours (Soursound transformers) joins us for an epic talk all about transformers!

Note: This is the longest episode of TAVA to date, and one of the most information-rich. I didn't attempt to make complete show notes for all the topics Bryan covered as it would be impossibly long. For our listeners who like to get into the weeds, this episode is for you. Dive in. **Also, for a limited time, Bryan Sours is offering TAVA listeners a special discount: Use the code SKIPSENTME when you check out at https://soursound.com. **

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise and don't forget to get a subscription to Jason's magazine, the Fretboard Journal (link).

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:00 Skip has COVID 4:49 Temple Grandin in the Wall Street Journal (link) 7:18 The top boost circuit in a Vox AC30 from a Gibson GA-70? (link) 8:40 What's the deal with all these PA head and Filmosound conversions? 13:39 Special guest: Bryan Sours of Soursound: Making transformers, working with Benson amplifiers, rewinding transformers, custom transformers, and a lot more. There's a steak recipe toward the end, too. Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to share the show with friends on social media.

Ep. 101: "One Piece at a Time" Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

Episode 101 of TAVA: Gain, flux, gochujang and more!

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise and don't forget to get a subscription to Jason's magazine, the Fretboard Journal (link).

Some of the topics discussed this week:

12:00 Building a 5F1, Little Charlie's Spanish Rice and the impact of TAVA

14:13 Listener Mitch's landline USB phone!; weirdest thing found in amps; frozen kale crumbles; Angela caps; gochujang spice

21:00 Do EL84s sound different after being on for a half hour?

23:27 What's the difference between volume and gain?

25:47 The Trainwreck Type-3 master volume, redux

27:34 Tad's Bell & Howell amp; maple syrup from New Hampshire

28:24 Clean flux or leave it on?

29:55 An Australian barn find: A 1960 Moody 17/12 amp; fixing silkscreening on a control panel; a 9-pin triode pentode (6BL8); Dynaco ST-70 amps; adding avocado to vegemite toast

35:56 A barn find Filmosound; what to do when starting up a long-dormant amp, checking capacitors for ECR

47:22 Electrolytic bypass caps on preamp tubes

51:50 Frozen fruit instead of ice cubes in cocktails

52:33 A silverface Fender amp with a conductive part board; moisture in a part board?

58:57 Does anyone like amps with combination fixed and cathode bias?

1:01:56 Buying a 1960s Gretsch 6152 as your first vintage amp

1:05:54 What's the difference between all the input jacks on a 6G2 Princeton vs a 5F11 Vibrolux

1:07:04 Book recommendation: Please Kill Me: The Uncensored History of Punk (Amazon link); music recommendation: 'Balsams' by Chuck Johnson (Bandcamp link); the trem circuit in a Victoria Victorilux

1:13:05 Yank, the Army Weekly magazine

1:15:11 Bill Orcutt's Music for Four Guitars (Bandcamp, FJ Podcast appearance)

1:16:12 Rust on transformers and how it affects performance, eddy currents, Plush amps, Metal Rescue

1:20:17 A Stromberg Signet 22 PA head converted into a two-EL84 Matchless DC-30 that makes lightsaber sounds

1:26:54 The typewriters of the Beat poets; the Beat Museum in SF (link)

1:30:12 An Eico 950 Capacitor Tester 1:35:44 Brew 102 beer Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to share the show with friends on social media.

The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 100 Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

Ep. 99: "EQ and You" Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Episode 99 of our podcast and Skip has one more surprise in store... yet another giveaway prize for our 100th episode!

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. One of our patrons will win a Hello Sailor Fuzz Face this month!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:23 The Fretboard Summit Chicago: Come see Jason, Larry Chung, Grez Guitars, and more August 25-27 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music (link)

7:02 One more prize for our 100th episode giveaway: A 1971 Skip-modded SF Champ

10:30 Skip is headed to a guitar show... in January (link)

12:55 A 1928 National Squareneck Tricone Style 1 for sale; a Recording King amp

17:56 One thing we've learned about vintage amps over the course of this podcast, a 1960 Fender Super in factory white (Instagram link)

23:55 Choosing the ultimate pickup-testing amp

28:13 Isaiah Mitchell; bias or no bias

32:54 A twin Reverb with a dying sound on the vibrato channel

38:50 Goat judging, redux (Instagram link)

44:39 Reverb without transformers, ie the Ampeg GU-12

46:34 A Traynor YGM-3 with an overly metallic reverb

48:38 Is an amp a signal pusher or a signal sucker?

51:03 Music Man amps, keeping a 12AX7 from failing, 6CA7 tubes, Johnny Winter's burning Music Man (YouTube link)

53:43 Could Gibson successfully reissue a Crestline-era style amp? schematicheaven.net

58:54 How important is an original output transformer?

1:01:18 The high-pitched ringing of a V2 (12AX7) on a 5F4 clone 1:03:23 A 1968 Fender Bronco vs. a '75 Vibro Champ

1:05:55 The Gibson GA-50, thoughts and maintenance; another way to ground your amp (non-three prong plug) 1:11:00 Giving yourself more spacing in an amp build to accommodate bigger hands 1:13:26 B+/power transformer questions on a 1977 Vibrolux Reverb 1:18:30 Peavey Encore 65 footswitch, redux

Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to share the show with friends on social media.

Ep. 98: "Reserve Champion" Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

With Skip's internet down, we recorded our 98th episode the old-fashioned way. Once you get past the distorted land line telephone, you'll hear about how you can win some truly amazing gear on our 100th episode (including a new Grez Mendocino Junior guitar!), plus what inspires Skip, screen resistors on power tubes, center taps on resistors, and one heck of a goat story.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. One of our patrons will win a Hello Sailor Fuzz Face this month!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:54 The Fretboard Journal 50 (link) ...and issue 1; NAMM Shows

6:15 Our 100th episode giveaways: Win a Grez Guitars Mendocino Junior; a Madsen Electronics GE Fuzz; or a First Coast Amplification Masco - 5F2A Princeton conversion... plus, Josephine Baker was a spy

11:57 What exactly does a Variac do on a dormant amp?

15:43 A super microphonic Deluxe Reverb

17:33 Screen resistors on power tubes: 1-watt resistors vs 3-watt resistors

22:10 Center taps on power transformers: Grounded, tapped-off, or artificial?

26:29 Replacing the rotary off-on switches on Gibsons; Carling rotary switches (link)

29:45 What inspires Skip

35:23 Skip and the Reserve Champion goat

47:09 How important is the orientation of film capacitors?

53:20 A 1974 Fender Pro Reverb with a hissing problem that goes away with the vibrato; rosemary seasoned foil-wrapped corn on the cob

59:08 Voltage on the chassis of a two-pronged Harmony H-195

1:03:50 Replica cabinets from Lightning Music in Marengo, Ohio; Electro-Harmonix Hum-Debugger pedals, Bruce Forman, James "Blood" Ulmer, the Westerlies

1:07:48 The Fretboard Summit at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, August 25-27, 2022 (www.fretboardsummit.org)

1:09:18 Ananyo Bhattacharya's 'The Man From the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neuman' (Amazon link), vacuum tubes for computer memory, Nixie tubes, Fender Dimension IV Sound Exploder / Tel-Ray goo

1:12:26 The tone of Orange Drop capacitors: polyester versus polypropylene; spaghetti bolognese with a slug of El Pato

1:19:25 A Carl's Custom Amps Octal Princeton that can use either a 6L6, EL34, KT77, or 6CA7... and the difference in wattage

1:23:24 Musical instrument insurance; Heritage Insurance (link)

1:26:25 Do you need an insulator board on a turret board amp build? How to find time to work on amps when you have a busy life and family and other parenting tips. 1:36:22 Homework: How to add a tone control to a Gibson GA17-RVT?

Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to share the show with friends on social media.

Ep. 97: "Do I Want the Red or the Gold?" Jul 17, 2022

Show notes

Are we really running out of vacuum tubes? This week, special guest Thomas Cravener of Amplified Parts joins us to talk about the 2022 new tube shortage, plus a lot more.

Reserve a new TAVA t-shirt here.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. One of our patrons will win a Hello Sailor Fuzz Face this month!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:27 A cool guy's Traynor and tube stuff from the Forest Service in Chester, California

1:47 A '60s Heathkit IG-5237 still sealed in the box (stereo FM signal generator)

4:07 The Fretboard Journal's 50th issue, the Fretboard Summit in Chicago, the legacy of Dumble

10:08 This week's sponsors: Amplified Parts, Calton Cases, and Jupiter Condenser Co.

11:12 This month's Patreon giveaway: A Fuzz Face from Hello Sailor! Effects

13:17 Fire season in Northern California

14:53 An Ampeg B-12XY with an internal 5-watt amp for speaker-driven reverb, Guild Thunderbird amps

18:26 Reserve your new TAVA t-shirt (link)

19:26 Tube naming, revisited

20:41 Last episode's smoking Earthsound Research G-2000... fixed?; more fuse talk

23:34 Skip explains his WD-40 stance; Red Green

27:53 Kevin from Ohio, eBay score Patreon perks, EIA codes

32:49 Special guest: Thomas Cravener, V.P. Sales and Marketing at Amplified Parts: Russian/Chinese tube supply; Amplified Parts is still buying/selling NOS tubes; Psvane tubes; building Mallory Capacitors (YouTube link)

56:59 Gibson GA-8; do I need a matched set of 6V6s in a parallel single-ended amp?

1:02:34 Using alcohol in cooking; kale as shoe repair

1:05:57 Building a Masco Audiosphere A-8 off the schematic (6V6 or 6L6)

1:10:15 Jupiter caps at Amplified Parts; the low acceptable DC voltage on leaky coupling caps

1:12:57 A Flot-A-Tone with a howling problem

1:15:36 A Masco head from the 50/50 Club gets reunited with its cab

1:18:00 Trying to match the dynamics and distortion of an Ampeg B-25 and a Marshall Plexi clone; post-power inverter master volume mods, buying pedals off Amazon

1:23:51 What would Skip buy: A silver-paneled Princeton Reverb, a high-quality clone, or a new hand-wired one from Fender?

1:27:20 Howling Flot-A-Tone revisited, 6SC7 tubes

1:27:10 1966 Fender Pro Reverb with a big increase in plate voltage right after using the standby switch; standby switch 101; GZ34 vs 5U4 rectifier tubes; roasted potatoes

1:37:29 Taming the treble on a Marshall Mercury (we'll attach the schematic to the fretboardjournal.com show notes page so you can see what we're discussing)

1:42:16 Skip's learning curve: Did he work on ultra-collectible amps when he was still starting out? a '53 Tweed Deluxe with no original parts; William Penn and His Pals' "Swami" (YouTube link)

Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you love the show. It helps others discover it.

Ep. 96 "The Problem Is the Problem" Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

It's the summer solstice and seemingly everyone is in the kitchen, dishing out amp problems and recipes.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:00 Defensible space, making electricity

5:40 What's on Skip's bench: Old Supros; a late '20s Lyon & Healy amp sporting the Matchless/Vox treble cut tone control

9:59 Silverface jewel light washers (coming soon); pre-order TAVA t-shirts and help support the show (link)

11:12 A Harmony amp with a buzzy volume control; another Harmony with overreacting tone knobs; kale "vodka," bias resistors

19:42 New KT66 tubes for a 1966 Marshall JTM45 100-watt clone; restaurant-quality french fries; 807 tubes

28:46 Pastorelli pizza sauce; tinkering with a '90s Marshall-made Vox AC-15's static; plastic PCB mounts

37:19 Fixing a vintage Gibson Les Paul amp by cleaning the tube sockets, what's the deal with Fender PA100 heads?; a Sano amp and McIntosh tuner up for grabs

46:45 Soldering fume dangers and keeping your workspace clean

49:50 A Larry Chung sighting; an Epiphone Zephyr (a GA-40 with a 15" speaker) and an Epiphone Century (a Gibson GA-20T)

50:58 Recommended movie: the original Pinnochio, Aladdin, and Little Miss Sunshine; recommended music: Eli "Paperboy" Reed; seeing Merle Haggard at the Sacramento Western Swing Society

56:46 The naming of tubes; how to find usable tubes at a garage sale; undercooked ramen with peanut butter and chilies; dog harnesses for your amp in transit; tube substitution books ('The Receiving Tube Substitution Guide Book' by Middleton, pdf link)

1:02:47 Is my Peavey Encore 65 vintage? Working around its finicky solid-state distortion

1:09:53 Filet mignon with bacon and vodka

1:13:08 A 1972 Traynor YGM-2 that turns everything to fuzz after 1/2 second

1:15:50 Should I mod a Silverface Champ when I already own a 5F2-A?

1:21:00 The Call ("Let the Day Begin," YouTube link), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

1:22:22 Forming filter caps with a Variac?

1:27:44 A 1979 Fender Pro Reverb that changed for the worse after a power outage; William Penn & His Pals - "Swami" (YouTube link)

1:38:15 Modding a boring 1966 Fender black-panel Princeton with no reverb?

1:42:11 Why is there a jumper on the 12AX7 of my SF Fender Champ?

1:44:44 Are 1968/1969 Fender power transformers lemons?

1:51:14 Mexican pork stew

1:54:23 Tubes for a Bell 3715 PA conversion

Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Ep. 95: "What's the Implication?" Jun 04, 2022

Show notes

It's the 95th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Despite some technical / Zoom difficulties, Skip and Jason talk about replacement transformers, smoking Earthsound amps, bias, and more.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

1:32 Econoco, the giant tube rebuilding place in Woodland, California (link, h/t www.reelaudio.net)

3:16 Cordless yard tools

4:31 What's on Skip's bench: A Charlie Christian-style amp head for Todd Clinesmith; John Munnerlyn's Magnatone-inspired guitars, the power transformer from a blonde Tremolux head; blue molded caps

9:56 The Truth About Vintage Amps Patreon page (link); congrats to Patreon supporter Josh F. on winning a Body and Soul fuzz pedal (Body and Soul on Instagram)

14:18 Nate the syrup guy's 1965 Vibro Champ, redux; inverse feedback; reversing the primary leads on the power transformer

20:31 Beginner's Corner: Cathode bias vs. fixed bias vs. grid bias

25:07 Find this guy: Ham operator Armond Noble, the Kon-Tiki, World Radio News

27:00 A 1964 Fender Super Reverb with a strange volume taper

30:57 A tuxedo Princeton going to the Los Angeles Guitar Show

31:45 Mid-'60s Ampeg B-18N with a weird noise and a single glowing power tube that fixes itself with the standby switch

37:32 A loose rectifier tube in a 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb

41:32 Fumes from soldering

43:35 Fixing the polarity at a local dive bar

50:38 The goat murder trial is over

53:25 Sourcing the washer behind the jewel light on a Silverface Champ

58:04 Schematics for a Webster TP12-1 PA, making a Blackstar cleaner by swapping the pre-amp tube

1:03:44 A smoking 1973 Earthsound amp

1:11:20 A Harmony H400 combo up for grabs; the Fender Bantam Bass schematic

1:15:09 Replacement output transformers for Fender Champs, Princetons, and Deluxes; rewinding output transformers

1:26:37 Literary recommendation: 'Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies' by Jared Diamond

Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Ep. 94: Tex Amps May 27, 2022

Show notes

This week, we welcome special guest Tony Teixeira from Tex Amps onto the show!

http://texamps.com

We frequently get questions about Filmosound conversions. During this episode, Tony talks to us about his process when using Filmosounds, the magic of Bernie-built amps, his own circuit designs and a lot more.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Keep the questions for Skip coming to podcast@fretboardjournal.com for our 95th episode, which we're taping next week.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise.

Ep. 93: "Permissive Parents" May 09, 2022

Show notes

It's the 93rd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Strain relief, stubborn Champs (and Randalls!), blanched kale with sunflower seeds, and plenty more.

This week's episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase.

Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. This month, we'll be giving a TAVA-themed fuzz pedal to one lucky patron!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:50 Amplified Parts now carries PSVANE tubes; tube brands 6:51 Nate's maple syrup 7:50 Garrett Hongo's 'The Perfect Sound' 10:19 A Silverface Champ, Little Charlie's Spanish rice, Trustee from the Tool Room, the novels of Charles Portis, the Kalamazoo KEA's unique push-pull circuit 17:06 Making the two channels of a reissue Fender Vibroverb in-phase; learning soldering as a blind person (link: https://lighthouse-sf.org/tag/soldering/) 24:56 Putting a few select vintage parts in a new Princeton 5F2A clone 31:35 @nocoastsaint's tractor tire-as-speaker-cabinet experiment (Instagram link) 32:52 The Fretboard Journal, TAVA, Doug Sewall's amplifiers (Wampus Cat), getting rid of intermittent noise by moving an amp, cheap surge protectors, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder's 'Get On Board' 43:01 A 1965 Fender Vibro Champ that's with a squeal on its vibrato, Capacitor Wizards, bypass cap orientation 48:11 A new transformer for a Victor projector amplifier and matching speaker 50:25 Overheating parts during soldering, using a heat sink? 53:38 The MTS modular tube preamp system 55:53 Strain relief bushing tips, Pro's Kit, blanched kale with toasted sunflower seeds, madsenamps.com giveaway (coming soon) 1:01:51 A stiff 5E8A clone with two game changing mods 1:06:13 A reissue tweed Champ that sputters for 30 seconds every time its turned on 1:08:12 A Randall Century 3000 solid state amp that decides to change its own volume 1:11:00 What to source for a cheap but defective 1965 Gibson skylark GA5 1:16:22 Music recommendation: Jim Hall & Paul Desmond

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