Ep. 40: "The Boogie Dumpster"

Illustrator/musician/underground comix legend Robert Armstrong (Mickey Rat, Couch Potato, the Cheap Suit Serenaders!) joins Skip and Jason this week for a very special installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps. 

Want to support our show? Join our Patreon! 

Some of the topics discussed: 

1:38 NOS military-grade green pilot light jewels from Gary Economy (Instagram); leave us an Apple Podcasts review and take a screenshot to enter to win one!; 5879 tubes

3:03 Where is George? (Danger UXB on eBay)

4:48 Rick Estrin and Dennis Gruenling's harmonica workshop, March 16 (link)

6:43 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars; Amplified Parts; Izotope; Stringjoy Strings; and Grez Guitars.  Ordering from StewMac? Use this affiliate link to help us out! 

11:26 The 2024 Fretboard Summit, August 23-25 (link)

11:49 What's on Skip's bench: A PA head; blown power transformers

13:44 A discount on Eric Daw's amazing Solid Sound guitar wiring book (use TAVA when you check out): https://www.solidsoundbook.com/

16:19 Taming the bass frequency on your amplifier

23:15 Resistors: What does Skip use?

27:27 Special guest: Illustrator/musician/friend/Mickey Rat & Couch Potato-inventor/record collector Robert Armstong (link)! Early Hawaiian guitar recordings; growing up in Fender country but gravitating towards the banjo; Coulter guitars; Hugo Ernst guitars; John DeLapp guitars; playing saw on the 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' soundtrack; animator Ward Kimball; 'Man in Space' (YouTube link); not working at Disneyland; seeing David Lindley at the Topanga Banjo & Fiddle contest; coining the term "Couch Potato;" Bob's tweed Fender Deluxe; Supro Dual Tones; Pee Wee's Playhouse; playing with Sourdough Slim; sheepherder conventions; touring Japan; Ben Pollack's "Two Tickets to Georgia" (YouTube link); playing 78 records today; Al Dodge

1:38:10 John Sebastian gets his dad's PA head back; a Disneyland tube PA

It's a very special, all-Canadian episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair! This week, we have special guests Calvin McCormick (Hiwatt) and Mike Watson of The 6L6s along for the ride.  

Reminder: You should join our Patreon.

Some of the topics discussed: 

1:06 Jason heads to the Phoenix MIM Museum (link); the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota (link); the American Banjo Museum (link)

3:20 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Izotope, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars.

6:05 Canadian amp builders worth following: Gary Economy (Instagram) & Lo-Fi Electronic Instruments (Instagram); Stromberg-Carlson 207; Pepco Riviera 725; Lifco Cobra Mark 2; how to make an amp less bass-y; Frazey Ford's "U Kin B the Sun" (YouTube)

13:10 The Velvet Touch

14:31 Our Facebook group (link); how did Skip first notice Johnson and Soundmaster amps?

20:18 Garnet quirks: What's up with the tone stack on this Garnet Revolution II?

23:22 Ted Weber speakers, field coil reconing

23:51 Niagra Falls

25:01 All things poutine; Suuns (link)

30:25 Special guest: Calvin McCormick of Hiwatt! (link)

53:01 Regional Canadian foods: Ketchup chips, coffee crisp, beaver tales, peameal bacon on a kaiser, Newfoundland Screech; the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

58:23 Outside foil cap orientation on Soundmasters; DC leakage in grid leak bias input caps

1:03:10 The Kahayan 8x4 Selector (link)

1:05:30 What's the deal with this Soundmaster 086 schematic?

1:11:31 Slowing down the trem on a Traynor Custom Reverb YSR-1; Kevin O'Connor's books; Pepco amps

1:17:51 Reducing the noise on the Fretboard Summit Microtone pre-amp; Traynor YGM-3; El Pato chicken

1:23:07 Special guest: Mike Watson of the 6L6s; Lifco amps; Keil Amps; the Velvetone amp; Turner amps; Swampdonkey amps; amps with 6Y6 power tubes; Acrosound

1:43:23 Jimi Hendrix on a Marshall amp

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support us, get to the front of the line with questions, and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Welcome to ep. 129 of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair.

This week, it's an (almost) all-Fender episode! Reminder: You should join our Patreon.

Some of the topics discussed: 

:44 Jason goes to the NAMM Show

4:20 Skip is fixing his 1961 Comet

9:04 What's on Skip's bench: Three Fender Concerts; 5C1 Fender Champ circuits; a 5-watt Oahu with a 40-watt transformer; a silver panel Fender Champ for sale at Skip's

14:27 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Izotope, and Grez Guitars.

20:36 Ceriatone amps; Divided by Thirteen Amplification gets acquired by Two-Rock

25:20 The art of drawing your own schematic; Robert Kidney's 'Jackleg'

29:56 Increasing gain on a Fender Princeton AA964

33:02 Isolated input/output jacks

35:45 A 1979 Fender Vibrolux with warped MDF baffle board, baffle replacement; good goo wood hardener

42:53 Should I recone the CTS alnico speakers on my rusty Fender Super Reverb or get new speakers? Slovakian Bwoop; Solfood's hot pepper sauce (link)

51:37 Why do my tubes have this crusty stuff around the base? Don Pepino pizza sauce; The Mob Run Pizzerias of NYC, N-Men: The Untold Story (link); Lake Berryessa's glory hole; Ben Harper (redux)

59:07 Help me understand why a tube amplifier needs a load?

1:03:11 The all-Fender episode

1:05:09 What's a good cheap alternative to the Fender Musicmaster I am looking at? Ampegs

1:09:20 Tweed Princeton kit woes … new Champ speaker

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support us, get to the front of the line with questions, and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Welcome to episode 128 of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair.

The first hour of this show probably belongs on our Patreon, but I'm feeling generous and sharing it with everyone. Reminder: You should join our Patreon.

(The amp questions kick in around 49 minutes.)

2:10 Skip goes to the Bay Area Guitar Show: Fancy Gibson ukes, a Martin 00-28, lots of amps, a shopworn Grez, Jimboys Tacos, the bar on San Clemente Island (Yelp), pupusas

33:46 Gibson reissues the Falcon (link)

40:03 Skip fixes a refrigerator

43:51 Skip loses his dentist and finds Trader Joe's; musician/illustrator Robert Armstrong (link)

48:52 A 1961 Harmony H322 bass amp that isn't loud enough

53:38 A vintage Gibson Falcon with a flickering pilot light; D-cell batteries

56:18 Using a thermistor to slowly ramp up voltage on old amps, the new Toyota Landcruiser

59:17 Do you want to be an old car guy? Skip's 1961 Mercury Comet; Jason needs a body shop

1:04:17 My house's dimmer switches are driving me nuts

1:07:47 Why did Fender change the plate resistors on the Bassman?

1:11:44 Using the signal from just before the phase inverter on a push-pull amp to drive another amp

1:15:31 Skip sees a bobcat

1:15:58 Draw differences between matched pairs of the same tubes

1:20:41 Distortion on the Normal channel vs Vibrato channel on vintage Fender amps

1:23:51 How to expand the volume range on a Masco PA; the Necromancer cocktail recipe; Groove Tube tube adapters

1:31:22 A low-watt amp for bedroom playing; power-adjusting amps; music recommendation: Issa Juma And Super Wanyika's 'World Defeats the Grandfathers'

1:36:39 A push-pull output transformer in a single-ended amp

Our sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, Izotope, and Grez Guitars.

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support us, get to the front of the line with questions, and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

We're closing out 2023 with special guest Bill Krinard of Two Rock! 

https://www.two-rock.com

Want to be a part of our show? Submit your question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.

Our sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support us, get to the front of the line with questions, and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Transformer talk, spaghetti carbonara, goat horn jazz, and more transformer talk...it's the 126th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps!

Want to be a part of our show? Submit your question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:48 Skip types out a tube chart

3:16 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars; the art of bargaining at a guitar show; the Bay Area Vintage Guitar Show; Premier and Alamo amps

7:43 A Marshall Major PA-200 head at Emerald City (link)

11:48 What's on Skip's bench: an RCA PA head; Bill Krinard's return to the podcast?

15:08 RIP Earl Yarrow & Shep the dog

18:26 Junior Bonner

21:40 More Earl Yarrow

23:50 Brandy and soda

24:30 What to use in my Princeton Reverb clone: A Soursound 12-watt transformer or a Hammond 14-watt?

28:01 What to do with one single can of El Pato; avant-garde guitarist Havard Skaset; Los Pericos Quadradas chips (link); Norwegian goat horn player Karl Seglem's "Mytevegar" (Bandcamp)

33:23 Help my humming Vintage 47 Mini

37:52 What to do with a 1964 Magnatone 401, one-to-three input transformer, how to not get shocked

42:43 Should we be burning-in our amps after repairs?

46:21 Converting a Bogen MO30 to a Fender Pro circuit

51:44 Recording a tube amp at low volume by pulling the phase inverter

53:21 1952/1953 Fender Tweed Deluxes with low gain instrument jacks, input impedance

55:44 Armadillo Amp Works cabinets

56:20 Is this serviced 1970 Fender Bassman head still a Fender Bassman? gifting a tweed Bassman to your nephew

1:01:25 Thanks for the TAVA show notes; what's the deal with my one-knob, early 1960s Gibson Skylark GA-5?

1:06:50 What output transformer to use on my Trainwreck clone? Dynaco transformers

1:09:03 Heritage Auctions' typewriter sale (link)

1:10:49 Spaghetti carbonara; gutting a Peavey VTX Heritage 130 to build a bass amp with an ultra-linear transformer; Sunn amps

1:14:40 The magic of Soundmasters; Sacramento ska band Filibuster; how a family of amps can basically have the same pre-amp circuitry; 807s vs. 6L6s or EL34s

1:24:43 Thoughts on the 2024 Vintage Guitar Price Guide

1:27:57 What could cause DC voltage to build up on the grid of a power tube aside from leaky coupling caps

1:35:10 Shoutout to the Fender greats: Richard Smith, Bruce Zinky, Lynn Wheelwright, Terry Foster; a circuit baffler of sorts! 

1:37:47 Spaghetti carbonara & Los Pericos Quadradas redux

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support it and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

It's the 125th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons!

Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:51 Skip works on a Jim Kelley Amp, built-in attenuators, the magnetic field caused by a Tweed Bassman speaker 

3:30 Skip needs an RCA MI-12155 schematic 

3:56 Making stuff for the Bay Area Guitar Show

6:51 Our sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars.

8:12 Our 2023 Voltic DTF pedal Dad joke winner: Keith F with "Why did Skip have to marry Mrs. Simmons? From the day he solder, he couldn't resistor."

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. Happy holidays, everyone! 

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support it and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

It's the 124th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons: Conductive paints, speaker impedance mismatches, pizza hacks and lots of dad jokes!

Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.

Our sponsors are Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:57 Skip works on a Jim Kelley Amp

6:30 Rancho Gordo beans, redux

7:49 Converting a SF Champ to the Princeton schematic and recommended plate voltages; Skip makes a tweed Harvard out of a Champ; pilot light washers from Daniel Petrzelka (Instagram: @dpetrzelka)

13:39 The 1970s Whole Earth Catalogs are now online (link)

15:21 What makes a great A/B box?

17:24 A '55 Tweed Bassman with a replaced output transformer and 7025s; Skip finishes the Tweed Deluxe overhaul

25:41 Impedance mismatches in 1950s Fender amps, using the external speaker output

31:26 Did David Lindley play on the Rockford Files theme song? Toots Thielemans

33:43 Eminence, Kentucky and Colonel Sanders

35:07 Can anything other than tubes be microphonic; the one-wire mod to have the reverb and tremolo on both channels on a Fender

37:12 Fuse-eating rectifier tubes on a Victoria Bandmaster clone; 5U4 vs GZ34 tubes

39:38 Converting a '50s Philco record player console for guitar use; Commander Cody; the Louvin Brothers' 'Satan Is Real'

43:26 Bringing up an old amp on a Variac 

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support it and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

Today, we celebrate the millionth download of our podcast with one of our favorite conversations to date: Longtime TAVA contributor Larry Chung joins Skip and Jason to talk about the zen and art of early tube amp restoration and so much more.

We also tackle a bunch of questions from our listeners about PAs, field coil speakers, guitar amp finds, and other surprises. Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.

Our sponsors are Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, and Grez Guitars.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

1:43 Thanks to you all, our Truth About Vintage Amps just hit a million downloads!

2:21 Our millionth download giveaway: Voltic Electronic Devices DTF fuzz (Instagram). Enter by November 1, 2023!

4:17 Special guest Larry Chung: Getting electrocuted on his first amp repair; Skip's OG appearance on Fretboard Journal Podcast #224 (link); a love for '30s and '40s PAs and amplifiers; the intrinsic joy of working on amplifiers; 'How to Repair Small Appliances' by Jack Darr; 6N6/6B5 tubes

29:43 Radio's Master and the hidden value of old catalogs

33:12 Why was the dark art of speaker reconing never documented?

35:20 Larry's unique approach to components when it comes to antique amplifiers; not rushing amp restorations

40:54 A not-so-stock blonde Tremolux; a White amplifier found at the dump; Soursound transformers (link) 

48:08 The tone circuit in Gibson EH-150s with the high/low settings, collecting amps as a reference library

51:03 The sound of a field coil speaker vs. a standard speaker with the same amp

53:17 Do field coil speakers need maintenance beyond the actual speaker? the upper response of field coil speakers

57:58 Field coil into ground amplifiers

59:07 A Skip-serviced Masco Audiosphere 10 for sale in Amsterdam

1:00:15 How to dry out an amp that's been soaked by a storm; Kenny Vaughan's "Mysterium" (YouTube)

1:04:23 A Precision Electronics PE-25 PA head that sounds terrible

1:15:04 What is this Marshall 100-watt head?

1:19:17 Do I need to replace all the resistors on my 1940s Masco MA-25; SF's Kilowatt Bar (link) 

1:24:45 Baking butternut squash as per the 'Joy of Cooking'

1:25:54 The magic of vintage pots, Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series; the Bros. Landreth 'Let It Lie'

1:32:31 Adam Levy's 'Spry' (link)

1:35:28 Troubleshooting a Masco MA-25/ME-27 with a loud hiss

1:44:13 Larry's book recommendation: Norman Maclean's 'Young Men and Fire' (Amazon link)

Recorded October 9, 2023. 

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support it and get exclusive bonus content and surprises: 

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps

** Note to the Amp Purists: There is virtually NO amp talk on this episode. If that's what you're seeking, stay tuned for TAVA episode 123, out tomorrow, where we'll have two hours of deep amp knowledge with special guest Larry Chung. Everyone else: Enjoy a very special TAVA featuring Skip's son, Will!**

What's it like to have amp tech Skip Simmons as your dad? We find out on the 122nd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps featuring special guest Will Simmons!

Will shares tales of growing up alongside a bunch of amps; Skip's parenting style; Will's love for art; and his his current work as an art critic. Also discussed: Drawbridge tales; photographer Laurie Simmons (Wikipedia link); Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture (Wikipedia link); Wynton Marsalis' "Blood on the Fields" (YouTube link); Brice Martin; Lo Moon (link); "Are You Awake?" by Lauren Mayberry (YouTube link); Wood Belly (link); Dean & Britta; Lady Gaga vs. Lana Del Rey; and so much more.

All-told, it's a very sweet father & son (& podcast cohost) chat. Plus: Jason learns about diet pills!

Amp related topics:

1:19:27 Soursound transformers

1:20:09 Are there any classic Fender amps that Skip hates?

1:21:51 Congratulations, John Vanderslice!

1:22:34 MTI Tubes effects unit, redux

Our sponsors are Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, and Grez Guitars.

Recorded October 6, 2023.

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.