Aug 7, 2023
It's the 119th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp.
Want to be a part of the show? Keep the amp
questions for Skip coming to podcast@fretboardjournal.com!
Voice memos or emails are welcome.
Don't forget we now have a Patreon if you'd like to
support the show featuring weekly installments of what's on Skip's
bench, random eBay finds, and surprise content.
Some of the topics discussed in this episode:
2:32: This week's sponsors: Emerald City
Guitars, Stringjoy
Strings (use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first
string order), Amplified
Parts, and Grez Guitars.
4:27 Special call-in guest: TAVA listener Brian McAllister
(vintagetubeamplifiers.com,
@vintagetubeamplifiers):
Finding TAVA while hospitalized; amps on Brian's bench; tips on
making a pre-amp out of a Conn Strobotuner (or a Bogen PH10); Skip
is building a tube pre-amp for the Chicago Fretboard Summit!; what's
the most improper fuse you've seen in an amp?
29:00 Using magnifiers / magnifying glasses while working on amps
33:19 Installing a fuse in a 1973 Fender Musicmaster Bass amp; preventative maintenance on replacing electrolytic caps that work?; using an audio transformer as a phase inverter instead of a tube; Datsun pickups; what happened to the Ford Aerostar?
46:51 Are all Selenium rectifiers bad?
50:34 Hand-painting the value onto Domino Mica caps
55:43 Best way to test speakers on a Gibson GA8 and RB17T Scout
58:06 Handling unused taps on a power transformer
59:38 An all-tube tremolo circuit: the Tone God's Bullit (link); removing the skin on salmon
1:01:18 How do I reduce the B+ on my Dynaco ST-35 clone project?
1:05:27 An Amaro cocktail for the TAVA set
1:08:46 Recommended viewing: The Pharmacist, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed; Hidden; The Art of the Steal
Recorded August 4, 2023.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.
Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise and don't forget to get a subscription to the Fretboard Journal (link). Digital subscriptions start at just $30.
Submit your amp questions, recipes, and life hacks to podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don't forget to share the show with friends on social media.