Oct 11, 2023
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.
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