Jan 28, 2021
Once again, guitar amp tech Skip Simmons is fielding your questions on all things tube amp.
This week's sponsors: iZotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your order), Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. Want to support the show? Be a part of our Patreon page.
Some of the topics discussed on this week's episode:
1:00 California weather and old dogs
3:08 Sharpening knives, Carter Cutlery (link)
8:51 How not to ship amps and amp parts
13:09 SAMS Photofacts and obscure schematics
18:36 Making the reverb in a Fender-style amp less bright
23:05 Why are boutique amps so expensive; Benson Chimera (link); improving an amp’s tone by unplugging the reverb tank; a DYI Ice Cube; El Pato
30:58 The layout of Skip’s workspace
37:00 Building an amp out of a tape deck with 250k volume and tone pots, redux
43:21 An Ampeg M-15 with a thumping tremolo
46:36 A vintage Weller 8200 solder gun with a smelly tip
49:41 Adding speaker-driven reverb to a 5E3 clone without using a second amp
52:13 Converting a Kalart 7015 projector into a guitar amp, Filmosound conversions, Tex Amps
58:19 Recommended reading: All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (Amazon link, thanks Brian in Seattle)
59:40 Recommended watching: Derek DelGaudio’s In & of Itself (on Hulu)
1:02:14 British amp heads at 16 ohms, Rick Beato’s YouTube channel (link), leftover holiday spices
1:04:59 What to do with a Wurlitzer 920 combo amp?
1:09:22 Preserving a completely original 1953 Gibson GA-20
1:15:35 Sweet potato fries
1:16:05 A Masco MA-35 powered up with no speaker, dried white onions
1:23:46 The grounding switch on a Fender, spiking store-bought ranch dressing with Balsamic vinegar, death caps
1:31:44 Slowing down the vibrato of a vintage Magnatone 440
Have a 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.
Be sure to check out the ever-growing Big Index of Truth About Vintage Amp topics to see if your amp questions have already been covered.