The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

It's the 117th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair!  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. And don't forget we now have a Patreon. This week's sponsors:  Emerald City Guitars ,  Stringjoy String...

It's the 116th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair!  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. And don't forget we now have a Patreon. This week's sponsors:  Emerald City Guitars ,  Stringjoy String...

It's the 115th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair!  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. And don't forget we now have a Patreon. Some of the topics discussed this week: 2:07 This week's sponso...

It's the 114th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair.  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.  Some of the topics discussed this week: 3:49 Skip gets more gifts (thank you); Studio Slips ( link ); Dragonfl...

It's the 113th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair.  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.  Some of the topics discussed this week: 4:11 Announcement: The Truth About Vintage Amps at the 2023 Fretboard...

It's the 112th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where legendary amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on guitar amps and their repair.  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.  Some of the topics discussed this week: 7:42 David Lindely on Dumble: Audio interview on our Patreon ( link )...

We're back and episode 111 has it all: Deep thoughts, a tornado, fried eggs, and power tubes gone bad. Keep the questions coming to podcast@fretboardjournal.com and enjoy!  Some of the topics discussed this week: 1:59 The TAVA Big Index page ( link ) 3:26 A pro chef hack, Rancho Gordo beans redux ( link to the beans )  4:34 A '64 Princeton Reverb clone with a switch that can convert it to a stock...

An episode that almost went off the rails (a missing special guest, talk of tragic balloon heroes, street tacos) but somehow gets back to amp basics. Some of the topics discussed this week: 3:56 Skip's decision to quit being a drawbridge operator, Skip visits Eminence   8:58 Austin Ribbon Mics, the Hot Holder Pro ( link ); book recommendation: 'How to Read Schematic Diagrams' by Donald Herrington...

Episode 109: A long build-up to the amp troubleshooting, but plenty to discuss, including a new puppy, the realities of vintage guitar shows, grandmothers getting run over by reindeer, and ferrite beads. Some of the topics discussed this week: :34 Meet Junior 5:59 Skip's report from the 2023 Bay Area Amigos Guitar Show; Dr. Elmo buys a Grez ( Wikipedia link ); the dangers of parking at a produce s...

Episode 108: It's like a best-of episode, but totally new! Pre-amps, typewriters, too many kitchen hacks, transformer talk, Jason reads the tubes wrong, and we even get a little artsy!  Some of the topics discussed this week:  2:53 Does Skip want to see your amps right now? See Skip at the January 14-15, 2023 Amigo Bay Area Guitar Show 4:59 A Tweed Pro with a variable inverse feedback control knob...

Episode 107: The genius of Garnet founder "Gar Gillies," Fender reverb controls, fixing Magnatones, and more.  **Want to meet Skip? He'll be at the January 14-15, 2023 Amigo Bay Area Guitar Show with stuff to sell (and also picking up amps that need to be serviced).**  Some of the topics discussed this week:  3:00 Deluxe Amplification's El Pato Tone Amp ( Reverb link )  7:19 El Pato, cottage chees...

Episode 106: No special guests, but plenty of amp questions answered and some recipes!  Some of the topics discussed:  1:01 It's good to be anxious 3:59 Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps 4:18 Any interest in a Seattle amp swap meet / hang on December 31? Message me at podcast@fretboardjournal.com. 4:49 Deluxe's TAVA-tribute El Pato-Tone 9-volt practice amp: Now available in the...

** We are doing another run of Truth About Vintage Amps t-shirts. Pre-order your shirt now by clicking here: https://silkshopstores.com/tavamerch/shop/home  ** Just in time for the holidays: A bonus Truth About Vintage Amps episode! This week, no listener-submitted questions. Instead, we introduce you to Joshua Dejaen, a.k.a. jdflyback on YouTube. This young, Pacific Northwest-based electrical eng...

Episode 104: No special guests, but plenty of amp questions answered, plus lots of schematic talk, A/B/Y boxes, a recipe or two, and a parenting tip! Some of the topics discussed:  1:03 A 1954 Fender extension cabinet (tweed, but spray painted black); Fender Amps: The First 50 Years ( Amazon link ); asbestos in amps 7:04  Why are the PA amps I'm restoring so noisy? Masco MA-25; Stromberg-Carlson A...

The 103rd Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast. Special guest Mason Stoops (Jackson Browne, Marcus Mumford) walks us through his crazy Marcus Mumford live rig! Plus: Dutch potatoes, shorting jacks, vintage road cases, and more. **Get a glimpse of what Mason is talking about by watching this video:   https://youtu.be/TH-bixpr-EQ  and then listen to his explanation on our show (starts at 1:03:28).** :47...

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...

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 Journa...

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 p...

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 spo...

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 . S...

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 discuss...

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...

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 Part...

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 th...