fbpx

The Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast, Ep. 22

Twice a month, guitar amp guru Skip Simmons fields your questions on tube amp buying, restoration and repair. Co-hosted by the Fretboard Journal’s Jason Verlinde.

Submit your guitar amp questions to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or, better yet,  leave us a voicemail at 509-557-0848. Include a photo of your amp if you can so we can post it on our Instagram page.

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

1:37 Charles Baty (Little Charlie & The Nightcats! Little Charlie & Organ Grinder Swing!) joins us: Termite tales, Spanish rice hacks and amp tips from the road

43:09 Movie recommendations: Wattstax; Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

44:16 Skip plays a gig

46:30 This week’s sponsor: Grez Guitars

46:55 Robert Keeley (!) calls in on Dean’s Echoplex woes (a follow-up from TAVA #21)

50:24 A ’68 Fender Vibrolux reissue with a wonky footswitch

54:16 Replace a two-prong cord with a three-prong cord

57:29 “Getting to ‘no’ you;” “Suzie Q,” the Instant Pot, mashed potatoes and hot dogs

1:04:10 An amp with a noisy front plate

1:06:27 Instrumental music picks (Leo Kottke, Nels Cline), Skip’s early music influences

1:12:19 Future TAVA interviews plans

1:14:25 “Why we don’t replace all vintage electrolytic capacitors” video (YouTube link)

1:18:00 Robben Ford’s Dumble-modified Fender Super Reverbs

1:24:29 Why don’t amps have no-speaker protection?

1:31:53 AC568 Bassman amps, Fender grounding plates, sources of hiss, the 500 pF Baffler

1:37:55 Music picks: Erkin Koray’s ‘Elektronik Turkular’ (YouTube link) and Bloodstone’s “Natural High” (YouTube link)

1:39:07 Bogen PA heads and Harvey Mandel’s fuzz tone

1:43:43 Replacing drop capacitors in Victoria amps

1:49:47 Canada, part one: a Traynor YGL-3, Mark III with no input signal

1:53:14 Canada, part two: Sleeper Canadian amps (Garnet, Traynor, Johnson); check out the Corry Boys

1:57:00 An (almost) free vintage speaker (act fast)

1:58:15 Coffee in a can updates

Special thanks to the presenting sponsors of the Fretboard Journal: Gibson, Martin and Carter Vintage Guitars.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and don’t forget to share it with friends.