No guests or special theme this week...just an all-new, old-school episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amp.  Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to [email protected]. Some of the topics discussed:  1:31 What's on Skip's workbench: Valco amps with a resistor and a normal speaker instead of a field coil 3:46 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts,...

Illustrator/musician/underground comix legend Robert Armstrong (Mickey Rat, Couch Potato, the Cheap Suit Serenaders!) joins Skip and Jason this week for a very special installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps.  Want to support our show? Join our Patreon!  Some of the topics discussed:  1:38 NOS military-grade green pilot light jewels from Gary Economy (Instagram); leave us an Apple Podcasts review and take a screenshot to enter to win one!; 5879 tubes 3:03 Where is George? (Danger UXB...

It's a very special, all-Canadian episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair! This week, we have special guests Calvin McCormick (Hiwatt) and Mike Watson of The 6L6s along for the ride.   Reminder: You should join our Patreon. Some of the topics discussed:  1:06 Jason heads to the Phoenix MIM Museum (link); the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota (link); the American Banjo...

Welcome to ep. 129 of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair. This week, it's an (almost) all-Fender episode! Reminder: You should join our Patreon. Some of the topics discussed:  :44 Jason goes to the NAMM Show 4:20 Skip is fixing his 1961 Comet 9:04 What's on Skip's bench: Three Fender Concerts; 5C1 Fender Champ circuits; a 5-watt Oahu with a 40-watt transformer; a silver panel Fender...

Welcome to episode 128 of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp repair. The first hour of this show probably belongs on our Patreon, but I'm feeling generous and sharing it with everyone. Reminder: You should join our Patreon. (The amp questions kick in around 49 minutes.) 2:10 Skip goes to the Bay Area Guitar Show: Fancy Gibson ukes, a Martin 00-28, lots of amps, a shopworn Grez, Jimboys Tacos,...

We're closing out 2023 with special guest Bill Krinard of Two Rock!  https://www.two-rock.com I won't even attempt to annotate this episode but Bill joins us at 5:36 and fields a bunch of listener-submitted questions on transformers with dissimilar primary windings; Two-Rock's design process; how he uses oscilloscopes; Ampegs; Filmosound mods; potentiometers; harmonic content; and more.  Want to be a part of our show? Submit your question or voice memo to [email protected]. Our...

Transformer talk, spaghetti carbonara, goat horn jazz, and more transformer talk...it's the 126th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Want to be a part of our show? Submit your question or voice memo to [email protected]. Some of the topics discussed this week: :48 Skip types out a tube chart 3:16 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars; the art of bargaining at a guitar show; the Bay Area Vintage Guitar Show;...

It's the 125th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to [email protected]. Some of the topics discussed this week: :51 Skip works on a Jim Kelley Amp, built-in attenuators, the magnetic field caused by a Tweed Bassman speaker  3:30 Skip needs an RCA MI-12155 schematic  3:56 Making stuff for the Bay Area Guitar Show 6:51 Our sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts,...

It's the 124th installment of the Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons: Conductive paints, speaker impedance mismatches, pizza hacks and lots of dad jokes! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to [email protected]. Our sponsors are Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars. Some of the topics discussed this week: :57 Skip works on a Jim Kelley Amp 6:30 Rancho Gordo beans, redux 7:49 Converting a SF...

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 [email protected]. Our sponsors are...

** Note to the Amp Purists: There is virtually NO amp talk on this episode. If that's what you're seeking, stay tuned for TAVA episode 123, out tomorrow, where we'll have two hours of deep amp knowledge with special guest Larry Chung. Everyone else: Enjoy a very special TAVA featuring Skip's son, Will!** What's it like to have amp tech Skip Simmons as your dad? We find out on the 122nd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps featuring special guest Will Simmons! Will shares tales of...

It's the 121st episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp.  This week: Special guest Jim Kelley joins us (around the 28-minute mark)! Want to be a part of the show? Keep the amp questions for Skip coming to [email protected]! 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...

It's the 120th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amp.  This week in a nutshell: Is this the Fender Yale?; lots of Fretboard Summit love; Skip sneaks a mower across the border; magnifiers; tomato gravy; and rumblings of a possible Oregon Truth About Vintage Amps meetup!  Special Note: Our friends at Amplified Parts are having a Labor Day Sale right now. Use the code LABOR10 to save 10% off your...

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 [email protected]! 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...

This week, we’re joined by the one-and-only Ben Harper, who has a couple of questions for Skip right before his Lyon, France concert. Ben regales us with tales of a rare Weissenborn spotted on a Disneyland ride, Dumbles, and pre-show skateboarding (which Skip is a little worried about). He also spills the beans on his new touring amp of choice… a Two-Rock. Before Ben joins us, we’ve got our usual assortment of listener-submitted questions on tremolo and speaker impendence, Larry Chung...

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 [email protected]! Voice memos or emails are welcome. And don't forget we now have a Patreon. This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Stringjoy Strings (use the code FRETBOARD to save off your first string order), Amplified Parts, and Grez...

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 [email protected]! Voice memos or emails are welcome. And don't forget we now have a Patreon. This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Stringjoy Strings (use the code FRETBOARD to save off your first string order), Amplified Parts, and Grez...

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 [email protected]! 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 sponsors: Emerald City Guitars (check out the Jim Kelley prototype), Stringjoy Strings (use the code...

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 [email protected]! Voice memos or emails are welcome.  Some of the topics discussed this week: 3:49 Skip gets more gifts (thank you); Studio Slips (link); Dragonfly USB-stereo connection; Connie Converse (Bandcamp link) 9:41 The Truth About Vintage Amps...

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 [email protected]! 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 Summit (www.fretboardsummit.org); Chicago's Kale My Name (link) 14:14 Should you use better...

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 [email protected]! 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) 8:07 Shoutout to August from Otis Amps 8:46 Rancho Gordo Beans, redux (link), Herdez Salsa...

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 [email protected] 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 Princeton, redux (thanks Emcee Amps of Montreal); the Tweed Vibrolux tone control 7:44 What's on...

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 11:36 The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair, by George Plimpton (New Yorker link)  12:22...

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 stand 23:26 This week's sponsors: Grez Guitars; Amplified Parts (Hammond products are currently...