Ep. 129: "Summer of the Comet"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Release Date: 02/04/2024
Ep. 146: "Where the Spot Is"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Episode 146 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Troubled drummers, bulk Gatorade, more typewriter and Rockford Files talk, and a bunch of amp questions. Reminder: Amplified Parts now has ! Thanks, as always, for being a part of the world's finest call-in tube amp repair show. Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to ! Include a photo, too. Some of the topics discussed this week: :43 The Ampeg book (), George Barnes and 'Guitars Galore' 3:43 A 1982 black panel Fender Champ 4:43 A Super Reverb that...
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Ep. 145: "I Have a Swimming Pool"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Episode 145 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Kahlua brie, replicating Nirvana's In Utero sound, hissy reverb units and more! Thanks, as always, for being a part of the world's finest call-in tube amp repair show. Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to ! Include a photo, too. Some of the topics discussed this week: 1:17 Skip makes even more stuff for John Vanderslice & Tiny Telephone; Skip's take on the MTI Tubes pedal 8:18 Skip's Premier 90-inspired reverb unit 15:20 Our sponsors: ; ...
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Ep. 144: "You've Got to Feed Those Things"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Episode 144 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Flashing Flukes, reflections on NAMM, variable plate capacitors, hot buttered rum (and popcorn!), and more! Need some help with your tube amps? Be a part of our show by sending your voice memo or written questions to ! Some of the topics discussed this week: 1:13 Jason goes to the NAMM Show, the Dumble relaunch (watch our Instagram video ); Grit Laskin's 'The Stradivari Formula' (); Wood Wire & Volts () 11:49 What's on Skip's bench: A late 1940s Danelectro Vibrovox; Wandre Guitars 20:57 Our sponsors: ; and ! 25:14 A...
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Ep. 143: "The Girl Who Never Rained"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
A throwback, lo-fi landline episode just for the purists! Caller waiting beeps, the state of the guitar show, an energized Skip, and more. Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Recorded on January 13, 2025. Some of the topics discussed this week: 1:31: The LA fires 3:34: A recap of the Bay Area Vintage Guitar Show; are guitar shows just for eating now? estuaries and prison proposals 34:00 Our sponsors: ; and ! 36:56 The origins of goop; Standel amps and their little plastic boxes, Mark Sampson (aforementioned amp ) 43:24 Skip's death caps (not...
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Ep. 142: "Paul Jerky"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
It's the 142nd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Join Skip and Jason as they field all of your pressing guitar amp questions. Plus...recipes, music and book recommendations and more! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Some of the topics discussed this week: :00 Jingle Bell Rock and other Christmas classics 1:14 Our sponsors: ; and ! 5:37 Supermarket Sweep; The Office 7:27 ; listener John's Angela parts list 8:27 Another Tweed Harvard by Skip? 9:33 Let's celebrate the TAVA makers; the TAVA Cookbook () 11:09 A 1970 Davis PA Head with a...
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Ep. 141: "I've Got an Alamo That I Want to Forget"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Missing your rambling relatives this holiday season? You're in luck! Tune in to Jason and Skip as they ramble through weather reports, amp fixes, book recommendations, reflective impedance, reverb-driven line-out and more on our 141st episode! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Some of the topics discussed this week: :48 Weather report: Rain in the West, bomb cyclones in the PNW 4:32 A 1968 Heathkit catalog with DIY Harmony Guitar kits 6:35 Thanksgiving at the Simmons house 7:09 A noisy Alamo; Pathfinder, the band (); bands named after...
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Ep. 140: "Tiny Bits of Tingle"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
It's the 140th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons eventually fields your questions on all-things-tube amps! As always, use all advice at your own risk. Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Some of the topics discussed this week: 2:35 What's on Skip's Bench: A modified ES-150 Charlie Christian amp with a non-field coil speaker 4:22 Smilin' Skip's: Stuff for Sale 5:15 Loma Rica's Aztec Recording Studio; the Ralph Shine Blues Band; Skip's new guitar; Sylvia Massy (); Weed, California; the Fretboard...
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Ep. 139: "I'm Going Negative"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
It's the 139th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amps! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Some of the topics discussed this week: :48 On the bench: A 1974 Alembic pre-amp, a Showman head in disguise 3:58 Webb's Music and a hang gliding pioneer 6:08 Our sponsors: ; and ; the Wood Wire & Volts Show in Anaheim (); Bruce Harvie of Orcas Island Tonewoods 11:10 Skip has a warning for the TAVA ...and others 14:38 A luthiers' pet peeve 16:55 Bias...
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Ep. 138: "Check for Ticks"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
It's the 138th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amps! This week, we pay tribute to Angela Instruments founder and former guest Steve Melkisethian (1950-2024); talk resistors and transformers; catch up on the 2024 Fretboard Summit; and much more. Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Don't forget, we have a . Join us to get show updates and get to the front of the question line. Some of the topics discussed this time around: :58 R.I.P. Nick Gravenites...
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Ep. 137: "Walk Around the Yard"
The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
It's the 137th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amps! This week, we talk to special guest, Steve Carr of Carr Amplifiers! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to . Our sponsors: , and . Don't forget, we have a . And come to the . Some of the topics discussed this time around: 2:22 Steve Carr () joins us for an enlightening talk about prototyping, speaker cabs, Solen caps, tone controls, and so much more. He even fields a few of your...
info_outlineWelcome 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 Champ for sale at Skip's
14:27 This week's sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Izotope, and Grez Guitars.
20:36 Ceriatone amps; Divided by Thirteen Amplification gets acquired by Two-Rock
25:20 The art of drawing your own schematic; Robert Kidney's 'Jackleg'
29:56 Increasing gain on a Fender Princeton AA964
33:02 Isolated input/output jacks
35:45 A 1979 Fender Vibrolux with warped MDF baffle board, baffle replacement; good goo wood hardener
42:53 Should I recone the CTS alnico speakers on my rusty Fender Super Reverb or get new speakers? Slovakian Bwoop; Solfood's hot pepper sauce (link)
51:37 Why do my tubes have this crusty stuff around the base? Don Pepino pizza sauce; The Mob Run Pizzerias of NYC, N-Men: The Untold Story (link); Lake Berryessa's glory hole; Ben Harper (redux)
59:07 Help me understand why a tube amplifier needs a load?
1:03:11 The all-Fender episode
1:05:09 What's a good cheap alternative to the Fender Musicmaster I am looking at? Ampegs
1:09:20 Tweed Princeton kit woes … new Champ speaker
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