Ep. 128: "The Smells Were Overwhelming"

The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

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, the bar on San Clemente Island (Yelp), pupusas

33:46 Gibson reissues the Falcon (link)

40:03 Skip fixes a refrigerator

43:51 Skip loses his dentist and finds Trader Joe's; musician/illustrator Robert Armstrong (link)

48:52 A 1961 Harmony H322 bass amp that isn't loud enough

53:38 A vintage Gibson Falcon with a flickering pilot light; D-cell batteries

56:18 Using a thermistor to slowly ramp up voltage on old amps, the new Toyota Landcruiser

59:17 Do you want to be an old car guy? Skip's 1961 Mercury Comet; Jason needs a body shop

1:04:17 My house's dimmer switches are driving me nuts

1:07:47 Why did Fender change the plate resistors on the Bassman?

1:11:44 Using the signal from just before the phase inverter on a push-pull amp to drive another amp

1:15:31 Skip sees a bobcat

1:15:58 Draw differences between matched pairs of the same tubes

1:20:41 Distortion on the Normal channel vs Vibrato channel on vintage Fender amps

1:23:51 How to expand the volume range on a Masco PA; the Necromancer cocktail recipe; Groove Tube tube adapters

1:31:22 A low-watt amp for bedroom playing; power-adjusting amps; music recommendation: Issa Juma And Super Wanyika's 'World Defeats the Grandfathers'

1:36:39 A push-pull output transformer in a single-ended amp

Our sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, Izotope, and Grez Guitars.

Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support us, get to the front of the line with questions, and get exclusive bonus content and surprises:

https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps