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The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 111

We’re back and episode 111 has it all: Deep thoughts, a tornado, fried eggs, and power tubes gone bad.

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 Skip’s bench: A Stromberg-Carlson PA head

9:52 What did today’s vintage amps sound like new? Pizza with an egg

19:00 A tornado-damaged 1967 Deluxe Reverb with a loose reverb wire

23:38 A 6G3 with a glowing power tube, when good power tubes go bad

28:41 Why does my hand-wired Vox AC4 hum more than my PCB version of the exact same amp?

32:18 Making a ’63 Vibroverb reissue quieter; the Crazy Tube Circuit’s White Whale reverb pedal (link)

42:13 Baffler: The usefulness of a 6AT6 preamp tube in old radios

46:16 What Skip’s reading: Garrett Hongo’s ‘The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo’ (Amazon link), a 12-volt powered dynamotor

51:57 A psychologist chimes in; B+ voltage

Recorded Feb. 14, 2023.

Pictured: Emcee Amps’ El Caballero model, which can switch between a Princeton Reverb, a blackface non-Reverb Princeton or a brownface 6G2 Princeton. On Instagram as @emceeamplification

This week’s episode is sponsored by Stringjoy StringsAmplified 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 the Fretboard Journal (link). Digital subscriptions start at just $30.

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Submit your amp questions, recipes, and life hacks to podcast@fretboardjournal.com and don’t forget to share the show with friends on social media.

The Truth About Vintage Amps is hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons. Co-hosted and produced by the Fretboard Journal’s Jason Verlinde.