One again, amp tech Skip Simmons is answering all of your pressing amp questions on the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, brought to you by the Fretboard Journal. Submit your question to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or, better yet, leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.
Want to see all the former topics discussed on the TAVA Podcast? Click here for all the show notes on one page.
Submit your question to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or, better yet, leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.
Some of the topics discussed on this episode:
8:04: Good Goo: TR3, SiliKroil
11:53 Our new Facebook Group (link)
13:13 Vacaville, CA’s hardware store (Pacific Hardware)
15:32 This week’s sponsor: Grez Guitar
16:44 The Fretboard Journal’s #FJFest (TAVA listeners will enjoy seeing DJLavalamp’s Treble Booster operation or TJ Thompson’s shop tour)
19:30 The lettered squares on an amp layout
21:05 Skip’s starter kit for aspiring amp tinkerers: Solder iron, solder, needle nose pliers, wire cutters, a stainless steel brush (and the Jack Darr book, of course)
26:06 Modding a 5F2A from China / Reverse Feedback
29:52 Jim Campilongo’s Silverface Princeton woes (NOS tube problems)
34:30 The Mullard Factory Tour on YouTube (link)
35:04 Damage from looping through a vintage amp?
41:40 Fixing a buzzy 1979 Musicmaster Bass amp
46:30 Skip’s desert island amp
48:25 How did Skip and Jason meet?
52:21 Troubleshooting white noise on an amp
56:40 Running a dummy load on a stereo amp to go mono
1:00:00 1974 Fender Champ with a cat in the amp
1:05:48 A new Baffler! Ralph Shine & Sylvia Massy trivia!
1:07:38 NOS tubes recommendation: Fbenkor on eBay
1:08:26 Otis Amps
1:13:41 Skip makes a service call to Roman Coppola (Story & Clark “Storytone” Electric Piano)
1:18:35 Skip’s travel toolkit
1:20:30 Sticking reverb in a Vibrochamp (link and link)
1:21:19 A Premier 90 Reverberation with stretched-out springs
1:23:58 Groovy tunes: Skip Mahoney’s “Wherever You Go;” Grant Green’s ‘Street of Dreams;’ William de Vaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got;” Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can’t We Live Together”
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Above: Budget Chinese 5F2a clone from listener Andrew in the UK.
Special thanks to the presenting sponsors of the Fretboard Journal: Gibson, Martin and Carter Vintage Guitars.
