It’s the 91st episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! We talk about the great tube shortage of 2022, blue molded caps, boutique amps, parenting tips, kale chips and more.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Calton Cases, Jupiter Condenser Co., Amplified 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. This month, we’re giving away an amp kit to one lucky patron!

Some of the topics discussed this week:

1:48 O.W. Appleton and the APP guitar (link)

7:09 Should we be freaking out about the 2022 vacuum tube shortage? Western Electric getting into guitar tubes (survey link)

19:50 An Australian PA amp with EF86s; when did solid state rectification begin?; For The Term of His Natural Life, by Marcus Clarke; congee

26:22 Hab Spicy Sweet Soy Sauce (link)

26:46 Blue molded caps in a Tweed Deluxe clone

31:00 Changing the voltage dropping resistors in a Silverface Champ where the B+ is super high

34:27 Extending the leads of pots and a jack so that you can fit an amp inside a vintage radio cabinet

37:18 The remote controls on old Bogen PA heads

45:39 Pedal steel amplifiers, redux; Fender Tweed Pro; beer bread

48:59 A pause for others who know what they’re doing: Earl Yarrow, Terry Dobbs, Jeff Bakos; a shout out to the USPS

53:44 Working with a transformer that doesn’t have a filament center cap; RIP El Charritos

58:32 Building a 5F2A vs. a AA764

1:03:16 Thanks to Kevin in Ohio; the TAVA Patreon Page (link)

1:03:57 Why are boutique amps so expensive, revisited; point-to-point wiring versus turret board; CW Stoneking’s Gon’ Boogaloo 

1:12:16 Baked kale chips; Irish colcannon; skillet Brussels sprouts; carrots in garlic oil

1:17:30  What’s the deal with the 1955 Les Paul Jr. amplifier; making room for filter caps

1:20:17 Taming a Fender Champ; more parenting tips; Song Exploder (“Closing Time” episode link)

1:30:46 More book recommendations? Geoff Farina of Karate

1:39:57 Skip’s Music Master bass… sold; K + M Chocolate (link)

1:42:25 What happens to your guitar signal when you split it with a Y cord? Voltage amplifier or cathode follower; Donny Hathaway (“Jealous Guy” on YouTube); 6CM6 tubes

1:47:19 What to do with a 1967 Kodak Pageant movie projector? Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery’s ‘Dynamic Duo’, The Meters; Trustee From the Toolroom; Fluke TL71 Premium Test lead set; Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce, “the tweed Champ of pasta sauce” (recipe link)

1:57:57 Skip has a McIntosh MR71 tube tuner for sale; independent radio; the Heptones “I’ve Been Trying” (YouTube link)

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

Email or send us a voice memo to: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848. And don’t forget to share the show with friends.

Want to see all the former topics discussed on the TAVA Podcast? Click here for all the show notes on one page.

Above: Listener Justice’s 5E3 with vintage blue molded caps.