The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

It's the 169th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields all of your tube amp and life questions. This week, returning guest Steve Soest joins us for a chat about the vintage days of vintage guitar buying; playing alongside Chuck Berry and Dick Dale; Leo Fender's dining habits; and more. 
Thank you to our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:55 What's on Skip's Bench: A messed-up Masco MA-17
 
4:06 Special guest: Guitar and amp legend Steve Soest (Soest Guitars)! A meeting of the amp minds, Danelectro tales, Standel heads, David Lindley, G&L, consulting for Fender, Dick Dale tales, and so much more! 
 
1:16:25 A possessed Ampeg, redux 
 
1:18:26 Skip's Disney picks 
 
1:20:57 The Tone Quest Report 
 
1:22:58 Woodinville in the WSJ
 
1:24:43 Gain knob/master volume 101, cleaning Tolex 
1:34:02 Hollywood Bob's Bandmaster 
1:39:40 A fire near Skip's!? 
 
Want to be a part of the show? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

It's the long-awaited episode 168 of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields all of your tube amp and life questions. This week, we kick things off by interviewing one of Skip's clients, Sebastian from Vintage Inspired Pickups! Also: possessed Ampegs, shipping forecasts, and Fender repairs and so much more. 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:00 Special Guest: Sebastian Gruenberg of Vintage Inspired Pickups (link); molecular biology; winding pickups, making potentiometers; cryo-tuning magnets; Emerald City Guitars; Gibsonette input jack ground issues; and more!

30:57 What's on Skip's bench: Magnatones; a Sears 40XL Danelectro; Traynors

34:07 Jonathan Richman, charming singer-songwriter and stone mason

36:17 An early National Dobro amp for sale; where's Larry Chung?

38:51 The Fretboard Summit, August 20-22 in Chicago (register here); this year @vintagetubeamplifiers is bringing out a bunch of old & rare amps along with various other contributors/listeners! 

39:50 A kitchen cleaning tip, Dutch ovens, Skip's typewriter repair
44:07 Optocoupler repair in a classic Fender
45:57 The BBC's Shipping Forecast (link: https://www.bbc.com/weather/coast-and-sea/shipping-forecast) 
48:54 Rattlesnake Milk's 'Midnight Train', quick Asian rice, and TAVA buzzwords
50:54 Output tubes for Skip's Mega Champ amp build (Champ with Soursound transformers)
54:38 A demonic Ampeg B-18N 
59:04 A new caster for my 1966 Fender Pro Reverb, 'The Magnificent Charlie Parker' compilation; homemade gumbo; Mike Watt 
1:06:12 What should I do with this Masco A-10 project? using a Hammond 166M12 as a Variac; do old black metal pre-amp tubes like the 6SJ7 have glass inside? 
1:12:02 A tie story; how can I slow down the tremolo on my modded Silvertone 1484?
 
1:17:46 Gourmet dog treats 
 
Want to be a part of the show? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

It's the 167th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields all of your tube amp and life questions. 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:00 Skip's refrigerator dies (but lives!), taking the train to the Chicago Fretboard Summit, electronica band Chessie 
10:09 The LA vintage guitar show
13:52 'The Angel's Share' movie
16:18 Our sponsors and a great 2026 Fretboard Summit amp giveaway (thanks, Andy!)
19:19 A non-tech tip: Silverface control panel amps with peeling film
21:59 What's on Skip's bench: Magnatone amps; an early Dickerson amp; using a Trace Elliot Velocette shell for a tube amp build
26:38 How long would it take Skip to build a tube amp (on a game show)?
28:31 Starting an amp repair business, redux (Ahuntsic Amplification https://amplificationahuntsic.ca/homepage-en)
32:45 Solder Smoke Absorber Remover (Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3QPSuv6)
36:16 Modding a Silvertone Powermaster PA for guitar, dogbone resistors, 6J7 tubes
45:21 Novak hybrid guitars; did I fry my transformer?; AI Skip; cooking with duck
53:51 What to do with my dad's 1959 Gretsch 6161 Electromatic Twin amp?; Uncle Doug on TAVA?
1:00:05 Serge Gainsbourg with a bunch of smoking kids (https://youtu.be/unYu22Ign1E?si=VkCNtOaDbloJqh63)
1:01:03 Warehouse speakers for a 1976 Silverface Vibro Champ (Instagram: @cwg_guitars)
 
Want to be a part of the show? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

Before talking amps, we talk life! Longtime friend of the show John Vanderslice (Tiny Telephone) joins us to talk about moving to the Netherlands, the life of an expat, the equipment that he moved to Europe (and didn't), staying curious with your gear, and so much more.
Around 50 minutes in, we get the answer to last episode's Baffler, field various questions and do the usual TAVA amp troubleshooting.
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:00 Special guest: John Vanderslice!
50:28 Our sponsors!
51:47 What's on Skip's bench: A Supro Galaxy
1:01:19 The O.W. Appleton guitar (link) 
1:02:33 The answer to episode 155's baffler: Two types of hum
1:07:03 The high and low power switch on a Music Man HD150
1:10:34 How can I swap the speaker on my 1949 Spiegel 79-C, pre-heating cast iron
1:14:35 Ranch Style beans, Herdez guacamole salsa, Electro-Harmonix 12AY7 mic-pre, Peavey Valverb, using an iso cabinet, using both jacks in a Princeton
1:24:37 Terry Foster at the 2026 Fretboard Summit 
1:26:11 How many speakers can a Silverface Champ drive safely? Why did Fender keep changing the Princeton schematic?
1:31:13 Skip at the Fretboard Summit? 
Want to be a part of the show? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

Episode 165 of the Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons tackles all of your questions about guitar tube amps!  
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
00 Jason and Nigel
6:26 Our sponsors!
10:42  A letter, two beers, some washers, and a crossroads: Follow Joe here and on Instagram
17:10 1967 Fender Princeton Reverb project with a replaced power transformer; a shorted reverb transformer
31:36 A baffler: Two kinds of hum 
36:16 What are "getter" and "wings"? The Barkely Marathon (Wikipedia)
40:31 Has anyone put the tweed Princeton tone circuit in a guitar? swaddled meat is tender meat, cast iron
44:15 A Fender Super Reverb that kept blowing fuses; the 1972 Sacramento Farrell's Ice Cream parlor plane disaster (Wikipedia)
53:33 Federico's pizza dough recipe on the TAVA Patreon; the Tone Quest Report; Tin Can Valley Letterpress
55:08 Replacing the foam gasket on my Traynor YGM-3 reverb's tank; Vacaville's Pacific Hardware
1:00:04 Rickenbacker M-11 thoughts; King Sunny Ade 
1:04:51 What's on Skip's bench: Slim Dossey's Tweed Bassman and another Bassman
1:08:59 Skip's potential barn sale ponderings 
1:12:29 Once an amp has replaced caps, do you still need a Variac? rice balls
1:15:28 Skip still needs a wooden Epiphone Electar Zephyr schematic (all-octal tube with vibrato) schematic!
1:17:01 1964 Fender Princeton 6G2 with non-working trem 
1:20:16 Adding a stereo headphone jack to a Princeton clone 
1:24:04 Jenson transformer website schematics (link)
1:27:38 What should I do with this untouched 1976 45-watt Fender Pro Reverb?; cornbread
Want to be a part of the show? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.