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 podcast@fretboardjournal.com! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.
