About this episode
Twice a month, guitar amp guru Skip Simmons fields your questions on vintage tube amp buying, restoration and repair. Co-hosted by the Fretboard Journal 's Jason Verlinde. Submit your guitar amp questions to Skip here: podcast@fretboardjournal.com or by leaving us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848. It's our most veer-filled episode to date, including soup and footwear tips, a trip to Harvard and, yes, even some amp repair advice! Some of the topics discussed on this episode: 3:06 Soup hacks 4:01 An affordable, American-made boot 5:41 Frampton plays B.B. King 9:00 Site specific amp problems 12:37 Recommended Music: Joe Craven & the Sometimers' 'Garcia's Songbook,' Aretha Franklin's 'Aretha's Gold' and Charlie Musselwhite's 'Stand Back' 18:36 Skip goes to Harvard 20:04 Parenting tips 30:06 Today's sponsor: Grez Guitars 32:15 More Larry Norman and props to Jon Linn 33:02 Solder or "sodder" 35:05 Skip's recommended vintage tube supplier and advice on replacing tubes: https://www.ebay.com/usr/dangeruxb 40:22 Putting a solid state rectifier in a tweed-style amp 49:00 Fixing an output transformer in a 1961 Fender Brownface Pro 56:07 Hi-fi tube amps and phono pre-amp basics 1:04:06 A '67 Fender Bassman that was plugged into a DI box 1:09:14 More output transformer talk: Ampeg Reverberocket 1:11:26 A vintage Niviko MA120X Japanese amp 1:19:06 A 1968 Fender Super Reverb with a rattle 1:25:34 The "trimmer" in a '60s Silvertone 1431 1:28:40 Dirty power, an electric fence and an early '60s Gibson Skylark 1:34:33 Changing the head gasket on a Subaru Forester 1:35:25 More on the trimmer on a Silverton 1431 1:38:28 Car talk 1:43:36 A Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a busted volume pot 1:47:52 A clean, high-headroom, low volume steel amp 1:52:15 A Fender Silverface Champ vs Blackface Champ