Ep. 96 "The Problem Is the Problem"

The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

It's the summer solstice and seemingly everyone is in the kitchen, dishing out amp problems and recipes.

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.

Some of the topics discussed this week:

:00 Defensible space, making electricity

5:40 What's on Skip's bench: Old Supros; a late '20s Lyon & Healy amp sporting the Matchless/Vox treble cut tone control

9:59 Silverface jewel light washers (coming soon); pre-order TAVA t-shirts and help support the show (link)

11:12 A Harmony amp with a buzzy volume control; another Harmony with overreacting tone knobs; kale "vodka," bias resistors

19:42 New KT66 tubes for a 1966 Marshall JTM45 100-watt clone; restaurant-quality french fries; 807 tubes

28:46 Pastorelli pizza sauce; tinkering with a '90s Marshall-made Vox AC-15's static; plastic PCB mounts

37:19 Fixing a vintage Gibson Les Paul amp by cleaning the tube sockets, what's the deal with Fender PA100 heads?; a Sano amp and McIntosh tuner up for grabs

46:45 Soldering fume dangers and keeping your workspace clean

49:50 A Larry Chung sighting; an Epiphone Zephyr (a GA-40 with a 15" speaker) and an Epiphone Century (a Gibson GA-20T)

50:58 Recommended movie: the original Pinnochio, Aladdin, and Little Miss Sunshine; recommended music: Eli "Paperboy" Reed; seeing Merle Haggard at the Sacramento Western Swing Society

56:46 The naming of tubes; how to find usable tubes at a garage sale; undercooked ramen with peanut butter and chilies; dog harnesses for your amp in transit; tube substitution books ('The Receiving Tube Substitution Guide Book' by Middleton, pdf link)

1:02:47 Is my Peavey Encore 65 vintage? Working around its finicky solid-state distortion

1:09:53 Filet mignon with bacon and vodka

1:13:08 A 1972 Traynor YGM-2 that turns everything to fuzz after 1/2 second

1:15:50 Should I mod a Silverface Champ when I already own a 5F2-A?

1:21:00 The Call ("Let the Day Begin," YouTube link), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

1:22:22 Forming filter caps with a Variac?

1:27:44 A 1979 Fender Pro Reverb that changed for the worse after a power outage; William Penn & His Pals - "Swami" (YouTube link)

1:38:15 Modding a boring 1966 Fender black-panel Princeton with no reverb?

1:42:11 Why is there a jumper on the 12AX7 of my SF Fender Champ?

1:44:44 Are 1968/1969 Fender power transformers lemons?

1:51:14 Mexican pork stew

1:54:23 Tubes for a Bell 3715 PA conversion

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