Are we really running out of vacuum tubes? This week, special guest Thomas Cravener of Amplified Parts joins us to talk about the 2022 new tube shortage, plus a lot more. Reserve a new TAVA t-shirt here. 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. One of our patrons will win a Hello Sailor Fuzz Face this month! Some of the topics discussed this week: :27 A cool guy's Traynor and tube stuff from the Forest Service in Chester, California 1:47 A '60s Heathkit IG-5237 still sealed in the box (stereo FM signal generator) 4:07 The Fretboard Journal's 50th issue, the Fretboard Summit in Chicago, the legacy of Dumble 10:08 This week's sponsors: Amplified Parts, Calton Cases, and Jupiter Condenser Co. 11:12 This month's Patreon giveaway: A Fuzz Face from Hello Sailor! Effects 13:17 Fire season in Northern California 14:53 An Ampeg B-12XY with an internal 5-watt amp for speaker-driven reverb, Guild Thunderbird amps 18:26 Reserve your new TAVA t-shirt (link) 19:26 Tube naming, revisited 20:41 Last episode's smoking Earthsound Research G-2000... fixed?; more fuse talk 23:34 Skip explains his WD-40 stance; Red Green 27:53 Kevin from Ohio, eBay score Patreon perks, EIA codes 32:49 Special guest: Thomas Cravener, V.P. Sales and Marketing at Amplified Parts: Russian/Chinese tube supply; Amplified Parts is still buying/selling NOS tubes; Psvane tubes; building Mallory Capacitors (YouTube link) 56:59 Gibson GA-8; do I need a matched set of 6V6s in a parallel single-ended amp? 1:02:34 Using alcohol in cooking; kale as shoe repair 1:05:57 Building a Masco Audiosphere A-8 off the schematic (6V6 or 6L6) 1:10:15 Jupiter caps at Amplified Parts; the low acceptable DC voltage on leaky coupling caps 1:12:57 A Flot-A-Tone with a howling problem 1:15:36 A Masco head from the 50/50 Club gets reunited with its cab 1:18:00 Trying to match the dynamics and distortion of an Ampeg B-25 and a Marshall Plexi clone; post-power inverter master volume mods, buying pedals off Amazon 1:23:51 What would Skip buy: A silver-paneled Princeton Reverb, a high-quality clone, or a new hand-wired one from Fender? 1:27:20 Howling Flot-A-Tone revisited, 6SC7 tubes 1:27:10 1966 Fender Pro Reverb with a big increase in plate voltage right after using the standby switch; standby switch 101; GZ34 vs 5U4 rectifier tubes; roasted potatoes 1:37:29 Taming the treble on a Marshall Mercury (we'll attach the schematic to the fretboardjournal.com show notes page so you can see what we're discussing) 1:42:16 Skip's learning curve: Did he work on ultra-collectible amps when he was still starting out? a '53 Tweed Deluxe with no original parts; William Penn and His Pals' "Swami" (YouTube link) Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.comand please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you love the show. It helps others discover it.
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 Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.comand don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
It's the 95th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Despite some technical / Zoom difficulties, Skip and Jason talk about replacement transformers, smoking Earthsound amps, bias, 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. Some of the topics discussed this week: 1:32 Econoco, the giant tube rebuilding place in Woodland, California (link, h/t www.reelaudio.net) 3:16 Cordless yard tools 4:31 What's on Skip's bench: A Charlie Christian-style amp head for Todd Clinesmith; John Munnerlyn's Magnatone-inspired guitars, the power transformer from a blonde Tremolux head; blue molded caps 9:56 The Truth About Vintage Amps Patreon page (link); congrats to Patreon supporter Josh F. on winning a Body and Soul fuzz pedal (Body and Soul on Instagram) 14:18 Nate the syrup guy's 1965 Vibro Champ, redux; inverse feedback; reversing the primary leads on the power transformer 20:31 Beginner's Corner: Cathode bias vs. fixed bias vs. grid bias 25:07 Find this guy: Ham operator Armond Noble, the Kon-Tiki, World Radio News 27:00 A 1964 Fender Super Reverb with a strange volume taper 30:57 A tuxedo Princeton going to the Los Angeles Guitar Show 31:45 Mid-'60s Ampeg B-18N with a weird noise and a single glowing power tube that fixes itself with the standby switch 37:32 A loose rectifier tube in a 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb 41:32 Fumes from soldering 43:35 Fixing the polarity at a local dive bar 50:38 The goat murder trial is over 53:25 Sourcing the washer behind the jewel light on a Silverface Champ 58:04 Schematics for a Webster TP12-1 PA, making a Blackstar cleaner by swapping the pre-amp tube 1:03:44 A smoking 1973 Earthsound amp 1:11:20 A Harmony H400 combo up for grabs; the Fender Bantam Bass schematic 1:15:09 Replacement output transformers for Fender Champs, Princetons, and Deluxes; rewinding output transformers 1:26:37 Literary recommendation: 'Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies' by Jared Diamond Submit your amp questions, recipes and life hacks to the podcast via podcast@fretboardjournal.comand don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
This week, we welcome special guest Tony Teixeira from Tex Amps onto the show! http://texamps.com We frequently get questions about Filmosound conversions. During this episode, Tony talks to us about his process when using Filmosounds, the magic of Bernie-built amps, his own circuit designs and a lot 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. Keep the questions for Skip coming to podcast@fretboardjournal.comfor our 95th episode, which we're taping next week. Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise.
It's the 93rd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Strain relief, stubborn Champs (and Randalls!), blanched kale with sunflower seeds, and plenty 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'll be giving a TAVA-themed fuzz pedal to one lucky patron! Some of the topics discussed this week: :50 Amplified Parts now carries PSVANE tubes; tube brands 6:51 Nate's maple syrup 7:50 Garrett Hongo's 'The Perfect Sound' 10:19 A Silverface Champ, Little Charlie's Spanish rice, Trustee from the Tool Room, the novels of Charles Portis, the Kalamazoo KEA's unique push-pull circuit 17:06 Making the two channels of a reissue Fender Vibroverb in-phase; learning soldering as a blind person (link: https://lighthouse-sf.org/tag/soldering/) 24:56 Putting a few select vintage parts in a new Princeton 5F2A clone 31:35 @nocoastsaint's tractor tire-as-speaker-cabinet experiment (Instagram link) 32:52 The Fretboard Journal, TAVA, Doug Sewall's amplifiers (Wampus Cat), getting rid of intermittent noise by moving an amp, cheap surge protectors, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder's 'Get On Board' 43:01 A 1965 Fender Vibro Champ that's with a squeal on its vibrato, Capacitor Wizards, bypass cap orientation 48:11 A new transformer for a Victor projector amplifier and matching speaker 50:25 Overheating parts during soldering, using a heat sink? 53:38 The MTS modular tube preamp system 55:53 Strain relief bushing tips, Pro's Kit, blanched kale with toasted sunflower seeds, madsenamps.com giveaway (coming soon) 1:01:51 A stiff 5E8A clone with two game changing mods 1:06:13 A reissue tweed Champ that sputters for 30 seconds every time its turned on 1:08:12 A Randall Century 3000 solid state amp that decides to change its own volume 1:11:00 What to source for a cheap but defective 1965 Gibson skylark GA5 1:16:22 Music recommendation: Jim Hall & Paul Desmond
It's the 92nd episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! Harvesting capacitors, recommended reading, Fred Astaire 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'll be giving away a handmade pedal to one lucky patron! Some of the topics discussed this week: 2:19 The great tube shortage on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Western Electric 300Bs, a million dollar vacuum tube 11:39 Good goo for repairing rotten cabinets 13:59 A Precision Electronics PA amplifier with no model number; the rising prices of vintage PA heads 21:37 Recommended reading: Garrett Hongo's 'The Perfect Sound' (Amazon link) 22:43 Mic pre-amps at Tiny Telephone, RP2s, the Tiny Telephone podcast, Keep the Dream Alive (link) 29:42 Drawing layouts and schematics with DIY-fever.com's app (link); National Geographic's 'The Rescue' 32:29 A 1950 Fender Deluxe signed "Lilly" (Instagram link) 34:40 A bunch of tweed amps at Skip's; a 1953 Fender wide panel Tweed Deluxe score at an estate sale 38:54 Good-All branded caps vs blue molded caps 40:01 Harvesting old coupling caps: Which brands are worth saving? 43:27 Building an Angela SSE amp with a few mods: The cathode bias on the second half of the 12AX7, experimenting with a Variac to lower B+, Zener diodes to a center tap, repurposing an old jukebox amp, recommended book: 'A Fortune Life,' by A. B. Facey (Amazon link), vegetarian congee 50:46 Recommended music: Fred Astaire's The Astaire Story; Fred Astaire and Barney Kessell 52:44 Lesser known vintage amp brands with surprisingly good tone 56:32 Bahamas plays "All the Time" on a Skip-modified Fender Champ at the Fretboard Journal (YouTube link) 56:59 Buying a new boutique amplifier to get a modern reliable tweed sound 1:01:19 Strain relief for the power cord in a Gibson GA88s, Grandma's Smoked Country sausage from Broadbents Hams (link) 1:05:12 Skip is taking visitors again; Loma Rica Mexican cuisine; lots of disc capacitors up for grabs; a Heathkit SA-3 integrated stereo amp 1:11:00 Daisy chaining amps, a Bugera BC30-212, and a desire to make a foot switchable daisy chain through the effects loop 1:15:08 Running a guitar into both channels of a Northern Electric PA, redux 18:11 Reusing the factory solder during a Fender Champ fix 1:20:17 A silverface Fender Champ with an annoyingly loose can capacitor 1:22:36 A 1967 Deluxe Reverb with a broken reverb tank 1:26:07 Fixing a Gemini VI project; Texas breakfast tacos 1:30:35 Early electrics at MIM.org; the Appleton guitar APP guitar (link) 1:32:25 An antique building with a buzz and/or ghost problem; "Be Thankful for What You Got" (YouTube link) Haven't joined the Fretboard Journal yet? Use the discount code PODCAST and save $5 off your next Fretboard Journal order.
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 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) Haven't joined the Fretboard Journal yet? Use the discount code PODCAST and save $5 off your next Fretboard Journal order.
It's the 90th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps! John Smith serves us a chorizo lasagna dish; we hear the demented sounds your tubes are making on their own; the answer to last week's baffler and much more. This week's episode is sponsored by Jupiter Condenser Co.,Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchaseand, if you head over toBED|STÜ shoesand use the discount code FRETXBS, you'll save 20% off your BED|STÜorder and help support the FJ. 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: 4:57 What's in a blue molded cap? 6:17 Our Patreon page and a Patreon-only giveaway 8:14 The Ep. 89 Fender Chris Stapleton amp baffler answered 13:03 Burning Spear, Marysville postcards, and electric trains 13:55 Beginner's corner: Basic servicing on a Traynor YBA-1 and a 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb; Alex Shultz's 'Think About It' 18:27 A Peavey Classic 30 with a sibilant buzz 23:11 Why are vacuum tubes called valves; eggs with smoked paprika 26:35 Grez guitars; a 1978 Deluxe Reverb with a microphonic channel 1 33:07 Rewinding transformers: worth it? 37:33 A Fender Musicmaster bass in Daphne blue up for grabs; a memorial for Little Charlie 39:47 A blackface Fender Vibrochamp with a bad hum; artificial center taps and various other mods; Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five (YouTube link); Weller 8200 for chassis ground connections?; Weller 550 48:42 The sound coming out of your tubes; Universal Audio OX; Steven Spielberg's Duel 54:05 Thanks, AmpsAmps 55:13 Two Craigslist finds: Cutting the cord on a free Hammond M-111 and a what to do with an empty 2000 Fender Twin Reverb shell 1:00:51 Steel players and their quest for more headroom; overdriven steel artifacts; tips and tricks for getting more headroom from an amp 1:06:39 John Smith finds tube amp happiness with Benson Nathan Junior; chorizo lasagna (with El Pato); watch John Smith on That Pedal Show (YouTube link) 1:10:50 Has Skip ever been shocked?, signal bleed on a PA amp; Jeff Healey's trumpet playing 1:14:51 The most sought after Masco PA heads 1:20:56 Turning a Knight 93-360 into an octal Gibson GA-20s and what to do with the phono input? 1:25:25 Speaker efficiency and sensitivity 1:28:26 Why new crock pots suck 1:31:03 Filter cap changes on classic Marshall circuits 1:37:26 Theoretical circuit splicing 1:40:26 How does Skip desolder a connection? 1:42:38 Making Filmosounds safe, Cheesy Hammy Eggy 1:46:52 More good goo: S&F Smothered Cajun sauce (link) 1:48:38 A microphonic 1966 Fender Bassman head; can high humidity make a fiberboard conductive? leaving an amp on to dry it out
Special guest Max Hart joins Skip and Jason to talk about working with Melissa Etheridge (and Katy Perry), using vintage tube amps on the road, his pedal board and more. Plus, all the usual listener submitted questions, recipes and more. This week's episode is sponsored by Jupiter Condenser Co.,Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchaseand, if you head over toBED|STÜ shoesand use the discount code FRETXBS, you'll save 20% off your BED|STÜorder and help support the FJ. Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. Some of the topics discussed this week: 2:30 Putting the old Astron Minimite capacitors back inside a Vibrolux... in Thailand 6:22 Special guest Max Hart: Melissa Etheridge, touring through COVID-times, Hammond B-3 variations, Max's pedal board, Leslie 147s vs. 122s, touring with a vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb, in-ear monitors, Eric Gardner, living in Woodland, CA, his guitar...
Chokes, scalloped potatoes, Monoprice amps, phase inverters, and more! It's the 88th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps. This week's episode is sponsored by Jupiter Condenser Co.,Amplified Parts and Grez Guitars. You can also use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchaseand, if you head over toBED|STÜ shoesand use the discount code FRETXBS, you'll save 20% off your BED|STÜorder and help support the FJ. Support us on Patreon.com for added content and the occasional surprise. Some of the topics discussed this week: 2:31 Before you start charging people to fix amps... 5:57 RIP listener Bill Eldred; happy birthday, Clayton 7:04 John Vanderslice's new podcast, 'Keep the Dream Alive' 9:09 Skip's music recommendation: Brave Combo 10:24 economycandy.com for all your vintage candy needs 12:02 Live taping of the TAVA's 100th episode at the 2022 Fretboard Summit? (Chicago, August 25-27) 13:22 Skip sounds like Jerry Garcia, redux; Jerry Garcia Funny Story (YouTube link); what to do with a busted Monoprice Stage Right 15-watt, 12" combo? 20:35 How did Fender circuits get named? El Pato red enchilada sauce (in the big can) 24:36 Tweed Deluxe vs. Ampeg M-12, redux; replacement reverb tank for a Gibson Falcons (4FB3D1B) 27:02 Chokes: What are they, why and more? henrys; scalloped potatoes 34:34 A Cromwell lap steel and matching amp; pre-servicing an amp to clean out pests, etc. before you send it to a tech; more scalloped potatoes; Aleene's Tacky Glue 39:34 Recovering old cloth-covered wire; Otis Amps on the Sonic Artifacts Podcast 43:18 Boutique builders: Vintage 47 amps (link); Swart amps; Dr. Z; BC amps (link) 46:53 Kalamazoo Reverb 12 revisited; 5E3 vs. 6G3 (Deluxe) schematics 50:01 Phase inverters in the 6G3, 5E3 and Ampeg M-12 amps 51:02 A typewriter baffler from listener Bob K. 54:25 Phase issues with different sized speakers?; using a 9v battery to test the phase of a speaker; Nashville Amp Works 58:49 The Beginner's Corner for Tone Geeks, by Marty from the Oregon Coast; Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive pedal (link); Neil Young's 'Live Rust'; non-alcoholic hoppy water 1:11:30 The Ampro combo amp revisited 1:15:33 Recommended reading: the Ampeg book, the Gibson amp book 1:16:54 The TAVA Angela Super Single Ended amp group build... happening soon (we hope)! 1:18:27 Simple recipes: Cast Iron Roast Chicken (link), Herb Salad (link); an Ampeg flip-top B-15 with replaced coupling capacitors; Cornell Dubilier capacitors, mylar versus polyester; Johnnie Taylor"It's Your Thing" 1:33:52 Recommended sources for good resistors and caps for new builds; Skip still has a TEAC a7010 reel-to-reel tape deck available 1:40:32 A circuit for weirdos: Epiphone EA-70 with tube compression 1:41:10 Recommended reading: Trustee from the Tool Room 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.