Ep. 138: "Check for Ticks"

The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

It's the 138th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amps!

This week, we pay tribute to Angela Instruments founder and former guest Steve Melkisethian (1950-2024); talk resistors and transformers; catch up on the 2024 Fretboard Summit; and much more.

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Some of the topics discussed this time around:

:58 R.I.P. Nick Gravenites (Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield)

3:08 Our sponsors: Amplified Parts, Emerald City Guitars, and Grez Guitars. (Watch Emerald City Guitars' Fretboard Summit video here.)

5:32 The 2024 Fretboard Summit in a nutshell

10:29 R.I.P Steve Melkisethian (Angela Instrument); read our tribute here

18:42 R.I.P. Stephen Fitzstephens, member of our Kegger Facebook group

19:18 What was Skip listening to as a kid?

22:08 Skip’s Music vintage gear headed to auction

24:42 When to use old, mismatched resistors?

26:39 The 2003 interview in Vacuum Tube Valley with Steve Carr (PDF link)

27:41 Removing surface rust from transformers

30:27 A 1964 Ampeg Reverberocket that pops when you turn it off

31:10 You all need a Variac

33:03 A pig farm mini-baffler; Papa Murphy’s in a Weber grill

36:56 Dropping the B+ with a solid state rectifier

39:47 Flattening a Fender eyelet board, redux; how to flatten a ‘70s Fender grill cloth frame?

42:52 Aux phono input on a tube amp; replacing plastic knobs; movie recommendation: 'As It Is In Heaven'

46:48 An original 1963 Fender Vibroverb in the UK with a switchable voltage panel; John Kelly amps; Rainer Ptacek

52:33 How to select an output transformer for an amp when you don’t know its specs

1:00:55 The wrong tube in Danelectro amplifiers (12AU6 vs 12AV6)

1:04:02 What’s on Skip’s bench? An Alamo amp; kudos to Larry Chung

1:05:43 Recommended reading: 'The Feather Thief' (Amazon link); TAVA listener and winemaker William Downie (link)

1:10:36 Using Meguiar’s Convertible Top Cleaner to clean up a Premier amp

1:11:35 A Pepco Riviera 725; Frazey Ford

1:14:04 Posters by Serifs & Whiskey (link)

1:15:10 Blossom Valley Foods' Pepper Plant sauce (link)

1:15:37 Fixing a reverb tank by changing the transducer; Fender’s specific use of European tubes

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