The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons

Episode 161 of the Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons tackles all of your questions about guitar tube amps. 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics. Use the discount code TAVA10MOD for a one-time, 10% discount on Mod Electronics orders at https://www.modelectronics.com. Usable on speakers, amp kits, pedal kits, reverb tanks, etc. Offer ends April 11, 2026. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:42 Phil Upchurch and 'What It's Like to Be a Musician'
3:25 On the Bench: A non-working outboard tremolo by Skip, a unique Massie trem circuit, putting trem in a Bassman 100, bias modulating tremolo
9:57 A TAVA giveaway (Thank you, Union Tube & Transistor and Exile!) 

14:44 An Electro-Music Baffler, answered; a vintage Roberts electric mandolin; Tiny Moore; Bob Wills in Sacramento
25:12 Follow our Instagram page and help us get to 10,000 followers, the Garnet amp book (link), the Garnet Herzog
28:16 An amp tech for Guam
36:12 Working on a Johnson Celestion, why were some volume pots in front of the first tube? the best spare 6V6s to seek out
42:02 Talking Micro-Frets guitars on the Fretboard Journal Podcast (link)
43:13 Why is my Fender Super 60 so noisy?
49:30 A 1968 Fender Super Reverb with replaced transformers, using the extra secondaries? bias talk
56:03 Homemade salsa
59:19 Recommended reading: Proper Records' 'Hillbilly Boogie' box set (Amazon link)
1:00:33 Recommended watching: 'The Life We Have' (YouTube link, warning: it's a tear jerker)

1:01:46 The Webster-Chicago 166-1 vs. the Voice of Music 160 amp schematics; homemade chicken wings

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.

Want to support the show? Join our Patreon page to get to the front of the advice line, see exclusive pics, the occasional video and more. 
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

Episode 160 of the Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields all of your questions about tube amps. 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts. 
Some of the topics discussed this week:
1:09 Fishing and weather report, Tule fog

4:43 Skip's amp backlog

5:19 A West guitar amp with a Dynaco 454216 transformer, a paper plate breakfast hack

10:45 Our sponsors!

12:56 What's on Skip's bench: A 1950 Princeton, a White amplifier, a Tweed Deluxe AND a Vibrolux; Electromuse amps

14:39 The Lonesome Captain's music video (YouTube link)

17:31 A Webster-Chicago 166-1 with a post phase-inverter tone control

20:36 The Valco/National/Supro single 6V6 with reverb and tremolo

28:06 A Silvertone 1472 with replaced parts; terminal strip grounds

30:55 Two filter cap Princetons (link to TDPRI forum)

32:11 An original Garnet Session Man; modding a Masco ME-27; recommended reading

39:49 The Wood Wire & Volts show; the Benson Babylon (as mentioned on episode 158!)

44:16 Speaker impedance mismatch on a Danelectro amp and its effect on tone, Spanish rice, Goya pasta

50:21 Suggestions for an unused triode in a Geloso G226A amp

54:32 Bill Krinard's return?; Dr. Z's new, single-ended PhD amp; Emery Sound amps

57:18 A new speaker for my Traynor YGM-3?; Peavey amps; smoked pork tenderlions

1:03:35 Making a baby Leslie speaker at home and adding caps to filter out EMI/interference (check out more pics on our Patreon)

1:11:00 Getting spray paint off a grill cloth (3M Safest Stripper); fixing a Fender speaker baffle; and a cursed reverb unit

1:16:50 A Cunningham CX322 tube giveaway; Alembic stereo pre-amps, redux

Note: Starting around minute 60, our Zoom connection went bad and Skip can be a little hard to hear. We tried to clean it up as best we could. Sorry!

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.

Want to support the show? Join our Patreon page to get to the front of the advice line, see exclusive pics, the occasional video and more. 
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

Episode 159 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Beans, two-prong ASMR, peeling diodes (and faceplates) and more! 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts. And honarary mention to Rancho Gordo beans.
Some of the topics discussed this week:

1:32 Rancho Gordo beans in the WSJ, corn sticks

8:13 What's on Skip's bench: All the early Fender Princetons; a baffler!

11:20 Our sponsors: and (unofficially) Rancho Gordo beans

15:15: What should I do with this extra Bell Sound 2122-C hi-fi amp?; hear the TAVA All-Stars: Bob Armstong, Keith Cary, Charles Batey, Leff Jeffries (YouTube link, audio only)

25:20 How can I remove and save my tube chart when I replace the baffle?

30:09 Comparing a 5F2A kit schematic to the original; cargamanto beans (see below)
40:34 What does Skip always replace? Sello Rojo coffee; Lustre Craft pots

47:48 A Tweed Vibrolux with rusty faceplate; WEST amps transformers?

55:48 A broken, yet soothing two-prong plug question; Stephen King's 'It'

1:01:57 Are the diodes in my Premier B-220 Custom Bass amp okay? Can Switchcraft jacks go bad?

1:10:50 Real death caps; Fantastic Fungi

1:13:05 Kraft dinner; replacement transformers for 50-watt Rickenbackers; WD-40 for joint pain
1:19:28 Homemade (mostly) pizza hacks  

Danny G's carmanto bean recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1 can cargamanto beans rinsed and drained
avocado oil in the pan
1⁄4 green pepper chopped
1⁄2 yellow onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 can El Pato hot tomato sauce
1⁄2 tsp. cumin
1⁄2 tsp. paprika
salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in the pan
Add pepper, onion, garlic
Saute for about 5 minutes until softened
Stir in the beans, El Pato, cumin, paprika
Season with salt and pepper
Add 1 cup water or broth
Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer
Reduce for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally to preferred
consistency
Serve over rice with some avocado or sour cream
This is great as is, but carnivores may want to add some meat.
Living in the Polish neighborhood that I do, I first sliced up and browned
some fresh made Kielbasa from the local smokery and put it aside before
softening the veggies in the fond, then adding it back again during the
simmering process. Multicultural chef's kiss. - Danny
Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

Episode 158: Chris Benson of Benson amps and Bryan Sours of Soursound transformers make their long-awaited returns to the Truth About Vintage Amps. Why? They want to tell us all about the logging truck of an amp they are currently building, a 700-watt(!) all-tube beast dubbed Babylon!

The Babylon will feature 14 KT88 tubes, 16 total speakers, three knobs, and two power cords. It's literally the most powerful tube amp they could make without requiring a dryer outlet.
Check our Instagram for a sneak peek at the creation. 
https://www.bensonamps.com/

https://soursound.com/

and honorable mention to...
https://bottosbbq.com/

Hear the Babylon in person at the 2026 Wood, Wire & Volts festival (or anywhere within a mile or two radius of the show).
https://www.woodwirevolts.com/
Deep cuts: Bryan's first appearance on our show can be found here (it's pretty epic) and Chris originally appeared on our 30th episode. 
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts. And happy holidays to all of our listeners and Patreon members for their support! We'll be back in 2026. 
Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.

It's the 157th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amps.  
Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts 
Some of the topics discussed this week: 
:42 Atmospheric rivers
3:52 Skip's appearance at the Bay Area Guitar Show (Jan 10-11, link)
8:46 Fretboard Journal 58 (coming soon!)

9:57 Unsung electronics hero (and possible con man) Lee De Forest (read his memoir here); power conditioners

17:44 Skip's new trail cam

20:47 One man's trash: Repurposing the square capacitor/resistor found in a Gibson GA-19 RVT/Falcon
22:44 What's on Skip's Bench: A clean early 1969 SF Fender Vibro Champ with a trem that didn't want to go slow; an Ampeg J-20
29:11 Advice on an amp road trip (New Orleans, Phoenix, LA, and Denver)
34:25 What's louder: Two 50-watt halves or one full 100-watt stack of amps
37:29 Using the potentiometers in hi-fi speaker units from the 1950s; the Christmas Jug Band; ukuleles
42:10 What's up with this Winson combo amp? EL84s vs 7189s; garlic bread; Roy Buchanan's The Messiah Will Come Again (YouTube link); Roy Clark and Joe Pass; Van Morrison's "You Are My Sunshine;" The Fretboard Journal's You Are My Sunshine project (link)
50:29 Gigging a 1947 Fender Deluxe 5A3, Brookwood leather

55:40 6L6s in Deluxe Reverbs and Princetons? wild mushrooms

1:00:43 Are all trebles created equal?

1:05:38 Greetings from Canada; Slow Horses (redux); Life on the Line featuring John Travolta (Wikipedia link); chicken curry

1:13:26 Questions re: a Knight 93SX670 PA amp and the phono wiring

1:17:23 WD-40 musings

1:19:33 Just completed my Mojotone Tweed Princeton kit, but what's with this hum?

1:22:50 An RCA MI12155 PA head with no output; Chuck Prophet; Mosquito Coast cocktails; recommended book: 'The Night Train to Nashville' (Amazon link)

1:26:40 The Whole Earth Catalog; Stewart Brand (Amazon link)

1:30:30 Vacuum Tube Valley
Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too. 
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 
Don't forget, we have a Patreon page. Support the show, get behind-the-scenes updates and get to the front of the line with your questions.