Ep. 138: "Check for Ticks"
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!\xa0
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.
Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.
Don't forget, we have a\xa0Patreon page. Join us to get show updates and get to the front of the question line.\xa0
Some of the topics discussed this time around:
:58 R.I.P. Nick Gravenites (Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield)
3:08 Our sponsors:\xa0Amplified Parts, Emerald City Guitars,\xa0and\xa0Grez Guitars. (Watch Emerald City Guitars' Fretboard Summit video here.)\xa0
5:32 The 2024 Fretboard Summit in a nutshell\xa0
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\u2019s Music vintage gear headed to auction\xa0
24:42 When to use old, mismatched resistors?\xa0
26:39 The 2003 interview in Vacuum Tube Valley with Steve Carr (PDF link)
27:41 Removing surface rust from transformers\xa0
30:27 A 1964 Ampeg Reverberocket that pops when you turn it off
31:10 You all need a Variac\xa0
33:03 A pig farm mini-baffler; Papa Murphy\u2019s in a Weber grill
36:56 Dropping the B+ with a solid state rectifier\xa0
39:47 Flattening a Fender eyelet board, redux; how to flatten a \u201870s Fender grill cloth frame?\xa0
42:52 Aux phono input on a tube amp; replacing plastic knobs; movie recommendation: 'As It Is In Heaven'\xa0
46:48 An original 1963 Fender Vibroverb in the UK with a switchable voltage panel; John Kelly amps; Rainer Ptacek\xa0
52:33 How to select an output transformer for an amp when you don\u2019t know its specs\xa0
1:00:55 The wrong tube in Danelectro amplifiers (12AU6 vs 12AV6)
1:04:02 What\u2019s on Skip\u2019s bench? An Alamo amp; kudos to Larry Chung\xa0
1:05:43 Recommended reading: 'The Feather Thief' (Amazon link); TAVA listener and winemaker William Downie (link)
1:10:36 Using Meguiar\u2019s Convertible Top Cleaner to clean up a Premier amp
1:11:35 A Pepco Riviera 725; Frazey Ford\xa0
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\u2019s specific use of European tubes
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.\xa0
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