Ep. 141: "I've Got an Alamo That I Want to Forget"

Missing your rambling relatives this holiday season? You're in luck! Tune in to Jason and Skip as they ramble through weather reports, amp fixes, book recommendations, reflective impedance, reverb-driven line-out and more on our 141st episode! Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com. Some of the topics discussed this week:  :48 Weather report: Rain in the West, bomb cyclones in the PNW 4:32 A 1968 Heathkit catalog with DIY Harmony Guitar kits 6:35 Thanksgiving at the Simmons house 7:09 A noisy Alamo; Pathfinder, the band (link); bands named after amplifiers  8:49 Our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts (Jensen speakers are currently on sale!)  10:58 Deluxe Amplication's red can El Pato Practice amp! (link, I said green on the podcast...my bad) 11:50 Pre-order William J. Simmons' new book, 'Love and Degradation: Excessive Desires in Queer-Feminist Art' (pre-order link)  12:51 Recommended reading: 'The Golden Ocean' by Patrick O'Brian 14:33 What's on Skip's bench? The secret solid state guru in Sacramento, not to be confused with the washing machine guru 18:54 The Truth About Vintage Amps Patreon page; guided tours of the Skip universe?  20:50 Jason interviews a yogi on the Fretboard Journal podcast (link)  22:35 Adding a half-power switch to a push-pull amp?, tortilla chips  29:48 Would a variac set to 110v help new amps?  31:49 Mullard 10M tubes; going back to school; Skip has all the NOS Amperex 12AX7s   37:58 A Denver TAVA meetup?; one filter cap or two in a Gibson GA-25? Replacing non-polarized electrolytic caps by twisting two regular negative caps together 41:03 More on Skip’s new (old) Fender Duo Sonic 48:26 Using your Fender’s reverb circuit to drive a speaker; Sherlock Holmes’ lazy brother 52:36 Skip is going to make an outboard tremolo pedal 53:09 Why do some reverb tanks have bags? 52:22 A non-alcoholic cocktail featuring ginger ale and cranberry juice 56:02 "I smile at pretty solder joints;" Riddim Restoration of Bellingham, Washington (link)  1:00:45 An early 60's Geloso 215AN, a diode bridge and a choke to create negative voltage; and Denver chocolate pudding cake   1:07:14 Reusing old blown transformers 1:09:00 KVMR Community Radio (link) 1:10:05 A mid-‘50s theremin schematic; the Theremin documentary   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. Join us to get show updates and get to the front of the question line. 

Om Podcasten

Twice a month, guitar amp guru Skip Simmons fields your questions on vintage tube amp repair, restoration and collecting. Often hilarious and always insightful, it's like no other guitar podcast out there.