The Truth About Vintage Amps Podcast has turned one! Once again, Skip Simmons is fielding guitar tube amp questions from around the world.

Submit your questions to Skip here: [email protected] or, better yet, leave us a voicemail or text at 509-557-0848.

* SUPPORT TAVA & ANGELA INSTRUMENTS AND ENTER TO WIN* Order a PDF download of Steve Melkisethian's tweed Princeton amp project here. You may just win something! 

This week’s sponsor: Grez Guitars (link)

Some of the topics discussed on this episode:

1:18 The TAVA Index (h/t to Harper’s magazine)

6:55 What’s on Skip’s bench?

8:49 Speaker reconing: Scumback speakers

10:46 Skip’s Christmas wish list: A Subaru replacement, a break from phone calls

13:42 TAVA givewaway: A Stew-Mac Tweed Champ kit!

14:12 Our Angela Instruments amp project download

15:35 Manbroidery’s two-prong patch / a future Ebbett’s Field Flannels hat? (Instagram link) 

17:00 Another giveaway: An A/B box or $125 Skip labor credit giveaway

19:40 Skip gets a tractor

24:14 Dual rectifier tubes and Sag 101

28:40 Jason tries to get a special guest

31:29 Cabbage and mushrooms  

35:00 Cabinet glue

40:49 Fender’s White amplifiers

44:09 Choosing a Fender for your band

48:12 How Skip drains filter caps

51:35 Lafayette amplifiers

54:28 A 1971 Fender Bassman (AA371) with stray voltages

59:23 Making an Ampex 602A work for guitar

1:11:32 Splitting a 2x12 speaker cab

1:15:19 Using a looper pedal to help with soundchecks (h/t Julian Lage)

1:16:50 Music recommendation: Red Norvo

1:18:12 Budweiser Copper Lager and cast iron pans

1:25:43 A Cornell Romany Pro that goes through power tubes

1:33:34 Book review: Maurice J. Summerfield’s 'The Jazz Guitar'

1:34:32 Light bulb limiters

1:36:56 A Princeton Reverb-style amp with a pull-switch on the volume control

1:41:35 A Classic Tone 5E3 power transformer with one metal washer

1:43:35 A history of phase inverters

1:46:02 More new parallel, single-ended amps

Special thanks to TAVA listener Eric C. for helping us edit this week's episode.