The Truth About Vintage Amps – Ep. 160: "Some People Can't Stand an Unused Triode"

Podcast: The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons
Host: Jason (The Fretboard Journal)
Guest: Skip Simmons (vintage amp expert)
Date: February 16, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively, wide-ranging discussion centering around classic tube amp repair, obscure amp findings, listener questions, and the joys and quirks of the vintage gear community. Skip recounts recent adventures with visiting amp owners (and their homemade tamales), and the hosts dissect unusual amp designs, innovative (or peculiar) feedback mechanisms, and the surprising ways tech, tradition, and culinary tips intermingle in the vintage amp world. As always, listeners' questions—ranging from technical speaker matching, restoring oddball finds, to cleaning grill cloths—take center stage and spark deep dives into amplifier history and knowhow.

Main Segments and Highlights

1. Skip’s "Fishing Professor" Visit

• (00:21–04:25)

• An English professor from SoCal brings four tweed amps, camps, fishes, and trades literature and homemade tamales for amp repairs.
• Skip revels in the NorCal scenery, the visitor’s book recommendations, and the joy of sharing his environment—and food.
• A brief aside on unusual NorCal fog weather and the nostalgia of "Tule Fog" in California.

Quote:
"He had a lot of questions. But he brought homemade tamales. So Junior got into 'em when we weren't looking, which is very unusual. He's back on his game." — Skip (01:47)

2. Weather, Shipping Woes, and Shop Updates

• (02:40–05:53)

• Jason laments abnormal winter weather and ski resort closures.
• Skip updates on shipping delays: "A, I hate doing it. I hate packing… But I’m getting there. Everyone be patient."
• Teaser about discussion on obscure West amps with Dynaco transformers coming up.

3. The Legendary "Dynaco in a West Amp" Story and Listener Recipe

• (05:53–09:48)

• Listener Bruce defends his claim about Dynaco parts in West amps and provides photographic evidence.
• Bruce includes a brilliantly simple "Three Minute Breakfast" recipe using bread, eggs, and a microwaved paper plate.
• Skip discusses West amps’ construction, possible secrets inside, and the amp-collecting community’s inquisitiveness.

Quote:
"So the recipe… that's a mic drop moment in and of itself."—Jason (08:18)

4. Obscure Circuitry and Amp Design Oddities

• (12:58–16:33)

• Skip details the "Electro Muse" from the 1940s, featuring a "quality" knob adjusting inverse feedback—predating many so-called innovations.
• The "Webster-Chicago 166": Its bizarre phase inverter and plate-to-plate filtering is dissected.
• The challenges of recognizing parts, value, and reverse engineering designs lead to broader discussions on learning through schematics.

Quote:
"Once again, nothing new under the sun. Here’s some old ’40s amp… changing the sound by varying the inverse feedback." — Skip (13:44)

5. Toilet Humor, Lonesome Captain, and Community Culture

• (14:47–16:54)

• Lighthearted banter about a puppet music video "Pretty Good at Feeling Bad" by Lonesome Captain (Steve Packingham)—equal parts folklore, music, and marionette mayhem.
• Calls for a TAVA "roast" or gathering at future Fretboard Summits.

6. Valco, Airline, Supro, and Reading Schematics

• (16:54–22:34)

• Skip expresses love for the Valco/National/Supro/Airline amps, especially the "underutilized" reverb & tremolo circuits.
• Explains the importance of schematic literacy for finding affordable, overlooked gems—in part because label differences often disguise identical circuitry.

Quote:
"If you learn to read schematics… you can really learn a lot just by looking at them, and keep you off your phone." — Skip (21:14)

7. Listener Mailbag: Podcast Power

• (25:12–27:40)

• Jason recounts a heartfelt letter from a teenager’s mom—her child cited the TAVA podcast as life-changing in a high-school admissions essay, describing father-daughter bonding over drives and amp talk.
• Skip: "That’s pretty solid… More than teaching amp repair, now we get to encourage shared experiences."

8. Listener Questions – Technical Deep Dives

A. Garnet Reverb Feedback & Masco Modding

• (32:11–38:27)

• Andrew from Vancouver tackles Garnet amp reverb issues, speaker cabling, and considers modding an old Masco ME-27.
• Skip’s advice: Go for it, but remember—microphone amps often have more gain than a guitar needs.

B. Speaker Swapping, Power Handling, and Cab Construction

• (44:16–45:36)

• Phil asks about putting a 100-watt 4-ohm speaker in a 12-watt Dano.
• Skip: "It won't hurt anything, but may not sound great—cabinet and speaker efficiency matter more… Big heavy speakers and cardboard Dano cabs may not mix well."

C. Unused Triodes and Modding European Amps

• (51:15–54:32)

• John ponders the fate of an unused 12SL7 triode in a 1940s Geloso PA conversion.
• Skip: "Some people just can't stand an unused triode—I'd suggest bias-modulated tremolo with the spare triode, but altering a good-sounding amp is always tricky."

Notable Quote:
"Some people just can't stand an unused triode—can't sleep. They gotta do something with it." — Skip (51:30)

9. Amp Owner Tips: Grill Cloth Cleaning, Baffle Repairs

• (70:59–76:12)

• Dave Siegel (Sacramento) asks about stripping paint from vintage Fender grill cloth and reattaching stripped speaker studs on baffles.
• Skip: Use a "water-based, slow-motion stripper" like 3M Safest Stripper, cover with plastic, hose off gently, and dry fast.
• For studs: Try superglue or epoxy through the speaker hole to firm up, without removing the cloth.

10. Quick Takes: Food Tips, Peavey Praise, and Preamp Surprises

• Tim (Little Rock, AR) recalls running a Champ into a Carvin 2x12: "It was glorious—too loud, even!"
• Skip champions '70s/'80s Peavey—"fantastic, very sturdy, undervalued… I'd be fine gigging with Peavey bass gear."
• Bob (WA State) explains quieting EMI in a DIY Leslie cab: Use 600V .1uF cap across relay contacts (per Fender Vibrotone).
• Skip is astounded by Alembic preamps: "Plugging one into a Tweed Deluxe made it sound blackface—that preamp changed everything!"

Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I want to make bumper stickers that say, Welcome to Loma. Now go home." — Skip (01:18)
• "Don't focus so much on one thing that you're missing the boat on another thing." — Skip on restoration basics (28:43)
• "If you have an amp and you only heard it through the one cabinet, you gotta hook it up to something else. It might not be better, but it might be better." — Skip (59:54)
• "Preamp changes everything. Kinda surprised." — Skip on discovering just how much a preamp can transform classic amp tones (81:45)

Notable Timestamps

• 00:12 – Opening banter, tamale-powered amp repair
• 05:53 – Dynaco transformers in West amps – Yes, really!
• 09:13 – The microwave bread/egg breakfast revelation
• 12:58 – Electro Muse & variable inverse feedback design (old as the hills!)
• 16:54 – The Lonesome Captain and music video puppet shoutout
• 22:34 – Obscure Webster Chicago circuitry and schematic wisdom
• 25:37 – Listener letter: Teenage admissions essay credits TAVA
• 32:11 – Garnet amp reverb woes and chicken-coop Masco restoration
• 44:16 – Speaker matching: Power ratings vs efficiency and cab material
• 51:15 – "Can't stand an unused triode": Modding a Geloso—maybe tremolo?
• 59:54 – The Champ into a Carvin 2x12 live-show story
• 61:15 – Why 1970s–80s Peavey gear deserves love
• 63:33 – Homebuilt Leslie adventures: Quieting EMI clicks with caps
• 70:59 – Restoring original Fender grill cloth & reattaching speaker studs
• 79:17 – Ancient tube construction musings; gifting a 1920s Cunningham tube

Closing Thoughts

Skip and Jason continue the tradition of empowering—sometimes enabling—listeners to embrace hands-on repair, to experiment carefully, and, most of all, to revel in the rabbit holes and rabbit-foods (tamales, Spanish rice, coffee rub BBQ) that make the world of vintage amps so colorful. They highlight the importance of learning by looking at old schematics, encourage sharing discoveries, and celebrate the community that's grown around distinctive old tech, new ideas, and a really good story (or snack) along the way.

Next episode: More listener questions, more wild circuit discoveries, and a probably-cursed Fender reverb unit. Stay tuned!

[To submit questions or recipes, email podcastritboardjournal.com. To get to the front of the line, check out the show Patreon!]