Ep. 156: "A Hoop and a Stick"

About this episode

In this episode, Skip Simmons answers listener questions about tube amps and is joined by guest Jack Weston who shares an Allman Brothers story.

It's the 156th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all things tube amps. This week: Special guest Jack Weston joins us with a great Allman Brothers story. Thank our sponsors: Grez Guitars ; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts Some of the topics discussed this week: :43 What's on Skip's Bench: a Fender Princeton with reversed input jacks 5:41 Special Guest: Jack Weston, author of 'The Allman Brothers Band: Classic Memorabilia, 1969-1976' ( Amazon link ) 46:17 The Magnatone Triplex; ultralinear output stages, redux; Bob Wills' The Tiffany Transcriptions 47:35 Raising kids and running a small business; tractor rollovers 51:13 A cooking baffler: Potatoes cooked in resin 52:30 Will my Airline 9003 amp kill me? 55:11 Traynor YGL-3A amps 56:43 Is it possible for a fuse to blow when the amp is fine? Best-case scenarios for a speaker mismatch? Jerry Portnoy's autobiography, 'Dancing with Muddy' ( Amazon link ) 1:03:02 Movie recommendations: Come See Me in the Good Light; The Lost Bus 1:05:28 The greatest Thanksgiving side dish of all-time? A corn-bread concoction; the 2026 Fretboard Summit (…

People in this episode

Host: Skip Simmons

Guest: Jack Weston

Topics covered

• Fender Princeton
• Allman Brothers
• Magnatone Triplex
• ultralinear output stages
• Bob Wills' The Tiffany Transcriptions
• raising kids
• running a small business
• tractor rollovers
• cooking baffler
• Airline 9003 amp
• Traynor YGL-3A amps
• fuse blowing
• speaker mismatch
• movie recommendations

Keywords

• tube amps
• cooking
• Thanksgiving

Sponsors

Grez Guitars, Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts

Mentioned in this episode

Products: a Fender Princeton, 9003, 6SL7, 6N2P, 6N6P, GoldenTone, West Mini IR, Twin Reverb, a Silverface Champ, Gay Recordio

Books & works: A Hoop and a Stick", the Truth About Vintage Amps, The Allman Brothers Band: Classic Memorabilia, 1969-1976, Dancing with Muddy, Come See Me in the Good Light, The Lost Bus

Places: Australia

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• Ep. 161: "Tremolo Thursday" · March 2, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Ep. 160: "Some People Can't Stand an Unused Triode" · February 16, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Ep. 159: "TAVA, Again...Exclamation Point" · January 17, 2026 · 1h 26m
• Ep. 158: "Not Just Living in Their Mom's Basement" · December 24, 2025 · 1h 6m