Ask Amp Tech Expert Skip Simmons

In the "old days," a musician would get a hold of the best amp he could afford, then adapt his style to the gear. There was no such thing as a "harp amp," much less a harp-specific pedal or effect. These days, a lot of players hope that selecting just the right gear will eliminate feedback, improve tone, and get you all the great gigs. The only magic bullet is time spent playing, especially with other people.

Skip Simmons

Hi Skip.

Do you have any experience with these speakers? continue reading...

I apologize if this week's tips are too obvious, but they are important.

We all love to experiment with different speakers and it is easy to turn an amp on without a speaker hooked up. An amp won't instantly blow up if this happens, but if a strong signal (like you blowing through your latest mike) is sent to the amp without a speaker connected, a blown output transformer can result. Keep it in mind! continue reading...

Before "re-tubing" your amp, keep in mind that good tubes will usually last for many years in a well-designed tube amp. Also, don't expect a tube change to dramatically affect the tone unless a tube is actually bad or you are swapping for a tube with a different amount of gain, like subbing a 12AX7 with a 12AU7.

Skip Simmons

Vintage Amp Repair

Hello. I have been jamming for about a year and a half. My Amp is a Fender Blues Junior, my mic is a Shaker Madcat, and i recently purchased a Lone wolf Harp Break "Effect box...
i am having a very hard time with feedback. wherever I stand in relation to my amp, i get feedback. Can anyone help me with the potential proper settings for this combination? Thanks, T
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A rip, tear, or puncture in a new or vintage speaker cone doesn't always mean a re-cone. Try using Pliobond or Barge brand glue on the tear. If that is the only problem with the speaker, it will be good as new. Forget about nail polish, masking tape, so-called "speaker cement," silicone, rubber cement, or anything else.

Skip Simmons

Vintage Amp Repair

The best product I have found for gluing loose tweed or Tolex is a product called Alene's Tacky Glue, available at any crafts store. Unlike traditional contact cement, it is water-based and won't harm tweed or Tolex. Apply a thin coat to both surfaces, let dry a few minutes, and press into place. Thanks to steel guitar legend, Lee Jeffriess, for this tip!

Skip Simmons

Skip Simmons Amp Repair

Most vintage amps (and many new amps as well) have more than one input jack for each channel. Generally, one of the jacks (usually labeled #2) has less gain than the other. Of course guitar guys would say "Hey, I want to use the louder one" and never even try the #2 input. For harp mics it is a different story. Be sure to give the #2 input a try, as it may sound great for you and can even help a little with feedback.

Skip Simmons

Skip Simmons Amp Repair

I was looking at a Bassman, however I came across the Blues DiVille 410. It has a solid state rectifier. Should I be concerned about that? Can i change it to a Tube?

Hey! Skip hope you can shed some light on this for me or at least send me in a good direction, here goes!

I have a Eastern Amp (can't find allot of info on it but that doesn't matter) Looks like a old Masco-map 105 cabinet but I digress, for this discussion it is a Class A, single ended amp using tubes 6SL7, 6V6GT, 6X5 continue reading...