Amp Check Today

Tube amps are like a car. You change the oil, rotate the tires, sometimes need new belts, brake's, alignment, you know , whatever, oh, and that gas thingy too! If that's too much you can always walk or ride a bike to work. Better yet, ride a horse, which is arguably a little maintaining work too, but at least the horse loves you back, and has your back! So it's the joy each one of us we get from ones approach that trumps the not so joyous times. Times in the past most people had to be a " Jack of all trades , master of none " just to survive
 
Vox, I was not wealthy by many standards growing up. What few toys and equipment I had to use for fun like a bike or skateboard, I maintained with only as many tools as I could count on 1 hand. Having what one called a "short toolbox" gave me mad skills at inventing ways to fix stuff.
Now electronics does not lend itself to half assed work (dangerous) But now that I am older and can utilize books and internet to visualize what the books tell me, I am learning quite a bit about electronics and find it very satisfying.

Amps of either tube or SS can fail and thus I am glad I am learning to fix either kind.
 
My learning slowed way down when the boogie mk 111 ( red stripe ) took a dump on me. I actually studied the SS components for a year before I fixed it properly! Not much circuit card experiences till then, just point to point, I had it from new and it was by my side for 30 years, along with an AC 30 or three, of course. We all had the same upbringing as kids inventing ways to do stuff. The folks wouldn't/couldn't buy me a guitar so I went down into the cellar and made one of questionable quality. Used slot car track pins as frets, cut op an old formica countertop for the mother of toilet seat body appearance. Fishing line for strings!
 
Well sir, the Rangers are big on training. Guess that's where I acquired the discipline for training. And while working full time as a peace officer I went to tech school to learn electronics and also a musical craft dept of a university for two years to learn how to be a luthier. The headmaster was a gentleman from Germany and his family had been building stringed instruments for six generations. Mainly violins and such along with classical guitars. He was hard and as strict as any Drill Sgt I ever knew, but was a pure genius at his skilled craft. I learned volumes from him. He'd cuss me in German and I'd cuss back in Vietnamese and Spanish! It was a riot. He'd call me "Mine dumkoff Politizi" (probably spelled wrong) when in a good mood. The rest of the time I knew he was cussing by his tone.
 
Wade, I know of what you speak as my father and grandfather were German and sometimes they could be very difficult to be around, exactly as you've described!
 
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