I'm an old EE and was trained to solder by an older lab manager, so I was trained to heat the wire, not the solder. You're one of the few electronics techs I've seen here on KZfaq who demonstrates the proper technique in performing this simple but essential task.

Lyle, no groan, your "Gentle Bend" got an old fashioned belly laugh out of me. I'm a little past a decade older than you, what you watched as reruns I saw in primetime and the grade school reading list must have been pretty universal across "fly-over" country for late "Boomers" and early gen X. Keep up the good work its much appreciated.

Vampire Tools solder sucker, made in Japan. Sold on Amazon for $20. You're the man!

Yeah, all ten of us are old enough to remember Gentle Ben and not have dementia to the point of having seen the TV show and forgotten all about it. I have used GEC (Hammersmith Genalex) KT66s in Fender amps but I have to put in the spring clamps or the Rasta Farti hat tube holders. I'll bet that internal tooth lock washer has been lost in there since the 1970s.

And here I am. Buying new mouse for laptop because an old one have wires messed. You are doing god's work!

Ya gotta love it when you find an extraneous bit of something conductive loose , or wedged, inside the amp *before* you put it back together. Yesterday at work I put a big Nakamichi power amp back together, tipped it up on it's back-panel feet for a final cleaning (lots of grungy dust in-between the massive heatsink fins, always a pain to clean such beasties), and heard a "ka-clunk" inside, so I had to open it up again and fish a tab of aluminum out of it. No idea where it was hiding --- I had both heatsink assemblies and output boards completely off of it at one point ---- and it's not anything I recognize, not part of the contruction of the amp. Must have been left there by the previous servicer. Glad I found it before the amp shipped back out *to another country*.....

If I ever need a pacemaker, or need a replacement...I'm going to hire you to do it😉😎👍

This is quickly beginning my favorite amp repair channel. Thanks to the algorithm for putting these in my feed

Your humor is one of the many reasons I follow this channel.bear with me, lol

Keep talking to yourself (us) to stay clear headed Gentle Ben(d)! We are here!

I anticipated 4 things you said in this video about a second before you said them.

Another fantastic video and learning experience, thank you!

I like to play hide the tool…….I have played that many times building engines. Also played hide the new parts especially the smaller ones. It was very funny to hear that.

We use Soldapult solder suckers where I work. They work really well and hold up too.

They even showed Gentle Ben(d) here in the UK...I'm afraid I don't think I ever watched a whole episode...did I miss a classic? ;-)

I have an Engineer brand solder sucker, one of the Japanese surgical tubing style ones. I absolutely love it, it sucks really well and I've only had to clean it once after about a year of heavy use. I recommend it! The surgical tubing really helps with suction in the spot you actually want

If that's Gentle Bend, you must be Grizzly Ampman.

i've been using a solder sucker pump by Jonard Industries, model DP200. it's about $25 at mouser, and it works wonderfully. highly recommend.

Reunited - sounds so good.

One of 2 acting gigs Clint Howard ever played where he wasn't a weirdo. The other was a no speaking lines, PB&J eating Leon on The Andy Griffith Show, acting alongside his arguably more famous brother Ritchie Cunni..er....I mean Ronnie Howard...just Ron. And although Grizzly Adams had a bear named Ben, it wasn't the same one.

That is why it's not allowed per the NEC to make ground connections with solder alone. They have to be mechanically connected, and solder can be used to freeze the connection. Studs, ground lugs, and nuts are the usual way to go.

These particular type of videos of yours are so invaluable to us hobbyists and aspiring techs. Thank you so much Lyle. Great stuff here. Question for you. What lead to the spaghetti wire madness? Did fender just completely gut their original production force by the 70s and replace them with semi skilled labor? Seems like such a huge shift in wiring quality.

Gentle Ben....6 of 10. 👌⚡🔈🔉🔊🎵🎶

I bought a assortment of stainless dental picks that work great for retensioning tube sockets off EvilBay- China made of course.

Lyle, great videos - I´m also a big fan!!! I´m interisting in making some modifications to the "ultraliniar" Silverface Twin series amplifier. Is there a chance to make some easy changes to the circuit board to improve the sound quality of this amplifier? Greatings from Germany, Patris

Thanks for another great video. Why not a little bit of loctite to keep those nuts securing the transformer in place? Just curious if I should be avoiding it in that type of situation. PS: I'm guessing that many more of us get your subtle references then you might imagine. Keep 'em coming.

I bearly keep myself from spewing coffee on my laptop. NYUK -NYUK.

I’ve been wondering something about soldering to chassis. If you were building an amp, would it be feasible to just weld a bolt or turret to the chassis in strategic places to facilitate the grounding? I feel like that would be a snap. Only thing I can think of that might be a problem is galvanic corrosion if the metals are too different.

Gentle Ben you Gentiles

I understand they are showing "Hide the Tool" in elementary schools now. So don't worry about corrupting the kids, they're already jaded. 😭😭😭

I got one of those japanese solder suckers and they work really well for circuit board stuff but they are too small for amp work and just get jammed up

I gotta say, most of the time I've re-tensioned those bear traps, at least one of them has usually snapped on me...

my roomie has an early 70's deluxe reverb. it has a 50watt pyle driver in it. it's one of the best deluxes i've ever heard. is it the speaker?

Retensioning those sockets made a huge difference for me! Have to be gentle... speaking of... watch the second half the 2 minute video with this title. I think your groan may turn into a chuckle Flipper & Gentle Ben (Live)

OK Dan Haggerty....The word for that leftover flux and junk is called SLAG.

I have a SFTR with a MV. It's the 135 watt model. Is there an easy way to troubleshoot a hiss. On both channels. Could a tube be involved? Just played a couple times lately it sat for some years. I only used it in home and not much. It was serviced 1 time since I bought it and that was maybe in mid 90s. I have no idea if there was any hissing least time I played it a few years back. I have volume control on 2 or 3 and that's loud as hell. Brite switch off as it increases the hiss. Thanks for any knowledge...

Lyle, I've become a big fan of the channel in the last couple weeks. What you're doing is very cool. I'm curious if you've had any Swart amps on your bench and if so what your general impression of them is.

Wasn't there going to be a "amps under a 1000" video? Kind of waiting 4 it.

I find Naphtha works better for cleaning flux than isopropyl alcohol.

Good evening

any thoughts on using a terminal strip for grounding? I've seen a few other good (IMO) amp techs using this method. I trust your opinion & as any smart person would I at least listen to what folks have to say & I've learned a lot.

Lyle, what kind of iron do you use for chassis grounds? And primary iron? I know I heard this mentioned in another video but I can’t for life of me find it. Thanks!

I spray WD40 in my solder sucker, it makes it almost instant in removing.

Lyle, would adding 'spring tube retainers' work better than the 'bear trap' tube holders? If so, why don't you use those? Love the videos - keep 'em coming!

I get the tool blindness thing. Where is it! Where the eff is it! for about 5 minutes - then realise its right in front of me!

why only run 2 tubes, will it break up at a lower volume

What iron do you use for soldering to the chassis?

Hi Lyle, could modern Fender 'spring and cap' valve retainers be used to replace these old 'bear claw' retainers?

Steel... is it not aluminum?

Which website do you recommend buying tubes from?

I got it and i’m groaning.

I've noticed some channels advocate for replacing sockets. They say bending the contacts is only a temporary solution. Thoughts?

That pair of new Tung-Sols sure look a lot like KT66s, with that tube base shape and plate structure and all. Are you sure they’re not KT66 repros?

What's that Ben? There's a ground lug loose in the Fender amp that needs fixing and I have to hurry? Or was that Flipper or Lassie?

I think you're seriously underestimating the, uh... maturity of your audience if you think we're not going to get gentle ben references