Amp summit a success!

Joe V. strikes a Jimmy Page pose.
Originally uploaded by Xose.

Yesterday I met up with a couple other homebrew guitar amp builders yesterday in Ellicott City, MD to compare amp builds and try out each other's speakers.

One of the other guys, also named Joe, donated his basement and provided some chips and Guinness. A good time was had by all, and it was fantastic to be in a room with not one, but two people who knew what the hell I was talking about.

That said, it was a complete nerd fest:
Joe V: Is that a Mullard 12ax7?
Joe Z: Yeah, I got it out of an amp I was fixing for a guy, the phase inverter was shot and the cathode bias was all wrong.
Alan: That's a nice tube.
Joe V: Yeah, really nice.
All in unison [in Homer Simpson donut voice]: Mmmmm.....Mullard.