Brian’s philosophy on amplifier construction:

Amplifiers are one of mankind’s discoveries that have a place just as important as the wheel or fire in my opinion. There isn’t too many people on Earth that can’t attribute some of their happiness to the usefulness and sound of an amplifier. It even has mysteries within its circuits that even we seasoned builders can’t with full certainty explain in cognizant terms, Just go to any amp builders seminar or forum and you’ll hear a mixture of math, science and mystery. So what makes a good amp? Well it’s a number of things:

#1 Use the finest parts and materials available.

I like to use the best parts I can get and that I'm confident will last a person his/her lifetime. Theres nothing worse than having a amp breakdown wile doing a set because of a cheap inferior part. I know because I've been there and that's one reason I build my own amps. Also it saves me $s in the long run by avoiding the problem of callbacks and having replace junk componants. Simple!

#2 Adhere to good building practices.

Experience, knowledge and patience applied. These are a few of the traits that a good tech or amp builder has. I don't know how many bad solder joints and rat nest layouts I've fixed but it comes down to either inexperience or being in a hurry. Theres no reason the inside of a nice expensive amplifier should look like grandmas sewing box. In my experience, if the design is well thougtout and looks good, it'll probably work good as well and it reflects on the integrity of the builder.

#3 Use your ears!

First off I must say that vintage components such as caps and resistors are of value in regards to tone. I use vintage and modern componants in my amps and I have a formula that works for me. That being said, it’s also possible to acheive good sound using modern component equivalents. It’s a matter of using ones ear and through trial and error, one can come up with something that works. Frequency response and electricity care very little about what it is or the age of the components in which it travels through and it’s all relative and the final product is only as good as that of the ear of the builder. The point I’m trying to make is that if it sounds good and your honest with your self in regards to that, then you have achieved good tone. If your amp inspires you to play and it reproduces your dream of tone, well you’ve done your job and the age of the components is irrelative.

Tone tweaking!

Sometimes I get people that say they like their amp but it lacks umph! or they would like more headroom or a cleaner sound at higher volumes or more grind or distortion etc.. and there are a number of simple changes that have a dramatic effect on the sound of your amp without any major modifications. Heres just a few:

1. Speakers.

For example if say your Vibroverb seems to break up a little more than you like try useing a higher power type speaker like the 200watt Electro Voice type rather than the stock vintage 30watt. These speakers are very hard to distort and work great for real clean lead work. Also with the vast array of excellent speakers on the market today with brands like celestion, Weber, ToneTubby, E.V. etc.. All have their own sound carateristics and experimenting can go a long way in changing the sound of your amp.

2. Tubes.

Tubes are another easy way to dramatically change or improve the sound of your amplifier. There's a lot that can be read and I could go on for hours about my opinions of different preamp and output tubes but everyone agrees there is a difference in different mfgs tubes and NOS (New old stock) vs modern etc.. The thing is, don't be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you. I myself prefer NOS tubes because of their more robust design and longevity but there are some nice sounding modern equivalents being made today that work quiet well. I recommend reading up on tubes if you own a tube amp.

3. Circuit Modifications

There are some useful modifications that can be done that only require minor component changes or reworking of certain circuits. Some are actually necessary such as beefing up or changing the power supply filtering layouts in older amplifiers and will dramatically improve the dynamics and response of some old amplifiers and actually increase the life of output tubes and transformers etc... Considering todays line voltage (120-125+) exceeds the ratings and design of these old circuits which were designed around 110 volt AC. Also there are a few simple gain mods that I like to use on fenders and Marshalls that are easily reversible and do not devalue a nice vintage amp but I feel it's kinda crazy to go too overboard and build a Marshall out of a fender and visa versa.

What wattage do I need?

Lately I’ve been called on to build and been reading a lot about people interested in low wattage amps. There’s a lot of misconceptions about just how loud amps are in relation to wattage. Just what is the right power for one or another persons needs? First problem some people have “ especially those that want to play at levels where tube amp distortion occurs” is that they think that half the watts of one particular amp will be half as loud and so on, such as a 50 watt will be half as loud as a 100 watt amp and in reality there’s very little difference between a 50 and a 100 watt in output. Here’s some perspective on loudness- A ½ watt amp cranked is about half of the loudness of a 5 watt amp cranked and a 5 watt amp cranked is about half of the loudness of a 50 watt amp cranked so you can see that even a ½ watt amp may be too loud for some people cranked in their apartment or room. The 18 watts that I and many others build seem small to some but many people are realizing that there isn’t much difference in loudness between a 18 and a 50 watt except that the 18 gets to the sweet spot a little sooner before your ears bleed and if I drive a 18 watt with a booster or overdrive pedal, your right up there with the big boys. My point is if you want to play clean then any nice small amp will probably be fine but it’s my experience that most guitar players can’t help themselves and sooner than later their craving for distortion overtakes them and they find that even their little 5 watter is too loud for everyone around them but themselves. Just wanted to put some perspective on the subject.