Amplifiers

Magnatone Kingston

By Scott Ulrichs

The Kingston began with a deceptively simple idea: build a smaller Magnatone with the fullness, dimension and unmistakable character of its bigger brothers. We sit down with Magnatone’s Ted Kornblum, designer Obeid Khan and Larry Cragg to trace three years of prototyping, listening and refining—from the 12-watt 6V6 platform and custom WGS speaker to digital spring reverb and true pitch-shifting vibrato. What emerges is the story of three experienced ears shaping an amplifier until every part serves the sound.

Plugged In With Underdog Amplifiers

By Scott Ulrichs

Guitarist Ryan Wariner talks touring with Heart, chasing vintage Hiwatts and Marshalls, and spending quality time with Dylan Kennedy's Underdog Amplifiers — handbuilt Tweed-inspired creations that left a serious impression.

Circuit Art For The Soul

By Scott Ulrichs

The R2R Two Knob Treble Booster, built by Chris with all-NOS parts including a Mullard AC107 Germanium transistor, offers a far more flexible take on the classic Rangemaster circuit — expanding its single-capacitor design into six selectable frequency ranges for endless sustain and bloom.

The Wizardry Of Oz Noy: Bending Time, Tone And Harmony

By Jay Jay French

Guitarist Oz Noy has spent decades dissolving the boundaries between jazz, blues, and rock, forging a style instantly identifiable and unquestionably original. In this musician-to-musician conversation with Jay Jay French, Oz traces his journey from a classical guitar in Israel to the stages of New York City, exploring the gear, tone obsessions, and musical influences that shaped his singular voice.

Komet Karma

By Scott Ulrichs

ToneQuest sits down with Mike Kennedy and Holger Notzel, the two founders and sole builders behind Komet Amplification, tracing the company's origins from a Ken Fischer mentorship and a tiny Baton Rouge guitar shop to the KAC30 and the long-awaited return of the Constellation.

A Texas Space Heater Amp

By Riverhorse

Riverhorse puts a custom-built Dark Horse Space Heater amp through its paces, exploring its 6AQ5-powered circuit with vintage speakers, tube Echoplex, and a Northern Light Custom Shop Strat — uncovering enormous growl, cinematic depth, and a responsive touch sensitivity unlike anything else in the stable.

The State Of Tubes With Martin Myers

By Riverhorse

Midwest tube dealer Martin Myers talks vintage NOS tubes, his barn-full supplier, the amps and guitars he gigs with, and what's happening in the world of tubes today — from tariff effects to Western Electric's rumored 12AX7 revival.

Chris Benson Amps

By Scott Ulrichs

Vintage Deluxe Reverb Amps

By Terry Dobbs a.k.a. Mr. Valco

Amp tech Terry Dobbs walks through the meticulous restoration of a 1965 Deluxe Reverb chassis built for a friend and the serendipitous acquisition of an all-original 1967 silver-panel example, with detailed notes on Soursound transformer upgrades and period-correct parts.

Driving Miss Daisy Chain

By Scott Ulrichs

Todd Sharp's VTLD1 tube loop driver is reviewed as a timely antidote for players who love stacking pedals but dread the fidelity loss that comes with them — preserving "true north" amp tone while offering a lush variable tube boost stage and flexible signal shaping tools.

Creator of the DryBell Brand

By Riverhorse

ToneQuest sits down with Zvonimir "Zvonch" Audio and the DryBell team in Krapina, Croatia, to trace the journey from homemade amplifiers and a private guitar-gear forum to one of the world's most celebrated boutique pedal brands. From the Vibe Machine V-1 to The Engine, Unit67, and Module 4, DryBell's story is one of passion, family, and an obsessive pursuit of authentic tone.

The Milkman Delivers

By Riverhorse

Tim Marcus of Milkman Sound hand-wires every amplifier that bears his name, drawing on Leo Fender's timeless circuits while pushing tone, consistency, and craftsmanship to new heights. In this wide-ranging conversation, he traces his path from a Vermont deli to a San Francisco workshop — and explains exactly what makes his Creamer, HT15, and AMP pedals so special.

Amp Maniac

By Riverhorse

Scary-Good Tones From A 1x12 Combo

By Scott Ulrichs

After nearly a month of playing the Kingston, we put Magnatone’s 12-watt combo through the kind of comparisons that reveal what an amp really has. Against a Princeton Reverb and other favorite low-wattage amps, the Kingston establishes its own voice—big, round, warm and harmonically rich, with a distinctive bloom, breakup and midrange character. Different guitars, pickups, pedals and even vintage 6V6s reveal an amp that responds beautifully across its range, yet proves most compelling simply plugged straight in.

Just Tell It Like It Is

By Riverhorse

John Grammatico’s pursuit of sound has taken him from high-end audio and amplifier building to a place few guitarists think to look—the power cable. Here, John traces the listening, experimentation and small refinements that led to four Sonorus cables, each voiced around different eras of Fender, Marshall and Dumble-inspired tone. Riverhorse then puts them to work with familiar amps, guitars and a stock IEC cable for comparison, discovering audible differences in body, warmth, clarity, response and gain that challenge assumptions about where tone begins.

Impossible To Unhear

By Matt McCulloch

Matt McCulloch approached John Grammatico’s power cables with the ears of a longtime player and a healthy dose of skepticism. His experience with amps mirrored Riverhorse’s, but the real question was what could happen at the pedalboard. Drawing on years of listening to high-end audio and familiar guitar rigs, Matt puts the cables where subtle changes are easy to recognize. What he hears in clarity, dimension, dynamics and the way individual pedals reveal themselves turns an unlikely piece of the signal chain into something impossible to ignore.

Vacuum Tube Mania Redux

By Riverhorse

Martin Myers, our go-to tube connoisseur, returns with news from a vacuum-tube world that is anything but finished. Demand is climbing, familiar favorites including 12AX7s, 6V6s, EL84s, EL34s and 6L6s remain firmly in play, and vintage glass continues to hold its appeal. Martin shares what he is seeing and selling, why he believes tubes still deliver something modelers cannot fully reproduce, and the encouraging possibility that high-quality American-made tubes may once again become part of the guitarist’s landscape.

The Amp That Becomes Your Soul

ToneQuest sits down with Marco Brunetti of Brunetti Amplifiers in Modena, Italy, for a deep dive into his life in electronics, his obsession with tube tone, and the remarkable Mercury1 — an amp the editors call worth thousands more than its asking price.

A Signal From Finland

By Riverhorse

Finnish guitarist Sam Vilo shares his path to music and how a visit to Brunetti's workshop in Italy led to the creation of the Mercury1 amp — now the centerpiece of his recording rig.

Dylan Kennedy On Craft, Simplicity And Tweed Tone

By Scott Ulrichs

Dylan Kennedy, grandson of Nashville legend Jerry Kennedy and son of producer-guitarist Gordon Kennedy, talks about founding Underdog Amplifiers and his passion for handcrafted tweed-circuit amps built in hardwood cabinets with aerospace-grade components.

Celebrating 25 Years Of Fuchs Amplifiers

By Scott Ulrichs

To celebrate 25 years of Fuchs Audio Technology, ToneQuest sits down with Joe Bonamassa to discuss his love of Dumble Overdrive Specials, his stage rig, and what makes Andy Fuchs' ODS-style amplifiers a cut above the rest.

Inside The Craft With Andy Fuchs

By Scott Ulrichs

Andy Fuchs sits down to discuss his collaboration with Joe Bonamassa on the JB-ODS amp, his deep study of the Dumble ODS circuit, and the hard-won business lessons behind 25 years of Fuchs Audio.

Power And Punch In A Lightweight Package

The Fuchs ODH (Overdrive Hybrid) delivers classic Dumble ODS-style tones in a lightweight, 150-watt hybrid package, blending a tube preamp with an ICEpower module for impressive clean and overdrive versatility. At $1,350 new, it offers serious value for players seeking heavyweight tone without heavy transformers.

What Would Larry Cragg Say?

By Larry Cragg

Legendary guitar tech Larry Cragg responds to ToneQuest's question about Neil Young's '53 Les Paul "Old Black," detailing its wiring history and sharing his preferred treble bleed circuit.

Twenty Years Of Dealing The Good Stuff

By Scott Ulrichs

Gene Sinigalliano has been running Ultra Sound Amplifier Sales in New York City for 20 years, specializing in small-production artisan amplifiers from builders like Two-Rock, Matchless, Bruno, Komet, and the highly sought-after Trainwrecks. We sit down with Gene to discuss his journey from rehearsal studios to boutique amp dealing, his work with Trey Anastasio, and the genesis of the Komet KAC30.

Living Inside The Amplifier

By Scott Ulrichs

A five-week deep dive into the Komet KAC30 reveals an amplifier so immediate and connected that playing it feels like being inside one of its own vacuum tubes. Scott Ulrichs delivers a passionate assessment of one of the finest-voiced amps Komet has ever produced.

The Austen Hooks Projector Pedal

By Riverhorse

Builder Austen Hooks transforms vintage military film projectors and Geiger-counter dosimeter housings into singular guitar amplifiers and a solid-state preamp pedal that has captivated players from Blake Mills and Keith Richards to Derek Trucks and Trey Anastasio. ToneQuest goes deep with Hooks on his journey from Texas A&M engineering student to underground amp visionary — and puts his Projector Preamp Pedal through its paces.

Brad Sarno —The Mind Behind The Steel Guitar Black Box

By Scott Ulrichs

Brad Sarno, designer of the legendary Steel Guitar Black Box tube buffer, talks about his journey from Heathkit tinkerer to boutique builder — explaining why guitars want to see a tube first, how impedance loading shapes tone, and what's coming next from his one-man garage workshop.

Gotta Black Magic Woman

By Scott Ulrichs

Brad Sarno's Steel Guitar Black Box Mini puts a 12AX7 tube in your signal path to restore warmth, air, and feel lost to long cable runs and buffered pedal chains. At around $300, it's a deceptively simple device with surprisingly significant results for both acoustic and electric players.

Jay Schreiber, Niche Devices

By Riverhorse

Jay Schreiber of Niche Devices discusses his path from professional drummer and electronics tinkerer to boutique pedal builder, detailing the transformer-equipped Humboldt Preamp/Compressor and what's next for the company.

RS Guitarworks Pre-wired Les Paul Harness

By Scott Ulrichs

RS Guitarworks' Billy walks us through the science and philosophy behind the company's proprietary SuperPot taper, vintage-voiced tone pots, and hand-wound PIO capacitors — and why getting the electronics right matters as much as any pickup swap.

The Milkman Delivers Again

By Scott Ulrichs

Tim Marcus of Milkman Sound returns to discuss his limited-run Jerry Garcia–inspired JG 40 amplifier, built around vintage re-coned JBL Alnico speakers, Alembic-influenced preamp mods, and custom Bryan Sours transformers — and reveals his ambitious new Milkman Alnico speaker project designed to finally replace the unobtainable originals.

A Jerry in the Box

By Scott Ulrichs

The Milkman JG 40 is a 40-watt combo built around Fender black- and silver-panel DNA and a JBL speaker, delivering one of the most musical, open, hi-fidelity clean tones available today. Scott Ulrichs puts it through its paces for months and finds an amp that reveals everything your fingers and guitar have to say.

The Gear Guru Sounds Off

By Scott Ulrichs

Gear guru Mike Waldotronics discusses the buffers, Blaster clones, custom pedals, and amp mods he's built and installed for Grateful Dead tribute guitarist Josh, revealing the meticulous craft behind capturing authentic Jerry Garcia tone.

Nashville Session Legend

By Scott Ulrichs

Nashville session guitarist Jerry McPherson has tracked on over 900 albums across 35-plus years, working with everyone from Dolly Parton to Chris Cornell. In this wide-ranging conversation he shares hard-won insights on amp tone, studio psychology, speaker choices, and the guitars that have defined his career.

The Tweed Bender

By Riverhorse

In pursuit of long out-of-reach vintage tweed Deluxes, the team tracked down a battered 1955 and a clean 1957, then worked with transformer wizard Bryan Sours to restore both amps to jaw-dropping, timeless life.

Madsen Amplification Custom Ge Boost

By Scott Ulrichs

Builder Maynard Madsen discusses the origins and design of his Custom Shop Ge Boost — a germanium treble booster built with heirloom-quality components and hand-selected NOS transistors. He traces his path from audio engineering school to boutique pedal building, explains what makes germanium boosts unique in a band mix, and previews an upcoming KT150-powered amplifier.

An Interview With Rick Heins Of Fender

By Pete Prown

Rick Heins, Fender's senior product manager for guitar and bass amplifiers, discusses the 30-year legacy of the Blues Junior and the refinements — including the Celestion G12M-65 Creamback speaker and solid-state rectifier — that define the Blues Junior IV 30th Anniversary edition.

Tone To The Bone

By Pete Prown

Fender's Blues Junior IV 30th Anniversary edition brings the same beloved 15-watt, two-EL84 tube formula that hooked a generation of players in 1995, now dressed in Black Western tolex with a Celestion Creamback speaker and a silver faceplate.

Exploration in Setting Bias

By Scott Ulrichs

Terry Dobbs — aka Mr. Valco — sits down for a deep conversation on the art and science of setting bias in tube amplifiers, covering current draw, plate voltage, tube substitution, and how wall voltage affects everything.

Amps!

A collection of candid reflections on amplifier tone, design, and feel from notable guitarists and amp builders, drawn from ToneQuest Report interviews spanning 2000–2007. From Andy Marshall's philosophy on consistency and circuit boards to Anson Funderburgh's discovery of Dr. Z, these voices capture the enduring pursuit of great amp sound.

Speakers

Legendary amp builders and speaker designers share their hard-won wisdom on what makes a great guitar speaker, from the compression magic of AlNiCo magnets to the art of pairing drivers for maximum tonal bandwidth.

More Greatest Hits

A curated collection of highlights from past ToneQuest Report interviews and gear features, revisiting conversations with Steve Wariner, Dick Boak, and deep dives into vintage Fender Jazzmasters, tweed Deluxes, and Lollar pickups.

Dweezil Zappa

By Scott Ulrichs

ToneQuest sits down with Portland amp builder Chris Benson for a wide-ranging conversation covering the origins of the Monarch Reverb, the new Monarch Reverb+, cabinet design, transformers, and the philosophy behind one of the most sought-after boutique amp lines in the world — plus a bonus chat with Dweezil Zappa on his experience with the amp.

Time And a Word

By Scott Ulrichs

The Benson Monarch Reverb+ earns high praise for its indescribably right core tone, ridiculously usable variable-wattage design, and meticulously hand-wired point-to-point chassis — a genuine standout among low-wattage reverb amps.

Deluxe Rebirth

By Riverhorse

Bryan Sours of Soursound Audio Works joins ToneQuest for a deep conversation on vintage transformer design, the sonic secrets of the Schumacher Sandwich, and why a turn-for-turn reproduction of the 1964 Deluxe Reverb output transformer is the key to restoring the amp's original voice.

Renewable & Incomparable Beauty

By Riverhorse

A deep dive into building a third vintage blackpanel Fender Deluxe Reverb from a stripped 1965 chassis — sourcing period-correct parts, dialing it in with Mr. Valco, and discovering that fresh Sours transformers and an Eminence Alessandro speaker can make a vintage DR sound more powerful than ever.

Sonic Solutions VTLD1 Loop Driver

By Scott Ulrichs

Veteran guitarist and Nashville Amplifier Service founder Todd Sharp discusses the design philosophy behind his VTLD1 Vacuum Tube Loop Driver — a handcrafted device built to restore signal integrity and dynamic feel for players drowning in pedalboards.

Blackie Pagano Interview

By Riverhorse

New York-based amp tech and builder Blackie Pagano traces his path from suburban Maryland Delta blues obsessive to 35-year veteran of guitar amp repair, restoration, and custom builds, with stops along the way for bar bands, studio work, and luminaries like GE Smith and Lou Reed.

Steve Carr Feature Interview

By Riverhorse

Carr Amplification founder Steve Carr reflects on 25 years of building boutique amps, from his early days repairing amps in Chapel Hill to the creation of his latest design, the Bel-Ray — a versatile amp drawing on Vox, Hiwatt, and Marshall circuits around an EF86 preamp tube.

The Bel-Ray

By Riverhorse

Steve Carr's Bel-Ray combines Vox, Marshall, and Hiwatt voicings in a single 16-watt, hand-wired combo — ToneQuest puts it through its paces with a range of guitars and speakers, and comes away thoroughly impressed.

Mitch Colby – Industry Legend Never Sleeps

By Scott Ulrichs

Industry veteran Mitch Colby — "Mr. Marshall" — traces his 45-year career from Electro-Harmonix and Unicord to collaborating with Jimmy Page on the Sundragon Supro Coronado replica, and introduces his new Colby ELPICO, a modern take on the tiny amp that inspired Dave Davies to invent distortion.

Tweed Vibrolux aka Knotty Pinelux

By Scott Ulrichs

A hands-on encounter with a beautifully worn 1957 5F11 Tweed Vibrolux — affectionately dubbed the "Knotty Pinelux" — traces its restoration journey from a bag of wrong caps and a mislabeled rectifier tube back to its original tweed glory.

Mark Bartel's Masterbuilt Guitar Amplification

By Scott Ulrichs

Mark Bartel has spent more than 30 years designing and handbuilding tube amplifiers and cabinets in a historic Baltimore warehouse, pursuing tones he heard in his head since his days listening to Aerosmith and Hubert Sumlin. ToneQuest sits down with the founder of Bartel Amplification for a deep dive into circuit design, cabinet tuning, speaker selection, and what comes next.

A Valco Barn Burner In A Small Package

By Mr. Valco

The Supro 1620T Sahara is a surprisingly loud small amp with a push-pull 6973 output tube circuit rated at 17 watts, capable of mini-Marshall grind and overdrive that belies its compact cabinet. This deep-dive explores the circuit differences between the 1620T and its Valco siblings — and why this little barn burner deserves far more attention than it gets.

Brown Vibrasonic Home Brew

By Mark Shanahan

One writer's road trip across America — from Nashville's legendary repair shops and vintage dealers to a surprising find at Dave's Guitars in LaCrosse — leads to a brown-panel Fender Vibrasonic and a revelatory encounter with harmonic tremolo and a JBL D130F 15-inch speaker.

The Universal Audio OX Box

By Riverhorse

ToneQuest puts Universal Audio's OX Box through its paces as a load box, attenuator, and silent recording rig, finding it exquisitely versatile — then sits down with UA's Senior Product Manager Tore Mogensen and TQR Editorial Board member Corey Congilio to dig into its design and legacy.

A Black & Gold Beast

By Riverhorse

A hands-on exploration of building the ultimate Marshall SV20H rig — pairing the modern plexi head with a hand-built Pogreba cabinet, a vintage 1972 Celestion Greenback with pulsonic cone, and a rotating cast of hand-picked vintage EL34 pairs including Mullard XF2s.

Snake Don’t Taste Like Chicken

By Scott Ulrichs

Lou Rosano's Cobra 183 is Louis Electric's meticulous take on the legendary Dumble Overdrive Special serial number 183 — a 100-watt EL-34 monster that delivers massive cleans, harmonically rich overdrive, and the elusive Dumble DNA that has captivated players for decades. ToneQuest Report puts it through its paces and sits down with Lou to learn how this grandiloquent amplifier came to be.

The Wizard Of Nashville

By Oscar Jordan

Multi-Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and guitarist Gordon Kennedy discusses his new relationship with Wizard Amplification and how their handcrafted heads have transformed his tone on the road with Garth Brooks.

Wade Goeke

By Riverhorse

Wade Goeke, the man behind Chandler Limited, shares the story of how his passion for recording gear took him from a small Iowa town to London's legendary Abbey Road Studios — and back again — to build faithful recreations of EMI's historic recording equipment. The interview also includes reviews of Chandler's handmade Germanium Drive and Little Devil Colored Boost pedals.

The Vibe Amp

By Riverhorse

Jason Arthur's JCA Circuits Vibe Amp is a lovingly refined single-ended Class A design inspired by a 1970s silverface Fender Vibro Champ, delivering wide-open clean tones, surprising low-end stoutness, and onboard tremolo in a small, studio-ready package.

Friendship Freight Train

By Jason C. Arthur

Jason C. Arthur of JCA Circuits shares personal memories of Ken Fischer — the legendary Trainwreck amp builder — tracing their decades-long friendship from a chance phone number passed along at a Philadelphia music shop to deep late-night conversations about electronics, life, and legacy.

The Rockabilly Tone Machine

By Stephen Kimberley

Stephen Kimberley makes the case for the National Glenwood, a rare Valco-built 2x12 combo with original 6L6s, tube rectifier, and some of the most commanding reverb and tremolo circuits ever to come out of Chicago.

National Glenwood 90

By Mr. Valco

The 1961 National Glenwood 90 was Valco's top-of-the-line amplifier — a 35-watt, two-channel combo with built-in reverb, tremolo, and a pair of Jensen 12-inch speakers that put it ahead of its time. This column traces the amp's lineage through Valco's Professional Series and makes the case for the Glenwood 90 as an underappreciated classic worth seeking out today.

The Pagano Double Chocolate Deluxe Amp

By Blackie Pagano

Amp builder Blackie Pagano details the design and construction of a custom 36-watt, 6G3 Brown Deluxe–inspired combo built for Cleveland guitarist Tim Parnin, covering every intentional parts choice from phenolic turret boards to Jensen Neodymium speakers. Tim Parnin then shares his first impressions of the finished amp.

Cowboys and Deluxe Road Trips

By Riverhorse

A Texas road trip to score a pair of mint mid-'60s Fender amps from "Cowboy Carl" turns into a tale of vintage tubes, a blown Deluxe Reverb, a neighborhood amp builder, and the pursuit of righteous tone.

On the Gretsch 6161 Amp

By Mr. Valco

Amp technician and Valco authority Terry Dobbs — a.k.a. Mr. Valco — digs deep into the late-'50s Valco-built Gretsch 6161, explaining its circuit quirks, its oval Rola speakers, and how a speaker-baffle conversion can make the amp truly come alive.

Magnatone Starlite

By James Mastro

Guitarist James Mastro puts the new Magnatone Starlite — a Class A 5-watt combo with an 8-inch speaker — through its paces on a real recording session, discovering far more tonal versatility than its simple control layout suggests.

Silverface Deluxe Reverb

By Greg Talley

Greg Talley traces his full-circle journey back to the Fender Deluxe Reverb, recounting how a pristine 1977 silverface — serviced by Jeff Bakos and fitted with NOS RCA 6V6s — rekindled his appreciation for one of the best amp bargains still available.

Vibrolux Reverb Enhancements

By Dave Boze

Guitarist and amp enthusiast Dave Boze shares his hard-won insights on getting the most from a Fender Vibrolux Reverb, covering everything from electrolytic cap refreshes and power tube swaps to adding a midrange control and dialing in tremolo. A practical, player-focused guide to enhancing one of Fender's most beloved mid-size club amps.

Homegrown Honey

By Riverhorse

ToneQuest catches up with Mike Kropotkin of KCA NOS Tubes for a wide-ranging conversation on the dwindling supply of NOS tubes, the best remaining options for guitar amp players, and his unexpected second passion — backyard beekeeping.

The Allen Accomplice Amp

By David Wilson

David Allen of Allen Amplification has built the Accomplice, an enhanced take on the classic Fender Deluxe Reverb that runs on either 6V6 or 6L6 tubes and delivers authentic vintage tones with exceptional hand-wired craftsmanship. ToneQuest puts it through its paces and finds it a worthy — and in some ways superior — alternative to expensive vintage originals.

'59 Vibrasonic

The Fender Vibrasonic was a landmark amp — the first with a JBL speaker standard, the first with solid-state rectification, and the first above 20 watts with built-in tremolo — yet its high price kept production numbers scarce. This review explores what made the brownface 1×15" Vibrasonic so special, from its harmonic vibrato circuit to its punchy, articulate tone.