Bio

I designed and built my first guitar amplifier in 1977 with my best friend, Ron Young.  We built Estes model rockets when we were very young and launched them in the parking lot of Angel Stadium before it was fully enclosed.  He and I were always tinkering with different things.  I went off to college, came home that summer and told Ron I was playing with different musicians there.  I also mentioned that I wanted a Marshall Plexi, but I could not find or probably afford one.  I also did not have the tools.  His Dad managed an electronics shop near John Wayne Airport, so we asked if we could build some amplifiers there and he said it was OK.  Since I was living in Fullerton, Fender was close by.  I went there and asked for a schematic for a Twin Reverb so I could play around with the design, and they gave me one.  I also knew some of the engineers at SAE and one of them (Scott) gave me a schemetic for a Marshall 100 Watt Plexi.  I decided that I would build a hybrid using he Twin preamplifier stages and the PLEXI output stage.  I then went to MARVAC and ORVAC, two electronic surplus stores in Southern California, and started collecting parts.  I found the power and output transformers there and a 10HY choke for the power supply.  While there were radio audio transformers there, which were usually around 20 Watts, I was able to find a larger one that was used in Coast Guard radio receivers.  After I had all the parts, Ron and I built two at his Dad's shop.  We had alot of fun and I used that amplifier for years until I lost it in a move.  From there I opened a music shop in the Washington DC area and made a living repairing all kinds of audio equipment for 22 years until 2021.  I built the Talos Basic and Copperhead Auidio Engineering Model 1950 there.  I then decided to move west for a change of scenery and ended up in Loveland Colorado, where I now have a brand new shop.  More to come.........