When I was a kid learning to play the guitar I always loved the coolness of Amplifiers. It is a feeling that has never left me. Years ago I began modifying and repairing my personal amps and occasionally a friend would ask me to fix or modify their amp. It became obvious to me that the knowledge and skills I had gained over the years was becoming useful. I started Southbound Amplification, named to pay homage for a band I love, The Allman Brothers, and in recognition that I grew up in the great city of Memphis TN. Repairing and servicing amps has given me an endless education of the evolution of electronics over the last 80 years. Seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly gives valuable insight for my own amp designs.

I have been playing guitar for most of my life both on stage and at home. I truly love to play. Part of the addiction to playing the guitar is the never ending quest for great tone. While a good guitar is paramount it is only as good as the amp that it’s plugged into. The amplifier brings the guitar to life, it’s what you and your audience hear. A great amp doesn’t just make a guitar loud, it must also be quiet when you are not playing and reliable when you are on the road. The amp needs to telegraph the dynamics of the player working with them to build their confidence and allow them to explore further. When I design an amp I spend many hours with the prototype at home, practicing with my band, and on stage. When the prototype brings me to the point that I smile and just want to keep playing I can then make it a model in my line.

All Of the amps in the Southbound line up are named after trees. For the last 30 years I’ve had a day job as an arborist for the City of Missoula MT. I choose the name based off a relation I feel the amp has with the tree. The Cypress model is gritty and swampy like its namesake while the Aspen is clean, cool and crisp like a mountain tree. The Sequoia and Redwood are big and powerful amps just like the trees they are named after. Trees and amps have shaped my life and their marriage in Southbound Amplification makes perfect sense to me.