I
n the rolling hills of northern Georgia,
deep within the heartland of the
American South, a man sharing a
moniker with an endearing soul legend
is combining perfectionism, ingenuity,
and years of experience with some of the
biggest names in rock n’ roll. Since 2009,
James Brown, an industry veteran with an
impressive track record as a chief engineer
for both Peavey and Kustom Amplification,
has been crafting these rock solid, ultratweakable masterpieces of tone with his
wife Phyllis. With 14 different models
currently being offered, and more on the
horizon, I sat down with James and talked
about the origins of his company, his plans
for the future, and the unique way
Amptweaker works from the bottom up;
where customer feedback shapes the
executive decisions of the company.
2011, I learned a lot about how the music
product business works, as well as how it
sometimes doesn’t work. Having said that,
I’ve also learned all kinds of things since
then that I had no idea about when it
comes to running a small business, and it’s
a lot tougher than it looks!
TONE REPORT: Thanks for talking to us
today James!
TR: Let’s start off with the big question,
why did you decide to start Amptweaker?
Was there a goal or lack in the market
you saw?
Our market strategy has been to offer
electronic products using customer
suggestions, using the best parts, that are
intuitive and easy to use, and to build a
brand that people know will provide that.
I‘ve been an Apple Macintosh fan since way
back in the ‘80s, and have always admired
that blend of technology and simplicity, so
our focus is less on the tool and more on
the job at hand.
JB: Well, after working in the corporate
music product business for so many years, I
wanted to get back to the basics, working
directly with musicians to develop cool
products that they wanted. As a guitar
amplifier engineer at Peavey Amplification
from 1986 to 2004, and then engineering
manager at Kustom Amplification until
JB: While at Peavey, I used the alias
Amptweaker on forums like Harmony
Central. When I designed amps and was
working with artists I considered myself
better at tweaking the tone than at being
an engineer in the strictest sense. I would
JAMES BROWN: Thanks for having me,
Yoel. It’s good to have an opportunity to
talk with you a bit, and to give your readers
an inside look into our pedal company!
In 2009, I decided to give it a shot—part
time at first until 2011 when Amptweaker
got too big to just do “on the side.” My
wife Phyllis was still working full time and
helping me stuff boards and build pedals at
nights and on the weekends. We finally got
so busy that we just had to go for it, so she
joined me full time and we’ve never looked
back! She and I still build everything by
hand, although we farm out some things
like having our custom metal housings built,
powder-coated and screened at a factory in
Dallas, for example.
TR: How did you pick the name
Amptweaker for your company?
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