Evacuated Electronics

OK.. Here's my story. It's a little insight on how I got to this point. I do what I do for the same
reasons you ended up here on my site. It's about music and great tone. This is a labor of love
for me. I'm not in it to become rich, or famous. That would be cool too, but I'm not betting the
house on it. I have a day job and a family, and need to keep food on the table. I know that many
musicians, even with their gift of talent, are not about to open up their amp and repair or
modify it. That's where I come in.

I am an electronics nut. Not exactly buying or owning, but building and repairing. I was poking
around inside old televisions and radios since I was about six years old. Other kids were out
playing with GI Joe, not me, I was at the kitchen table with a bag of wires and batteries and
other stuff. I started playing guitar when I was 15, but I didn't have the patience to dedicate
myself to it, I was too busy doing typical teenage things. Soon after, while on a job one day,
some hippie dude gave me an old tube P.A. head, a Stromberg Carlson, that I still have. I
added an input jack, plugged my guitar in and that was it! I was hooked on the glorious sound
of TUBES. I started experimenting, and collecting, off and on until about 10 years ago when I
was listening to Neil Young (Sleeps With Angels) His guitar sound on that disc blew me away. It
was then that I decided to build my own guitar amps in search of that "TONE". I worked on the
side repairing electronics for music stores and a studio in Prov. R.I., using the money I made
to further my obsession. Learning and experimenting, looking for that magic combination that
will yield sonic nirvana. This is where the guitar amp bug bit me. I know there are many
talented builders out there, and I respect them, but I believe we can all share this big arena
and keep the quality and uniqueness each of us brings to you.

Life hands you some strange turns sometimes, and I had been kind of taking a break from it for
a while, but the smell of a hot soldering station is luring me back to the bench every day. I
have a few ideas in my brain that haven't left, and they need to get out.

I love effects, and the infinite ways they can be used to shape your sound. I absorb all the
things I hear and read about these little boxes of mayhem, to allow me to experiment and
modify. Zachary Vex is a genius my friends..

I play guitar as much as I can, a rank amateur compared to many, but well enough to know good
sound, and to be able to properly judge the stuff I make and fix.

I love bikes too. I've been on and around motorcycles since I was a little kid. Ever since I can
remember I wanted a Harley. It had to be a Sportster though, It's a personal thing. People
sometimes put down sportys and call them a "girls bike", but I don't care. It's what I like. Some
of my best memories are of riding with my family and friends, going to the blessings at
LaSallette when i was too young to get my license, watching my uncle take my 60 year old
grandma for a blast on his old Bonneville. Now he's almost there and we ride together. Him on
his old kick only shovel, and me on my sporty. So cool...

Part of my personal collection of tubes. I'm a pack rat. This is just the top layer in this box.
They're three layers deep, all twin triodes.
Yum!

This thing is a prototyping box I made years ago. It has tube sockets wired to terminal strips,
and a few different power supplies inside. You can experiment without having to re solder
everything a bunch of times.

Here I am checking a few tubes on the ol' Hickok. This tester I use is a military version of a
Hickok TV10-D/U. It's the standard to which all others are compared .

Here's my bike. It's a '91 XL1200. Big time fun to ride! I have had to change some things on it
since this picture was taken, due to a Chevrolet pickup truck that made an appearance one
morning.