Our Story

In 1993 I had been in the music industry for 15 years, and was looking for a creative outlet using my engineering background. I had been restoring and modifying old tube amplifiers of every description, and thought that building my own amp would be a good way to “scratch” my creative “itch”. I began discussing my idea with my next door neighbor, Trevor Wilkinson. Trevor had already established a name for himself in the biz as a master designer of guitars and guitar hardware. He was very interested in the idea, and we decided to work on something together.

We had acquired an old 100-watt chassis, and I started by gutting the amp and then building it back up with the voicing and features we were after. The goals were 1) to create a crisp, high-headroom amp to rival the best of the “clean” amps on the market, 2) to give it smooth, lush overdrive that can be used at any volume level; not just at full volume, and 3) create an amp that performs equally well with single-coil pickups and humbuckers.

After months of designing, building and listening we had an amp that we felt hit all of the goals, and the Rocket 90 was born. Trevor then worked on a cabinet design, and we had our prototype cabs built by the legendary Sam Hutton; a very creative, forward-thinking cabinet builder who learned his trade at Fender from the early ‘60’s through the mid ‘70’s. Trevor then designed our signature Rocket logo, and we were ready to go. Electroplex Amplifiers was born.

We started producing the Rocket 90 in two configurations: a 2×12 combo with a pair of Celestion G12T-75’s, and a head with a 4×12 cab loaded with either G12T-75’s or with Vintage 30’s. Sales in the States were slow at first, so we signed on with an energetic distributor in Japan. We were a “global” enterprise, however still quite small. But the combination of direct sales, sales in Japan and several US retail dealers kept us going.

One “victory” we enjoyed at this time occurred in 1994 when we loaned a 2×12 combo to the Rolling Stones for use on their “Voodoo Lounge” album. We didn’t get a mention in the album credits, but they enjoyed having the Rocket for the session, and we had some bragging rights.

By mid-1995 Trevor had decided to move his business and family back to the UK. He subsequently became very successful in the guitar hardware business and, more recently, in crafting a premium line of ground-breaking guitars. So I had a decision of my own to make: do I pull the plug on Electroplex, or do I press on? In the end I figured that I had a very viable product on my hands, and all of these parts laying around. But most of all I still had a burning desire to create an amplifier line that I could be proud of, and a curiosity of finding out just how far I could take this thing.

By the latter half of 1995 it became clear that in order to grow Electroplex, the line had to expand. A trend in the market at the time favored smaller, lower-powered amps. Fender was enjoying success with its reissue of the 4×10 Bassman™ and other models, and a renewed interest in the Vox AC-30 was creating a demand for lower-powered amps; class A and class AB or “push/pull”.

So I set out to make a 50-watt Rocket, utilizing the same preamp voicing and gain-structure that made the Rocket 90 stand out. The first Rocket 50 was a 4×10 model with Eminence-made Mojotone™ alnico tens. With nervous anticipation I “débuted” the Rocket 50 at the ’96 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim. It attracted much attention from players, dealers and competitors at the show, and it became clear that we were on to something: the Rocket 50 had an aggressive, overwhelming presence, and a sustaining capability that set it apart. More US dealers signed on with us, and the Japanese market really embraced the Rocket 50. In fact, our sales in Japan had exceeded our US sales at that time. But still, sales growth was fairly modest until January of 1997.

In the fall of 1996 I learned that Guitar Player Magazine was going to conduct a boutique amp “shoot-out” with as many boutique amps that they could get their hands on. I saw this as an opportunity for Electroplex to at least get some free press and, with any luck, get a favorable review. So, again with nervous anticipation, I sent a 4×10 Rocket 50 combo to enter the fray.

After the guys at Guitar Player finished their exhaustive evaluations they sent down their review of the Rocket 50 for me to check for accuracy. To my great astonishment and relief they loved the Rocket, declaring it one of their 3 favorites in the shoot-out. Using some highly creative language they described their impressions of the Rocket’s qualities [insert link to review here]. Then we anxiously waited for the February 1997 issue to come out.

The reader response was almost instantaneous. On January 2, 1997, the phone started ringing off the hook. We figure that that was when the subscribers received their issues in the mail. And the orders flooded in—finally we were “on the map” in the US!

And it continued on like that for months. Then in their November issue of that year Guitar Player listed the Rocket 50 as one of their picks for top gear of the year, and put it on the cover. That caused another nice “bump” in orders. We were off and running!

In the years following the Guitar Player review, new opportunities opened up for Electroplex. Rockets were selling as fast as I could make them, and players around the world were asking for them. In late 1996 the Stones were back in L.A. recording their “Bridges To Babylon” album. Since they liked using a Rocket 90 for their “Voodoo Lounge” album back in 1994, they were happy to get the use of a Rocket 50 4×10 combo this time around. [To read more, see "Burned by Keith Richards”] I was most fortunate to get a credit on the album, and of course, bragging rights at the next NAMM Show!

In August of 1998 veteran guitarist and showman Brian Ray purchased a Rocket 50 head. At the time Brian has a long list of credits, including a 14-year association with Etta James, then many others including Peter Frampton, Rita Coolidge and Johnny Holiday. Then in 2002 Brian landed a spot in Paul McCartney’s touring band, as second guitarist and bassist. While it was (and is) the “gig of a lifetime”, it really was a natural progression for Brian’s stellar career.

For his first two tours with Paul, Brian used two Rocket 50 heads, each with 4×12 cabs. The Rockets circled the globe twice with Brian, playing for Queen Elizabeth II at her 50-anniversary celebration. Afterwards, while giving Brian’s Rockets a check up, I pulled the Queens confetti out of the amps!

The second tour culminated with Paul’s historic concert in Red Square, Moscow, marking the first time American-made “Rockets” were seen in Red Square! [Read more about this in “US Rockets Hit Red Square”]

By the latter half of 1997 I had decided to develop another Rocket model, smaller than the Rocket 50. More players were using lower-powered amps, from old Deluxes™ and Vibroluxes™ to AC-30’s™ and other class A models. So by the beginning of 1998, the Rocket 35 was released.

The Rocket 35 was available as a 1×12 or 2×10 combo, or as a head. Through the end of the ‘90’s it became more popular as players discovered it, however the Rocket 50 remained the flagship of the line, up through 2000.

By the year 2000 I found myself at a crossroads. Maintaining the business as a part-time moonlighting operation was becoming increasingly difficult. Demand for the Rockets was at an all-time high, and growing. And after working my day job I would spend every evening working on amps, sales and marketing and customer support for Electroplex. So it was time to “go big or go home”.

After many family discussions and internal reflection I decided to “momentarily” halt the building of the Rockets. I was growing more distant from my wife and children, and I felt strongly that I needed to make a concerted effort to regain the closeness and happiness that we enjoyed as a young family starting out. Looking back, I feel that that was one of the best decision I have made in my life.

So, after building and selling about 110 Rockets, I stopped production. I did, however, continue to service and support Electroplex customers, including Brian Ray during his tours with Paul. And I vowed to return to building again someday, though for several years it seemed like that might never happen. But happily, it has!

During the “2000’s” I continued to follow the “amp biz” and was amazed at the continued growth of the business, and the great new products being developed. It was clear that the electric guitar was going to continue to dominate the musical instrument industry, and that great music was still being made by a new generation of guitarists.

In mid 2009, I left my full-time gig and considered retiring for several minutes. But I was driven by the strong desire to build Rockets again. I would receive several inquiries each month, even after being “dark” for almost 9 years. Plus, for the first time I could devote my full-time attention to Electroplex. It was impossible for me to pass up!

So by August of 2009 we were off and running. I started pilot production runs of the Rocket 50 and Rocket 35, concentrating on getting the same tone and response that the first-generation Rockets had. In March of 2010 I introduced the Rocket 22, a 22-watt monster using 6V6 power tubes. The Rocket 22 rounds out the line nicely, yet has its own distinct “flavor” courtesy of the 6V6’s.

This time around I’m planning on building amps for a long time, and I’m excited to see how far I can go with Electroplex!