Elton Y. Wong

I’ve been interested in tube electronics since I got my first tube guitar amp in college (it was a 30-watt Crate “vintage club” combo). It was weird and intriguing that such an antiquated device could still be so popular, even with the expense and hassle involved. But the Crate amp did sound better than my previous solid-state Marshall – sort of warmer, and definitely more present in the room. Since then, I’ve learned guitar amp hi-fi design from various sources, especially tubelab.com and Morgan Jones’ book "Valve Amplifiers." For every amp I’ve built, I have plans to build another five or so, which is probably about average for people with this hobby.