greatmutah2112

Yeah I got my Mk I in the wave of the first 25. Funny story… earlier that year I won an auction on eBay for 4 Greenbacks and asked if I could meet the guy in Saginaw. He sent me George’s address and told me to meet him there. That was Danny Ardouin and he introduced me to George and they sold me an amp by having me play his prototype and 12380. I made an order shortly thereafter and got #22. This was when it only had the 68 and modded 68 modes. He later did the 66 mode and offered free upgrades to anyone who wanted to send theirs in. So I drove back up and he happily ripped my amp apart to get it up to date lol. Last time I saw George in person was before my son was born in 2018. Took my amp up just to have it looked over and checked out and say hello. He gave it a clean bill of health but while he had it on the bench he let me try the clipping diode he was using for the DVL-1s. Offered to put it in too. We A/B’ed that a couple times against the stock and I stayed with the stock because I liked it better. More classic plexi chime in that one. I could have had a DVL-0.5 hahaha. George is a salt of the earth human being and I’m bummed his business went this way but I hope he’ll be back in some capacity. Why a company like Boutique Amp Design or someone else hasn’t offered to buy and produce his designs and have him on as a consultant is beyond me. Yeah, I know folks will say Dave Friedman’s stuff is already in their portfolio and I get that… but Dave’s stuff sounds like a recording of a perfected modded Marshall. George’s amps sound and feel like real 60s Marshalls. George’s amps capture the raspiness and raw edginess of the old Plexis.

It’s been a massive bummer. I still read the Friday blurbs from George. I’m sad I wasn’t able to jump on one of the Mk IIs but my Mk I is going strong still. George loved building amps. When I took mine back in to have the free upgrade done to give it 3 modes instead of 2, George was so geeked to tear into mine just to make sure I had the latest updates and best sounds available. That amp is my desert island amp. It can do anything I want it to do. And I’ll always be thankful that I got to meet the man before I bought it which cemented me buying it. Playing the prototype alongside his 68 Superlead sealed it.