Who Is This Guy Anyway?
My name is Ace Pepper.
I came from a distant planet, many light years from Earth. My mother and father, along with billions of other people, were killed when our planet was destroyed. They sent me here to carry on their legacy and bring truth, justice, and the American way to all mankind.
Unfortunately, I became a musician.
But seriously folks...
I have been building tube guitar amps by hand in my little shop in San Marcos, Texas since 2000. I've built well over 100 amps since then. There have been quite a few boutique amp "companies" that have come and gone since then. I'm starting to look like an "old man" in this business. My customers are people you've never heard of with excellent taste in amplifiers.
My amps start with a plain aluminum box, or chassis pan. I have these "pans" made to my specs by a local sheet metal shop with nice, thick aluminum and welded corners. Most of my amps are one-off, custom builds, so I really can't use "off-the-shelf" chassis. I'll mark, drill, and punch whatever holes are needed to mount whatever controls, tubes, transformers, etc. for the given build.
I also make my own circuit boards. I use either turrets or eyelets to mount parts and the boards are made from Kryptonite, I mean G10 Garolite epoxy resin. Layouts are designed on the computer. Resistors, caps, wiring, etc. are then hand soldered in place.
Head cabinets are made, you guessed it, by hand, by me, in my shop using Birch plywood. My wonderful wife does a wonderful job with tolex coverings. She's also done fabric finishes, like tie-dyed cotton or aloha shirt, with a tough epoxy resin final finish. We've also worked with some terriffic painters for show-quality custom paint finishes.
We work with Will Dyke at Armadillo Amp Works for custom combo cabinets. Will's cabs are the best in the biz, made from solid pine with finger-jointed corners. They are the good stuff!
When you order an amp from Ace Pepper Custom Amps you are dealing directly with the builder at every stage of the process. Each amp is made for the individual that ordered it. You can talk to me about stuff like "I'd like a little more headroom", or "Can I have more mids?". My warranty covers tweaks to the tone! Who else does that? Nobody!! Why fool with something that's just "close" when you can work with an experienced builder to get EXACTLY what YOU want!
Rating: 4.8
919-682-5552