ABOUT

Hi.

I’m Colin.

Decker Amp Co is my thing.

I love music, the people who make it, and I am enthralled by the contraptions that make small expressions larger than life. I’ve been a player for 30 years and I still find it all quite magical, especially tube amps.

My first was a Deluxe I got in a Denver pawn shop in the 80s. I knew nothing about it except that it was the loudest thing that I could afford. Once I was in an actual band, I got an AC-30 which looked cool and was louder. These were different sounding amps, but both had something special. I could get beautiful, singing cleans, grind and grit, or fire-breathing distortion, just using the volume knob. They reacted, responded and had a weird way of pushing the player that left a huge impression on me.

Over the years, I've been lucky enough to play just about every amp under the sun on tour, in studios, or in funky shops around the world. Most importantly, I was got to meet many players, designers and techs who were more talented and experience than myself and were generous with their knowledge and patient with my (many) questions.

Touring in the 90s, we had to fix our own gear if something went wrong. I started working on my amps out of necessity but was equally compelled by curiosity. Over time, I gained an understanding of why I liked one amp over another which became the blueprint for my first designs and ultimately this little enterprise.

I love cathode-biased circuits that create rich harmonics, extreme touch-sensitivity, and long sustain. I prefer simple controls that compel you to play and be yourself in the moment. I love combo amps and all the chaotic wonderful ways the components influence one another. I take these elements, add some of my own tricks, and that’s a Decker amp. My designs are inspired by tradition, but not beholden to it. I hope they feel familiar, yet new, and that they inspire possibility, not genre, demographic or gender. I hope you plug into one and  and amplify that part of you that is larger than life.

—Colin