Joe Morgan has been building, modifying and repairing amplifiers since 1996. His designs turn up in stadiums and arenas, and it is hard to turn on a music awards show without seeing one.
Morgan Amplification was born out of a desire for touch sensitive, responsive, great sounding amplifiers that become as much of an instrument as your guitar.
Tube amps are only as good as their components, so Joe picks the best of the best: custom designed Mercury Magnetics power and output transformers, which are what give an amplifier its sonic signature. That is also why he is willing to stand behind every build with a limited lifetime warranty.
Joe designs for the working musician, whether that means a Sunday morning church gig or touring the world with James Taylor.
Joe will be the first to tell you that tube amps are not rocket science. He was part of the engineering team that developed the first GPS satellites, so he can make the comparison.
In Morgan's own words, from their about page.
Morgan amps are designed to be a professional grade product that is meant to perform year after year. There is a reason the classic amps of the fifties and sixties are still sought after while the watered down, feature laden amps that replaced them are forgotten shortly after release.
We live at the intersection of history and technology. We can look at the best examples of the past and create new designs that carry the sonic signature of vintage while behaving the way a working player needs them to now.
Sweetwater sat down with Joe at his bench. Twelve minutes on why the transformer matters more than the badge.