Hi Mitch,
I got this news in an e-mail yesterday from Premier Guitars. There was another thread about these amps before and Joe made it known he was real happy with them. Every time I see this Carol Ann name I still sing, Hey Carrie Ann what's your game now, can anybody play...
Anyway, I just read that Joe is not making money on these amps, he's doing it as a thank you for Alan (amp company) whose been really helpful and supportive to Joe, which once again reiterates to me that we have a good Joe on our hands here. And as for the dudes with crappy Joe-envy attitudes...you can't keep a good man down...
Mitch- are you the same Mitch I mailed CD's to a while ago? Cool story about your friend's photos in GuitarPlayer...the new issue just came, Joe is #1 Blues Guitarist! Keep ridin' the wave for a long time Joe and keep being you!
I just dug up this from an old thread.
"Hi Folks,
I had a chuckle reading the comments on the name of my Company and felt I should set the story straight. Carol-Ann is not my mothers name...Kathleen-Sheila doesn't have quite the same ring to it...LOL !!
I am an Englishman, but have been living just north of Boston, MA for 5 years. I own a full time custom amp building Company in North Andover, MA.
I'm originally an Industrial Control and Instrumentation Engineer by trade. I earned my Masters in Electronic Engineering. I've been playing guitar since I was 8 and building and repairing amps since I was 16.
I came to the US as a Consultant for a large pharmaceutical Company and that is where I met my wife to be.....Carol-Ann. In 2004 I decided to build myself yet another amp, even though at the time we really couldn't afford it. I got around my wife by naming the amp after her.
In early 2006, I had had enough of Corporate life and left and formed my own business, Carol-Ann Custom Amplifiers, LLC. The name had stuck. At first mainly doing repairs and rebuilds, but building the odd amp here and there.
I got a couple of my amps in to the hands of a awesome session player called Matte Henderson, he loved them and bought both on the spot. Matte put me in touch with a bunch of other influential guys like David Torn, Doc from Bad Brains, Lance Keltner, Cliff Cultreri, Tomo Fujita etc
The thing with Joe was a combination of lucky circumstances. Joe was playing at a place local to me that I sometimes run FOH sound for so I was going there anyway. Lance Keltner phoned me up and said I should bring an amp down for Joe to try at sound check. I was a little embarrassed just turning up with an amp, but Lance insisted that Joe was totally cool it.
He certainly was. What a great guy, we chatted about gear for ages and he made me feel welcome and glad I had brought an amp. He tried the amp out, loved it and paid a deposit for his own custom model that night.
Hopefully Joe continues to love the amp.
Essentially, it is like a Dumbleized Marshall. The gain structure is similar to a HRM Dumble, but it is voiced a little different. It is a 100W with a very strong power stage that keeps together even at high volumes. Joe runs his amps pretty hard.
If you want to say hi, check out www.myspace.com/alanphillips or check out Carol-Anns website www.carolannamps.com
Kind Regards, Alan Phillips"
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