I’ve been wanting to write this for a while now.
The following are based on events which took place. I will not use actual names and will make every attempt to remain ambiguous while still getting my point across.
I will continuously edit and add more posts over time as each one outlines a distinct, memorable instance which I’ve had the good fortune to experience.
This is dedicated to anybody who works from their home and literally opens the doors to members of the general public in order to chase a dream…
Milk, Cookies, and Golden Ratios…
This is the very first of what I consider significant “annoyances” while engaging as JCA Circuits. More to come…
In the late 1990’s, I was living in an apartment in Pottstown, PA with the future Mrs. Arthur. I had been performing some repairs and designing amps for several years prior, but this was the first time I had an actual “shop” and was taking on a bit of extra work in my spare time. I was also working a day job, which I’ve always done in addition to JCA Circuits. That is until May 5, 2025 where I’ve found myself semi-retired from all jobs, apparently. Ride on…
Around 2000/2001, I encountered a Young Guitar Wizard (YGW) who was a highly gifted, technically talented, and very creative player. I had performed several jobs for him at this point. He would frequent my apartment while his Mom patiently waited outside in the car while I performed the work. She always seemed slightly nervous and appeared a bit out of place. That’s because…
This was known to be a rough section of town (400 Block of King & Franklin). It was the sort of place that I’d have fun with my neighbors who always gathered on the front stoop. I’d meander my way towards the apartment carrying my Jerry’s Chicken bucket (best ever) while eating a piece and mimic Charlton Heston @ The Iconic NRA Gun Rant “From My Cold, Dead Hands” holding it above my head. We’d all laugh. Secretly, I’m pretty sure a few of them wanted to get into it. But at the same time, we all kind of live and let live. As long as it wasn’t too serious, and was funny…
I digress…
I wound up moving out of that apartment in town and into my house on Pleasant View Road circa 2002. To celebrate the move, I wound up building myself an 18 Watt style amp which had several power supply, phase inverter, EQ, and gain scheduling modifications. This 18 Watter served as the inspiration for what would eventually become the GR1.6. At the same time, I was also coming up with ideas/prototypes for the Inferno (based on the Purpleheart amp). It should be noted that the GR1.6 was partially inspired by YGW’s playing and enthusiasm for my work. It can be quite inspiring to bounce ideas off of others. That feedback loop can lead to great things. I wound up revealing a significant number of details and conversed a lot with him. It appeared things were tending towards a good place. He was also becoming a rather compelling musician.
When it came time to produce the first GR1.6 amps circa 2006, I thought it would be a nice idea by offering him one of my first amps for an endorsement. In exchange, he agreed to promote JCA Circuits, provide several reviews on the gear/amp/guitar forums he frequented, etc. and take the thing out onto the road, put it through its paces, and report back. Beta test the hell out of it…
He received a Black Levant/Gold Face GR1.6 with an Alnico Tone Tubby 1X12 (16 Ohm). At the time, I failed to the get details of the endorsement we had just entered in writing. I was naive and as Mrs. Arthur puts it, “overly generous to pretty much everybody”.
New amp day came so I invited him over for dinner. Mrs. Arthur made us something (great) and wound up baking some of her awesome chocolate chip cookies. I sound like Mr. Rogers here. Milk & Cookies. Hahaha. Anyway, after dinner we went down to the shop, demo’ed the amp, and he wound up going home with the amp plus a bunch of my cookie stash that night.
Shortly after, YGW referred a then relatively-unknown Porcine Pedal Guru (PPG) my way. He mentioned that YGW visited him in NYC recently and they both had a go with the GR1.6. PPG was impressed and was attending NAMM soon and asked to borrow the GR1.6 to demo his pedals through. He convinced me on the potentially EPIC outcome for both of us and that I wouldn’t need to attend NAMM myself (I find social interactions on that level highly awkward). I sent PPG a 1X12 Celestion Alnico Blue GR1.6 as well as the book on Phi (see pic) since he also asked to borrow it.
A little over a week or so goes by and the amp shows back up unexpectedly at my place! I phoned Porcine Pedal Guru to find out what happened. He said something to the effect that: He loves the amp but that the GR1.6’s overdrive is too good. If he demo’ed his pedals with it, he’d never be able to sell them. He then went on to mention plugging his Super Reverb into the GR1.6’s Speaker Cab (Celestion AlNiCo Blue) so he could A/B them, and that he thinks he blew the Celestion. And well, so sorry.
When I received the amplifier back, it was in rough shape. The Celestion was indeed cooked and the chassis was crooked + unattached from the cabinet. Apparently, he also helped himself to a “peek” inside before he shipped it back to me. Since he either lacked the necessary skills to properly secure the chassis to the cabinet using the (4) carriage bolts + nuts + washers, or just didn’t care, I wasn’t too worried about him being able to successfully reverse-engineer anything important. Lo and behold, he also kept my book! I wound up messaging him several years later online and asked if he’d be so kind as to send it back. Which he did…to his great credit.
Ironically, that blown Celestion AlNiCo Blue speaker was the same one which was recommended I have reconed by A Broun Soun in San Rafael with a Hempcone kit. AFAIK, that speaker is still in one of the GR1.6’s which was sold on The Gear Page recently. I wish A Brown Soun still performed recones on Celestion Blues using that kit because I’d send my Blues off immediately…EPIC combination.
Around the same time, YGW also referred another amazing, up-and-coming guitarist turned Self Help Guru (SHG) whom he played with on the festival circuit over to purchase my personal 18 Watt amplifier. This was one of my very favorite amps to date. I managed to publish several posts on the 18 Watt forum detailing the power supply and phase inverter mods on this beast. I was so impressed with SHG’s playing, his amazing band, and the potential exposure I’d receive as a builder, that I wound up selling my favorite amp to him. He was kind enough to send me a few of their CD’s in return and mentioned that everybody loved his new sound. AFAIK, they went on to produce several excellent albums with that amp.
Other than the above-mentioned, I never received any other feedback on the amplifier’s performance or heard from him except once, when I contacted him. I wound up coming across an interview with SHG several years later (2010’s) where he went into great detail on his gear. He waxed poetically in that interview about his favorite brands of picks, cables, pedals, guitars, stage setups, accessories, etc. But there was no mention of the 18 Watt amp in that interview. The amp seemed conspicuously absent.
So, I messaged SHG afterwards and mentioned feeling disappointed that the article didn’t include the 18 Watt amp which he uses for some of his most iconic and well-known recordings. I seriously offered to buy it back if he wasn’t happy with it because I’ve always loved that amp (the offer still stands). His response was a brief “thank you for letting me know” type of thing. Again, I was probably being naive thinking he’d actually consider what I was saying. I had a small expectation of that, but it turns out that my amp was just a piece of used gear which he got a good deal on. It is what it is.
Now, onto the conclusion:
About a year passes between the time I endorsed Young Guitar Wizard with the GR1.6 and the last time I saw him in person (2007). I was unaware at the time that he was brining me a small “last” job to perform. It appeared to be a planned opportunity to relay the following message: Upon concluding his visit and on his way out the door, he sarcastically mentioned that he was now starting his own boutique guitar amplifier & pedal business. I was kind of in shock to hear this. It hit pretty hard because of obvious reasons. I immediately asked if he would either follow through on our endorsement agreements or give the amp back to me. He said something to the effect that he wrote a brief Harmony Central testimonial and that it satisfies the terms of our agreement(s) and left.
After some time, YGW became mildly successful on the festival circuit with his psychedelic jam band. However as talented & creative as he was prior to this, his inter-personal dealings became readily apparent within the circles. And sadly, he ultimately wound up being convicted for a major crime. To his credit, I did receive a multi-page apology letter from him while he was serving time in prison. He managed to address and apologize for a small portion of what happened. Unfortunately, he still misses the mark with respect to the bigger picture.
From what I understand, YGW wound up selling that GR1.6 eventually. I’ve also read that his boutique product business ultimately suffered a negative reputation and no longer exists.
JCA
