Welcome to Sonic Pipe Amp's!

Sonic Pipe Amplifiers is the creation of Tom Fleissner. An Electrical Engineer by trade who has a unique vision towards amp production. All of Tom's designs are hand built yet remarkably affordable. Whether the amps are made from re-purposed Vintage technology or if they push the concept of portable practice amp into new territories, you can be sure that Tom considered every angle of design along the way.

Before the first amp bearing the Sonic Pipe name was made, Tom pondered the classic amplifier design: round peg meeting a square hole. "Even though most speakers are naturally round and they almost always get stuck in square boxes.We thought it was time to disrupt this traditional thinking so we came up with a idea that has become the Sonic Pipe Amp."

Start with a high performance speaker. House it in a unique, though "natural" packaging. Add some high tech, solid state electronic amplifiers and the Sonic Pipe Amplifiers became a reality!

With one cool product already under way, it was time for another...

Next was Sonic Pipe's version of the classic 5 watt Tweed style amp; The Tweedtone5. Nothing beats the sound of a 6V6 tube driving an 8 Inch speaker in a tweed cabinet, EXCEPT when you substitute in a Tube Rectifier! With updated components, using modern, high-quality off the shelf components and custom transformers we have created a phenomenal sounding amp costing considerably less than many other hand-wired 5 watt amps available.

Several Harmonica and Harp players asked for a version of the Tweedtone5 suited for Harmonica. By modifying the preamp and several components a design was hit upon that was good for Harmonica.

After meeting several harp players and discussing Harmonicas needs better, it was decided to do a grounds up design....selecting a design that would not be a modified guitar amp, rather one purposely designed for Harmonica. Picking a tube lineup was essential, the 6SJ7 metal octal was chosen for its vintage sound characteristics. Staying with the compact 8 inch cabinet and 6v6 output tube was the next step. Finally , the most important aspect, NFB (negative feedback) was removed in order to allow the scoopy vibrant and sometimes growly sound sought. This is the Windy City!!!!

The latest creation is called The Knob and it has an interesting back story.

After finding a bunch of Vintage Tone Generator's and having a stroke of genius, Tom decided to re-purpose them in to 6V6 loaded, 18 Watt Guitar Amplifiers. These light weight but loud beasts run the tonal gamut from thick cleans, to raucous over drive all the while staying dynamically true to the player. Plus, there is no piece of gear that is a better conversation starter than The Knob. Everyone will be wondering what's that thing with the huge dial sitting a top your speaker cab.

With such a diverse world for guitar and harmonica players, Sonic Pipe Amps has also done custom builds. All tube preamps, 50 watt Super Knob heads, 18 watt Elegant Knob combo amps are just an example. Check out our custom design page for more details and by all means, contact us if you are looking for something unique, boutique and loud!

All of the Sonic Pipe Amps are hand made in Northern Illinois and each one can be customized in numerous ways. Make sure to check out each product page for the full scoop on them. New products and refinements are always in the works so make sure to check back often for news!