I am not going to use this space to extol the virtues of all-valve guitar amplifiers. That is patently obvious and is preaching to the converted. You only have to go to any live rock venue, look at any TV or videos of rock concerts and you can tell that the vast majority of guitarists know this already. There's something tangible and special in the tone of a good valve amplifier, something that simply cannot be simulated with a microprocessor.

The amplifiers on these pages have taken me several years to develop, with particular attention to design, layout, careful component selection and traditional manufacturing techniques but with a modern slant. I can't say that I have 30 years experience in design and repair of valve amps – I haven't. I have come to this point as a long term electronic engineer with years of experience in manufacturing, servicing and technical support – but above all as a person with a long standing love of guitars and amplification, ever since I first heard the John Mayall and Eric Clapton ‘Beano' album all those years ago. I am not a gigging musician, I play guitar just enough to know that my amps are something special.

Simplicity of the amp is a crucial aspect to the astounding tone and dynamics of the Mango Amplifiers. With so little in the signal chain the amp will project all the subtle nuances, touch sensitivity, pick dynamics and attack – the sound of fingers on strings. Mango amplifiers are designed using age-old techniques, all are cathode biased, valve rectified, class A single-ended or class AB push-pull, to emulate the rich overdriven tones of those well loved fifties and sixties amplifiers so sought after now. All are fairly low power so that the distinctive overdriven sound can be attained without making your ears bleed.

These amplifiers are built for the discerning guitarist who really cares about tone and simply wants to plug, play and find that sweet spot - perfect for blues, rock or modern indie styles. Metalheads will need to go elsewhere.

Nigel J Butters
Mango Amplification