Alpha Distribution Acquires Amptweaker Pedals

Alpha Distribution will be acquiring Amptweaker, the pedal brand founded by engineer James Brown and his wife Phyllis. Brown, who has been an amp design engineer since 1986, will be handing off the company to accept a position as the principal analog design engineer for Fender’s EVH Amplifier division.

“In the spring of 2019, I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, which is hereditary, incurable and requires expensive ongoing treatments, and this strained the limits of our health insurance. Shortly afterward I was approached by Fender with this new opportunity and it’s been nothing short of a blessing,“ Brown explains. “I met Jack Thompson, owner of Alpha Distribution at Winter NAMM 2019 regarding possible distribution. I decided to approach Jack about taking over Amptweaker realizing that he and his team shared the same enthusiasm about working with players to create innovative musical tools.” Thompson and his team have already collaborated with Brown on the next generation of Amptweaker designs.

James Brown spent 18 years as an engineer at Peavey and helped develop the VTM tube amplifier and 5150, which led to working closely with Eddie Van Halen on his amplifiers. In 2004, he became the chief engineer for Kustom Amplification. He started Amptweaker in 2009.

“Amptweaker is really a journey or a quest…..it started with James designing amps at Peavey to try and find the tone in his head, and eventually became a place where we collaborate directly with you to help you find the tone in yours,” the Amptweaker website states.

Amptweaker’s lineup includes several bass models, including their most recent limited edition Tim Lefebvre TightFuzz Pedal.