Gary Drouin’s Retro Tube Amplifiers Have a National Market
Image: Hannah Trombly
Musician Gary Drouin fell in love with the guitar after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He enrolled in a night class at Sarasota’s Vo-Tech Industrial Electronics in 1980 so he could learn how to fix his Fender tube amp, and then went on to open a speaker repair business. In 1998, his friend, harmonica player David “Rock Bottom” York, fell in love with one of Drouin’s amps, which was housed in an Art Deco-inspired radio cabinet Drouin had built, and convinced Drouin to open Hurricane Amplifiers. Today, Drouin, 72, meticulously hand-builds and repairs amplifiers from his home garage—prices start at $750—for tube amp devotees around the country. “If I build two or three a month, I’m happy,” he says. (You can also catch him playing guitar and bass with the Memphis Rub Band at gigs up and down the Gulf Coast—using a Hurricane Amplifier, of course.)
Image: Hannah Trombly
What Is a Tube Amplifier?
Tube amps are made using vacuum tubes, which were invented in 1925. Using a glass bulb akin to a light bulb, tube amps take a weak signal and amplify it several times through a circuit, which drives it to the speaker, creating the sound a listener hears. Unlike smaller, more energy-efficient, solid-state amplifiers, vacuum tube amplifiers use more energy but musicians say the clear, smooth sound is second to none.
$4,000-$10,000
The price a vintage tube amp from the 1950s or ’60s can command on the resale market.
8-25 Hours
The amount of time it takes Drouin to build an amp, depending on the model. “The 5-watter is about 8-10 hours,” he says. “The 30-watter is about 25 hours.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Legends Only
Tube amp devotees include guitar legends such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, B.B. King and Drouin’s Hurricane Amplifier co-founder, harmonica legend David “Rock Bottom” York.
Bespoke Biz
Drouin’s business is a “boutique amplifier” business. “It’s a hand-built, low production, small shop—usually one or two guys,” he says. “We’re trying to make [tube amps] as close to the original as possible.”
