Mack Amps Mission

Mack's mission is to produce the lowest cost, fully commercialized, boutique amps on the market.  

By 'fully commercialized' I mean that our amps are completely finished, professionally designed and built consumer electronic products that adhere to North American electrical codes and come with full factory support.  That means you can have confidence in them and the company that makes them.

• We only offer amps pre-built in a proper cab to ensure 100% safe use of our products.  No kits and no chassis without a cab.
• Each amp is electrically certified and carries a UL/CSA equivalent sticker.
• We provide full warranty and factory support.
• Our chassis are fully enclosed, anodized aluminum with professional silk screened graphics - front and back - including safety warnings.  No bare metal on the back of the chassis with stick-on labels.
• Every amp is subjected to a documented, consistent bench test and burn-in procedure and rigorously play-tested prior to shipping (by me!).
• Our products are hand made in small quantities in Toronto with excellent build quality and, from what our customers tell us, stellar tone.  

The Mack Amp Difference

Our home page says: "I could never afford a boutique amp.  I started Mack Amps so you can."  That is absolutely true.  

We're not in business to be just another boutique amp company.  We are striving to give as many guitarists as possible the opportunity to own a boutique amp - $2500 tone in a $750 amp.  

Lots of people tell me I'm crazy and that we can't possibly offer tone and quality comparable to boutique amps that cost two or three or four times more than our Heatseeker HS-18 or Skyraider SR-15.  

It may be that some of those traditional - expensive - boutique amps have more features and channels and knobs and stuff, and it may be that some of them use way more expensive components, and it may be true that some even sound better than our amps (check out some sound clips and customer reviews - Macks sound pretty damn good - regardless of price!).  

But, the question is: how much better are those amps relative to the big increase in price you have to pay for them?  Is all that added price worth it?  And, most importantly, can you ever afford one?

I believe that the combination of tone, quality and price - the value - of our hand made, boutique amps is unique.  So do our customers!

If you've always wanted a boutique amp, but can't afford the equivalent of a mortgage payment or two (or three!) to buy one, check out Mack Amps!

Background

I started Mack Amps because for most of my 30 years of guitar playing I had dreamed of owning a boutique guitar amplifier, but could never afford one. In 2005 I decided to try and do something about that.

So, using my electrical engineering background, I set out to design a simple, high quality guitar amp with ‘boutique tone' - that could be sold at a price considerably less than traditional boutique amps.

It took about a year of design work and prototyping before feedback from guitarists confirmed that what would become the Heatseeker HS-18 was a winner. Mack Amps was then incorporated in 2006.

In 2007 the product line expanded to include the Heatseeker HS-36 and the Skyraider line of 6V6-based amps. The Gem launched in 2009.

When Mack started I did everything - chassis drilling and prep; making circuit boards from scratch; mounting and soldering parts; wiring; final assembly and testing.

Happily, I couldn't keep up with demand and I quickly became a production bottleneck, particularly when the product line expanded.

Today Mack outsources cabinets and completed and tested amp chassis from two highly skilled, local companies that hand make our assemblies.

I still mount every chassis in its cab - and I still perform the final play test before every amp is shipped.

Even though we've grown past the point where I can build every amp myself, Mack's production methods hold true to my original concept: hand made amps built in batches (to keep our prices down!) following exacting quality standards.

I am proud to offer boutique guitar amplifiers that sound just as good as traditional boutique amps (many customers say better!), but are much more affordable!

Don Mackrill - Don@MackAmps.com