My name is Kye Kennedy. I had always tinkered with audio gadgets, but I started getting serious in the late eighties, devouring books and paying older technicians to teach me the trade. I can repair, modify, or build from scratch just about any tube or solid state amplifier, parts permitting. I have years of experience with classic tube amplifiers and Hi-Fi. For decades some people have shipped me their chassis removed from the heavy box and I have restored/repaired their equipment and returned it with tubes in a separate box for a reasonable fee.
So many new amps are built to fail after four years to force repurchase of the product, but our landfills are getting full and people deserve quality. For this reason many pros are using old amps, or having clones built for touring. The after-market support for these relics is still quite good, so after restoration you will have something better than you can buy new in most cases.
Have a dream amp? I can probably clone it.
Learn more about Kye Kennedy at: https://www.kyekennedy.net/
Why Tubes?
Musicians and music lovers have many options for making and listening to music. Virtually any analog device can be sampled, modeled, or otherwise be re-created in the cyber world for the amazement and enjoyment of the performer and listener. That being said, why have tubes been a preferred medium for audio creation and monitoring for decades, while other technologies have been left by the wayside?
In this author’s opinion, the answer is reciprocation.
In music, the greatness lies in the subtle. While performing through, or listening to vacuum tubes, one experiences a subtle feedback loop that entices. Tubes have an optimum range of operation. When one exceeds those optimum parameters, the results can be positive or negative depending on the application and the style of music being experienced.
An almost human interaction occurs when a tube feels what you play, and then responds in kind. The performer then alters his or her performance, yielding yet another differing response.
This phenomenon has yet to be simulated effectively in the digital realm.
Thus an awkward, inefficient, high voltage, delicately made glass tube creates an extraordinary experience.
– Kye