Hear The Difference.

Never have truer words been spoken when it comes to amplifiers. Almost as long-standing as the Fender vs. Gibson debate, the endless pursuit for that perfect amp has plagued guitar players for 50 years. So when the guys at Sommatone Amplification decided to use that phrase as the tag line for their company, the proverbial gauntlet was thrown down, almost as if to say, “I dare you to try out one of our amps and not want one.”

The irony lies in the fact that the Sommatone folks couldn’t be more friendly, down-to-earth, or cool. I had the opportunity to visit them recently, and was totally blown away. Their knowledge of tube amps and what it takes to make something of such high quality is hard to beat. Now, I have a confession to make; playing guitar for as long as I have, I never really paid that much attention to tone. I was always more of a “plug it in and crank it up” kind of player. Sure, there are a ton of players whose tone I admire, but when it came to my own pursuits, it was always to be a better technical player.

That is, up until recently.

For the past year I’ve undergone a transformation, with the pursuit of capturing my sound and my tone becoming just as important as being a great technical player. When I heard the Sommatone amps in person, it was both a blessing and a curse. First, their sound sucker-punched me right in the junk – hard! I have never heard amps sound that good; NEVER! Second, I now have to convince my wife that if I don’t buy one, I’m going to die a miserable death.

The Interview