Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Top Harp Amp Builders


Who are the top harp amp builders now?  Over the last several years it was pretty clear cut that Sonny Jr. amps were the biggest sellers and most respected among the dedicated harp amps available for sale.  But Gary Onofrio, the proprietor of SJ, has become ill and his website is gone.  As far as I know his amps are no longer available for sale.

Similarly, Meteor was a big player in the harp amp market but they seem to have taken a hiatus.  Their website has not been updated in years and I have not heard of anybody buying a new Meteor amp in quite a long time.  

Who does that leave?

-Harpgear.  They recently picked up the endorsement of RJ Mischo.  Their webite is active and they appear busy.

-Mission.  Bruce Collins is very busy delivering orders for his new amps.  And he has plans for future amps that I think will capture a big share of the “big amp”market.

-Megatone.  Wezo’s amps are excellent, and I suspect his ME-18 combo amp is selling very well.  He has the endorsement of David Barrett.

Who else is out there that sells this kind of volume?  Who am I overlooking?  Kinder Harp King amps are great but not really retail items.  I’d bet VHT has sold more amps to harp players than all other amp makers combined over the last couple years, but their amps are not really dedicated harp amps.  More gigging players use Fender amps than any other brand, but again, they are not harp specific.

What is the top harp amp today?   I’d like to hear your opinions.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Mission is right there on top I would guess. I own a Mission 32/20 2x10. Looking at a 4x10 for next year. Harp Gear , Bassman. Who knows?

Rick Davis said...

Ben, Mission will be offering a "big amp" in a few months. Stay tuned...

Rick Davis said...

I'm hearing that Meteor Amps is still producing a small number of amps for sale. Call him at the number on his website if interested.

Hawkeye Kane said...

I've not heard anything out of this guy in some time, but for a bit there it looked like he was really gearing up to run with this. Not sure what, if any, outcome will be on it though.

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