Sonnyjr.com - About us

I started playing harp in 1974, and was then blessed to work with Sonny Terry as his aid, driver, road manager, and harp duet partner from 1976–1978. Sonny was always patient and willing to teach me whatever I asked for about his style and about the elements that made it so unique. In addition, it was listening all those road hours to Little Walter, George Smith, James Cotton and virtually every living and departed harp player that got me hooked on the Chicago amplified sound.

My roots will always be in Sonny’s style, as he told me "take what I give you and make it your own." Playing and studying for over 30 years has given me the ability to know what tone should sound like coming from an amplifier. This has given many harp players comfort when they buy an amp sight unseen from my company. They trust I will give them what they have been searching for, and I do not take that trust lightly. I have done the research by buying every possible tube amp on earth.... over 3000 amps is my best estimation. I wanted to hear what tone was possible from a Danelectro, Supro, Valco, Oahu, Ampeg, Fender, Gibson, Masco, Bogen, Magnatone. You name it, I probably tried it. Having owned eight Danelectro Commandos with the 8x8” speaker setup gives you an idea as to what lengths I have gone to understand tone since this was one of the few known amps that Little Walter used for a time. The thing is Walter would still be Walter even playing a Champ and playing through his nose. That’s just the bottom line. The tone has to come from you. Having the ability to make it what you want to sound like will come from us. It has been an evolution of products and ideas which never ceases, from the internal parts that go into the amplifiers, to various speaker configurations, and endless hours of listening, tweaking, experimenting.

It was through the years of developing the Sonny Jr. I and II that have given me the knowledge of how to take a powerful amp and turn it into a workable and variable harp amp, or for guitar as well. Our internal parts such as the truly custom transformers, high grade paper in oil original NOS capacitors and resistors, and hand built craftsmanship make these the finest products on the market today. Warm rich tone with huge volume is what everyone desires and we have done our part to give you that.

Supplying the highest quality product and customer service has given us our reputation which is something I continue to strive for. You won’t get a sales rep when you call. You will always speak directly with me for everything from the sale to customer service. If I don’t know the answer to something, I will ask one of the many experts I know until we get that answer.

I am proud to have the highest quality technicians available for repair if needed throughout the country. I always stand behind my products, and will do whatever is necessary to get you up and running if a problem ever does arise. I look forward to making your dream a reality.

Sincerely,

Sonny Jr.

NOTE: Thanks to Keith Graham of www.harpamps.com for his help in hosting the website from its inception.