Tell us about yourself
I am based in Liverpool, England, in the quarter where the Beatles grew up. I dropped out of high school and spent a few years in the merchant marine. I later went to college and majored in electronic engineering. I worked as an analog EE for about 10 years before being seduced by the dark side of $ales. I wound up working for a company in Torrance CA and almost moved there full time in 2012. Before I could get there, the company was taken over and the new management wanted me to stay in the UK. I still have a soft spot for Southern California.
I like music, especially guitar-led rock, scotch whisky and the Great Outdoors. And football – the English kind.
What inspired you to create the Spamp?
Music, beer and Spam! I’d been to see a local guitarist and when I got home, I was hungry so I made a Spam & egg feast. In that rapturous moment of satisfied hunger, I had my eureka moment and The Spamp was conceived. I made a prototype and used it for a while. I still have it.
When was that?
Back in the early 2000’s. I didn’t develop it further because I was too busy with my day job. I got to travel all over the World so I didn’t have much time to develop my Spamp Man alter ego.
So how did you develop the Spamp we know today?
I wanted to get back in touch with my inner nerd and return to engineering. After years of being a sales guy, people used to see a sales guy. I designed today’s Spamp to demonstrate that I could still do it and it worked! I am now an EE audio specialist for a UK company. During the day I work on industrial electronics and by night I am the Spamp Man! My friend, Woody the Stringman, told me it was as good as a pro amp and I should sell it. So, I did and I do.
Tell us about the Spamp.
Technical:
It’s a cascaded JFET amplifier that gives a warm, clean tone (but yes, I call it chilled!). If you are using it as a preamp, you can turn it up and overdrive your amp. The distortion engine is a soft clipping diode limiter, switchable between half wave (fried) and full wave (grilled).
Whoa! That’s too technical:
It’s a low noise preamp that sounds great with a nice distortion effect. It is an environmentally friendly way to upcycle an empty Spam tin.
Do you make the Spamps yourself?
Yes. I assemble the circuit boards and do all the mechanicals. Every Spamp was built and tested by the Spamp Man!
Are there any other flavours of Spamp?
As well as the original Spamp there is The Spamp+, a Spamp with a speaker; The Spampeko, a Spamp with a reverb/echo effect and The SpamPhaser, a Spamp with a phaser effect.
What are you working on right now?
The Spampressor – yes a Spamp with a compressor – and a Tuna. Need a clue?
And do you eat all the Spam yourself?
No! Well I do eat quite a lot because it is the best foodstuff that ever came in a tin. I have a network of SpamPals who save their empties for me. If I have to buy it, I give the product to friends and family and I donate it to a charity for the homeless. None of it goes to waste.
What is your favourite Spam recipe?
I firmly believe that a pizza Hawaii must be made with Spam but Spam eggs benedict is truly awesome.
Do you play guitar?
Not as well as I would like. Instead of making my fingers bleed, I learned how to do stuff with transistors.
Where is your favourite place on Earth?
A three-way split between Southern California, Portugal and England’s Lake District.
Favourite band?
Queen
Favourite movie?
Highlander
Any inspirational words?
If you don’t like what you are doing, do something else!