Fryer Sound Deacy Amp replica announcement
We would like to announce details of the long awaited Deacy Amp Replica. Since 1998 Greg Fryer and Nigel Knight have been progressively working on this amplifier replica and have developed several versions of prototypes and have gone through several levels of examination of Brian May’s legendary original Deacy Amp.
Firstly we would like to thank Brian May and Pete Malandrone for their assistance and encouragement over these years with this intriguing project. We would also like to thank Dave Petersen who assisted in the early days of the Deacy Amp’s circuit development in 1998 and made 3 early version amps with Greg.
Due to some of the Deacy Amp’s unusual non standard parts and the fragility of many of its key components, Greg and Nigel had been loathe during examinations of the amp to disturb certain fragile areas in case the worst happened and they were damaged beyond repair and the Deacy’s unique sound lost to Brian. As we carefully reached one plateau after another in refining the sound of the prototypes and unveiling more about the amp’s circuit peculiarities, Brian and Pete kept on giving us encouragement and progressively the licence to go further in taking apart the sensitive areas. We are very grateful for this encouragement, and not surprisingly the project quickly turned into a labour of love for all parties.
Although the Deacy Amp is similar in some ways (ie number of stages and germanium transistors) to other designs of the 1950s and 1960s (for example the well known Mullard low power audio amplifier circuits), we had never previously seen anything resembling some areas of the Deacy Amp circuit and it has been suggested to us that the amp could well have been one of a small run made using this particular circuit and its components at the time.
The 6.5″ speaker was likewise another key area which required detailed research and a great number of prototype versions made until the final one was approved by Brian as an equivalent in its sound to the Deacy’s original twin cone speaker. Our partner in this development of the Deacy Amp speaker is the highly respected UK company Celestion, and we have been very appreciative of the persistence and commitment shown by Celestion’s R&D department at Ipswich, England throughout 2008 and 2009. Amazingly, in nearly two years of trials Celestion developed over 40 different prototype versions of the Deacy Amp speaker! We think this shows unparalleled commitment to quality and thoroughness, and our thanks go again to Celestion.
Although we had the option to have the Deacy Amp replica speakers produced by Celestion in their Chinese facility, we have chosen instead to have the speakers made in Celestion’s Ipswich UK factory. Naturally, this UK made option is the more expensive of the two choices.
As of April 22nd 2010, we have begun manufacture of the first batch of Deacy Amp replicas. The amps and cabinets are being made and assembled by hand at our Fryer Sound factory in England.
Custom speaker grillecloth fabric has been specially made and printed to our exact design so that it is identical in appearance to Brian’s original Deacy Amp grillecloth (please see prototype pic below). As with every other aspect of the recreation of this amazing old amplifier, the speaker grillecloth development has needed many prototype versions made to eventually achieve what Brian and Pete felt was the same identical nuances of the Deacy’s original speaker fabric.
Fryer Sound Deacy Amp replica 2010
Launch and release date will be advised soon, and we will also have soundclips and more pics available soon.
Cost of the Deacy Amp replica is 749.00 GB Pounds incl VAT (plus shipping). Please place orders through our reps (click here for list) or email Greg Fryer through the Fryer Guitars website ‘contact’ button
Throughout this long detailed project the objective of Brian May, Pete Malandrone, Greg Fryer, Nigel Knight and the rest of the R&D team has been to produce the most accurate high quality reproduction of Brian’s famous Deacy Amp possible, and we have gone to great lengths in our endeavours to achieve this goal. We hope you enjoy the finished result.
Yours sincerely,
Greg Fryer and Nigel Knight
Fryer Sound Ltd
