Welcome to Junkbox Amplification LLC! My name is Ryan and I run Junkbox Amplification LLC as a one man operation out of the Chicago area.
Junkbox Amplification LLC saves unwanted or broken vintage cassette tape players, recorders, and boomboxes from being turned into e-waste and upcycles this disused technology into ferocious lofi portable guitar amps.
Origin Story: I started playing guitar in 1996 and have since evolved into a multi-instrumentalist. About 3 years ago I became interested in how amps and guitar pedals work. In August of 2022 I took a tube amplifier class at the Chicago School of Guitar Making where I built a 5F1 Champ Clone.
I wanted to continue to hone the skills that I developed so I began seeking out and consuming any resource I could find about tube amps and electronics. To keep my soldering skills sharp, I began building effects pedal kits. One day while I was at a thrift store I came across an old tape recorder and thought to myself, "I wonder if I could do something cool with it?"
After some tinkering I figured out how to convert the tape recorder into a guitar amp. I liked the lofi sound and raunchy distortion. The tone character was different than off the shelf distortion and fuzz pedals. Then I started going to yard sales to find more tape recorders and boom boxes. I promptly made these tape recorders and boom boxes into guitar amps. Each had their own unique voice.
My wife started to become concerned when I built about ten of these lofi amplifiers. She asked, "What are you going to do with these?" At that point I didn't have a plan, I was just having fun making them and playing through them.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2023. I had been following this really cool musician on Instagram named Jeremy Fisher. He posted a video about the Rolling Stones song named Street Fighting Man. Jeremy talked about how Keith Richards recorded the guitar part into a cassette recorder and then played the recording and recorded that.
I messaged Jeremy and told him I make cassette players into guitar amps. I asked him if he wanted one and ended up sending him one for free. At that time Junkbox Amplification LLC didn't exist and I didn't have a business or anything setup.
Jeremy received it and provided very positive feedback. He was gracious and gave me alot of encouragement and told me I was on to something. As a result, I started an Instagram page called Junkbox Amplification and started to post some videos of my creations.
In late August of 2023, at around 6am, my phone started constantly buzzing with Instagram notifications. Jeremy posted a kickass video of himself playing Nirvana's Heart Shapped Box through the Junkbox I sent him. He also tagged my Junkbox Amplification Instagram Page in the video.
It was crazy! My followers on Instagram increased by several hundred that day. I got a ton of DM's from new followers about how they could get a Junkbox like the one Jeremy played in the video. From that day forward word began to spread and Junkbox Amplification LLC has steadily grown.
My good friend Tim also played a role in the development of Junkbox Amplification LLC. Tim helped me bring the vision I had in my head for the Junkbox Amplification Cassette and Boombox logos to life. Tim has also been invaluable as sounding board for bouncing off ideas and discussing strategies.
In less than a year, Junkboxes have shipped to customers in California, New Hampshire, Illinois, New York, Missouri, Rhode Island, Colorado, Georgia, Virginia, Oregon, Pennsylivania, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Washington, Alabama, and Utah with multiple customers in most of these states.