![]() He started at $9,995 and has come down over the months to (now) $3,995. There is one seller that has been trying to sell his Butler Swamp head since Spring 2015. Unfortunately there are eBay auctions that crop up from time to time with sellers that are (in my opinion) inflating the truth (and prices), and sometimes outright lying. The only thing they have in common is that they both built something for Eric Johnson. BK Butler is in no way affiliated with Max Butler. There was (for a short time) an amp based on that pedal produced also called the Tube Driver. BK Butler build the infamous Tube Driver guitar pedal used by Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons, and scores of others. Often people get Max Butler confused with BK Butler (because they both designed amps). Because he was a player, the amps he built were tuned “by ear” – something that you will NEVER get from an assembly line guitar amp – made in America or not. Even though he has only 2 main amp models – he would custom tailor a guitar amp to your personal specifications. He listened to what you liked in an amp, and if were local he also listened to you play in his basement. He built 350-400 amps over those 30+ years. In the many talks I had with him, he told me in no uncertain terms that any amp builder that doesn’t play guitar himself will never be able to credibly “tune the amp”. Max was a “player”, and his passion is building amps for people. His 9-5 job before he retired was in real estate. Max was not an engineer, he was not an electrician, he never even had a job related to electronics. I created this website for him in 2008 as a resource to help people find him, because other than email he really wasn’t on the Internet. After multiple visits to his home he custom built my second Butler amp for me (a Swamp). ![]() ![]() My name is John Pratt, and I met Max in 2006 when I asked to service my first Butler amp (the Silver Hammer). ![]() Unfortunately Max passed away on at the age of 80. He’s built amps for some very famous players, and he’s never tried to “cash in” despite his incredible knowledge and talent. ![]() Max has never advertised in any way – on, or off the Internet, and yet he’s friends with some of the biggest names in electronics, gear, and amp building in the world. For those of us that have met Max, and that play and use his amps – there is nothing else. He definitely chased “the tone” all of that time, and was building custom guitar amps well before the terms “boutique” or “vintage” amps were coined. Max Butler built point to point style guitar amps quietly in Eaton Rapids, Michigan for more than 32 years. ![]()
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