Collection: Welagen

Welagen Amplification, LLC specializes in design and construction of high end guitar amplifiers, employing the methods used by Alexander Dumble. Since 2013, the product line has expanded from the Overdrive Special models, to over 20 production models in 2023. Each amplifier is handcrafted by Jelle Welagen, and his amplifiers have been used in studios and stages worldwide.

The development and design of Welagen amplifiers combines the study of classic amplifiers with extensive research on circuits and materials. At the core of Welagen is an extensive – and decades long research and development program. Initially a thorough understanding of tube guitar amplifiers was built by studying the classic guitar amplifiers from the 50s, 60s and 70s, as well as HiFi designs of the 70s, when tube technology peaked. This study provided a solid foundation to study Dumble’s work in all its facets.

The selection of all elements used in Welagen amplifiers is the result of this very R&D process: each component is selected for their tonal properties, and for synergy with its peripheral parts. For example, the NOS parts used greatly vary in their tonal response from batch to batch. To counter this variance, all parts used are tested at the manufacturers’ batch level. This process, while painstaking, ensures success in the process of achieving synergy in a circuit. The result is obvious: a fully optimized and tuned amplifier that is fun to play, versatile, allows for great expressiveness, and sounds exceptional.

ABOUT JELLE WELAGEN
Jelle Welagen received his PhD from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, for his work in developmental neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York in 2011. Jelle has been building amplifiers for over two decades. His scientific training, unrelenting scholarly attitude, and desire for guitar tone as an avid guitar player, has led to a unique attitude towards building guitar amplifiers that lies at the intersection of R&D, engineering and arts. Through meticulous study, Jelle has obtained an excellent base of knowledge of sound and construction.

Jelle ’s mission is to provide guitar players with a tonal palette that is inspiring, harmonically rich, and expressive, through versions of traditional designs as well as novel designs.