It all started back in 1961 with a Kent mahogany body electric guitar and a DeArmond R5 combo amp - 5 watts with one 10" Jensen Alnico speaker. Little did I know how much tone I was holding back then!
As I progressed in years, learning The Beatles, Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Deep Purple, Santana, Jeff Beck Group and most of the top bands at the time, I started to seriously dive into understanding as much as I could about the equipment the top pros were using. Like everyone else, I kept looking for my own signature sound, and I can't think of any amp or guitar that I didn't try out.
Like many players in the late '70s/early '80s, I was influenced by Jeff Beck's move towards fusion. I started to explore the world of instrumental rock/jazz fusion music, and I fell in love with it, particularly players like Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford and Al Di Meola.
Then Eddie Van Halen emerged and brought me back to rock. I also dig the "wild" country adventures of Albert Lee, Vince Gill and some of the great emerging young country players.
I ended up travelling across the country to play in a band on the west coast. In my continuing search for my perfect sound, I came across a 1955 Fender Bassman that had been brought up from California. That was it! For years it was my main amp. I still have it.
In 1985, to further explore my sound obsession, I went to college to become an electronics technician. The timing was right - I studied under a master from the old school, straight from the Ukraine, whose teachings were heavily rooted in vacuum tubes, from TV to radio to audio. As well, my father was the head of the electronics division for a large company, and had been involved in the evolution of radar during the war, so I had an excellent sounding board.
I started repairing electronics for music stores, picking up all makes of amps along the way and modding them for myself and other serious musicians. Eventually, I went to work for a major music store and spent 14 years as an electronics technician, during which time I became an authorized warranty tech for Fender, Marshall, Yamaha, Yorkville (Traynor) and others.
In 2000, I started MORRIS CUSTOM ELECTRONICS and MORRIS AMPLIFICATION. In 2005, I decided to start a production line of amps. The overwhelmingly positive feedback to my products has continued to drive my passion for creating great sounds.
