Musician launches new boutique amplifier business near York

Andrew Colley Watson, who goes by Drew Colson, has launched Colson of York based in Bilton-in-Ainsty, east of Wetherby.

Colson of York has completed its first series of amplifiers, The Three Sisters of Ainsty, expected to cost around £825 each.

They are fully analogue 25-watt amplifiers with no valves or digital modelling, meaning the signal comes purely from the instrument using traditional components rather than it being converted into data then processed by software to create the sound.

The Three Sisters of Ainsty, Maria, Charlotte and Emily, the first completed series from Colson of York (Image: Supplied)

Each amplifier has a hand-built hardwood cabinet – built by Drew in very small numbers using Yorkshire sycamore sourced near Ripon then air dried and cured for more than 15 years – and matched to a speaker.

The Three Sisters of Ainsty series includes three one-off analogue amplifiers, named Maria, Charlotte and Emily.

One of the new amplifiers by Colson of York (Image: Supplied)

More than 30 hours of labour is involved in creating the amplifiers, with each having its “own cabinet style, character and voice”, according to Colson.

Drew said the amplifier business follows his decades of experience as a musician.  

He has owned and tested dozens of amplifiers and performs regularly as a gigging musician. Drew also hosts open mic nights and musicians’ jam sessions, which helped when researching amplifiers.

“As a player, I wanted something that worked naturally with pedals, felt alive under my fingers and had a real presence in the room,” he said. “Colson of York brings together guitars, analogue sound, natural materials, science, design and precision, all things that I’m interested in.”

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Drew added that he chose to make the amplifiers fully analogue as he is “interested in that direct, physical connection between the player, the analogue circuitry, the speaker, the cabinet and the room”.

“In music, digital modelling can be incredibly useful, but for me there’s a difference between listening to a violin, for example, and listening to a recording of a violin. That’s what analogue equipment gives you.”

Drew built his first prototype valve amplifier around two years ago, followed by further valve, digital and analogue experiments.

And after selling his first fully hand-built amplifier in 2025, he decided to open Colson of York this month.

The Three Sisters of Ainsty amplifiers are now available for sale, with the business announcing that future small series, one-off builds and private inquiries will be handled directly through Colson of York.

For more information about Colson of York, visit www.colsonofyork.co.uk