The Three Sisters of Ainsty
Three amplifiers, one shared story
The Three Sisters of Ainsty is the first official amplifier series from Colson of York.
Built by Drew Colson in Bilton-in-Ainsty, YO26, the series comprises three completely unique handmade analogue guitar amplifiers: Maria, Charlotte and Emily.
There is only one of each.
No second run and no other variants. Once these three amplifiers find their homes, the series is complete.
Crafted from the same piece of hardwood
The Three Sisters aren’t just related by name and design. They are made from the same two boards of Yorkshire sycamore and sapele.
There was just enough of each timber to make the three cabinets. And when the amplifiers are placed side by side, the sycamore grain matches up across the tops, confirming the family connection.
The sycamore was sourced near Ripon, spalted, air dried and seasoned for more than fifteen years, almost ten of them by Drew personally. It is paired with sapele from an independent hardwood specialist in York, chosen for its depth of colour, strength and connection to guitar making and fine cabinet work.
Each cabinet has its own figure, grain, colour and character, but all three sisters share the same material origin.
Analogue feel and immediate response
At the heart of each sister is a fully analogue solid-state platform, built around Hughes & Kettner Spirit Tone technology.
There are no valves to replace, balance or bias, and no digital modelling, software, computers or menu-driven simulators. The guitar signal is shaped by analogue components throughout, which include resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors, rather than being converted into data and processed by software.
Drew has built valve amps before, but for The Three Sisters he wanted the reliability and practicality of analogue solid-state without losing the immediacy and response of analogue circuitry.
By using H&K’s Spirit Tone technology, rather than a completely scratch-designed analogue circuit, the sisters have the benefit of serious R&D from an established amplifier company. The Colson work is in how that platform is modified, voiced, housed and built into a handcrafted amplifier, based on a bespoke hardwood cabinet, the speaker choice, layout, materials, finish and overall playing feel.
Colson of York builds are not affiliated with, endorsed by or made by Hughes & Kettner.
1998 English Celestion speakers
Each sister is voiced through a 1998 Celestion G12F-60 loudspeaker, also known as the Celestion RockDriver Junior, and made in Ipswich, England, on 23 June 1998. I was lucky enough to acquire a batch that were all manufactured on the same day, stamped with the same serial numbers.
These 12-inch, 8-ohm speakers were produced before Celestion moved its guitar speaker manufacturing to China.
I’ve selected them for their clear top end, firm low response and balanced character in a deep, semi-open hardwood cabinet.
Each speaker was 27 years old at the birth of its amplifier, putting The Three Sisters straight into 27 Club territory, one of the most loaded numbers in music history.
Designed for feel, pedals and presence
The Three Sisters were designed for players who care about response, and the way an amp reacts to your playing, how it works with pedals and the way a note pushes back when the amp is driven.
Each sister is rated at 25 watts into 8 ohms, but the numbers only tell part of the story. The analogue harmonics, the matched Celestion speaker and the hardwood cabinet all help create an amplifier that feels bigger, more immediate and more alive than the wattage might suggest.
Simple, expressive controls
“Shape” sets the overall tonal character. “Weight” adjusts low-end firmness and depth. “Air” controls upper presence and openness. “Gain” drives the front end. “Give” adjusts how the amp yields under the note. “Volume” sets the final output level.
An FX loop allows delay, reverb and modulation effects to sit after the amp’s main voice section.
A rear mic cable access hole also allows a microphone cable to be threaded through the back of the cabinet and over the top, so a mic can be rested against the speaker cloth for live use in larger venues if needed.
Built individually by Drew
The Three Sisters were built individually by Drew Colson, with no production line and no outside cabinet-making team.
Each amp involved more than 30 hours of hands-on work across cutting, shaping, sanding, soldering, setting, finishing, testing and refining. The cabinets are also branded with the Colson of York mark, burned into the wood, and each amplifier is supplied with a record of origin, owner’s notes and build details.
Meet the Three Sisters
Maria
Maria is the eldest sister.
She carries the strongest local material history of the three siblings. Alongside Yorkshire sycamore and sapele, her cabinet includes very old oak timber reclaimed from Drew’s 1815 Georgian house in Bilton-in-Ainsty. Her base is made from slatted pine repurposed from the rear door of the same property, placing part of the actual fabric of the house into the amplifier itself.
Maria also uses more sapele across the front than the other two sisters, giving her a deeper, richer and more substantial visual character.
Charlotte
Charlotte is the middle sister.
She is the most elegant, restrained and balanced of the three visually.
Alongside Yorkshire sycamore and sapele, her base is made from slatted pine repurposed from the rear door of Drew’s 1815 Georgian house in Bilton-in-Ainsty, giving her a direct material connection to the place where the amplifier was built.
She has the same 25-watt analogue platform and 1998 English Celestion G12F-60 speaker as the other sisters, but with her own cabinet proportions, stance and character.
Emily – SOLD
Emily is the youngest sister. She has now found her new home.
She is perhaps the most visually striking. Her Yorkshire sycamore has some of the strongest spalting in the series, including a large natural burr that gives the cabinet a particularly distinctive face.
Her base is made from a single solid pine board, giving her a slightly different construction from Maria and Charlotte. At 13.5kg, she is also the lightest of the three, while still using the same 1998 English Celestion G12F-60 speaker and 25-watt analogue platform.
Availability
The Three Sisters of Ainsty are now available to purchase. Each amplifier is completely unique and supplied with a record of origin, owner’s notes and build details.
Collection from near York is welcome. Collection from near York is welcome. I can also arrange fully insured delivery anywhere across the UK.
For purchases, questions and private viewings, please get in touch using the form below or visit the online shop.