Blaze Works

The story of Jim Johnson Electronics

Little is known about the esoteric amplifier Blaze Works. It's difficult to find the amps and even more difficult to get information about them. This page is a collection of information found on Usenet forums, Facebook groups, etc.

The story of Jim "Blazer" Johnson

The "Blazer", a cigarette lighter powered by the speaker output of a guitar amp, was first publicly seen during the Live Aid broadcasting at Wembley. Between two songs, John Entwistle turns to his amp and lights his cigarette using his amplifier! In order to power the Blazer, John struck powerful chords on his bass which became the intro to the next song. In a subsequent interview, John mentions the Blazer, that it was made by a "bloke that used to hang around back stage", and that nowadays "most bands in England uses it".

The "Blazer" name can also be seen on some early rack cabinets for guitar effects, for example in "Live from Moscow" with the Scorpions, but it is unclear whether Jim Johnsson built the cabinet or simply put his sticker on it.

According to early promotion material (see below) from Blaze Works, Jim Johnson was a guitar tech and roadie for numerous American rock bands in the eighties and nineties. In an interview in Musikermagasinet (Swedish magazine), Jim Johnson mentions his Swedish heritage, and sources say that he was born Jerker Jönsson in Ludvika, Sweden. Jim Johnson claims that he was the guitar tech for Paz Alterama of Vexonus, and we know that they had a relationship, but no-one involved in Vexonus has any recollection of who joined the band on tours.

After the release of the Super Charge amplifier, Jim Johnson has been silent. If anyone knows how to reach him, please let us know.

The Blazer

The Blazer cigarette lighter was never publically sold, as it was "fucking dangerous" according to guitar techs. It had a tendency to overload the speaker outputs on the amplifiers and damage the tubes, as well as becoming so hot that it melted the vinyl off of the guitar amps.

There is an CE application for the Blazer from 1989 which was rejected without comments.

Usenet user "gromit" has one of the few remaining units and says that it did work back in the days but that his "wife would never allow me to try it today".

Blaze Works Amplifier Models

The brand name "Blaze Works" was first seen in an 1994 ad for the Overvolt Mk I amplifier. Jim Johnson says he built it for Eddie Van Halen, and that the Overvolt amplifier became the inspiration for the 5150 amplifier. There is however little evidence for that, and it is more probable that Jim Johnson built the Overvolt as a tribute to the 5150 amplifier rather than the opposite. Eddie Van Halen says that he's "never met the guy" (Facebook).

Overvolt Series

The Overvolt series are heavily inspired by the 5150 amps, and only one model (Overvolt Mk II) was publically available. It was handbuilt in Madrid, unclear if it's Madrid, Spain or Madrid, Iowa, and serial numbers indicate that at least 75 units were produced. Jim Johnson says in an early interview that "all the great guitarists" used Overvolt Mk I, but no evidence of that exists.

Overvolt was a 50W head with a single channel with Bass, Middle and Treble. The poweramp features both Presence and Resonance knobs, which makes it one of the earliest amps with the Resonance control.

Arc Line Series

The Arc Line series was introduced in 1995 (source?), again starting with Mk II. It was a commercial failure due to it's built-in GM synthesizer and Blaze Works destroyed all remaining units. In 1997 the Mk III was presented in adverts in guitar magazines in Europe and this time it was a more normal single channel high gain amplifier, seemingly inspired by English high gain amps. Shortly thereafter, the Arc Line IV, the version most known, was introduced. This time it had three channels (Clean, Normal and Boost) and a tight high gain sound which quickly became popular on the mid 2000 metal scene.

There is no information on how many Arc Line IV was produced, but estimates says between 150 and 250 units.

Super Charge Series

Following the success of Arc Line, the Super Charge was Blaze Works answer to the Boss HM-2 + Rectifier guitar sound. However, the result sounded more like a Metal Zone pedal and the Super Charge became both a commercial as well as a technical failure. Super Charge was also the last amplifier from Blaze Works, and the last time Blaze Works ads was seen in magazines.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse