“Nick’s knowledgeable depth, thoroughness and fairness in his reviews earned him a distinguished position as a true authority”: Remembering Nick Guppy, Guitarist magazine’s guitar amp guru

Nick contributed his detailed, authoritative amp reviews in almost every issue of Guitarist for well over two decades. He came onto our radar after writing a letter to then Guitarist editor, Neville Marten, wondering if we needed someone to write about amplifiers. He included a review he’d written and, hugely impressed, Neville commissioned him on the spot.

Born in December 1958, Nick caught the rock ’n’ roll bug early on, and although he attended Cheltenham Grammar School (like a certain Rolling Stone), his long-time friend Cos remembers him as “a bit of a rebel”. 

Neville remembers him as a “monster” guitar player, too, and he served time with many local bands, not least The Detonators during the ’80s, toting his self‑built guitar based on a Gibson SG. “Nick actually wanted to be a session player,” but, remembers Cos, “punk rock ruined that – his words.”

He’s remembered by all who knew him as a humble, modest man, but “give him a guitar or anything to do with amps… that’s all he talked about”, Cos tells us, a recurring theme among the tributes we’ve received.

“Nick was a gentle, softly spoken man – but when he had a guitar or a pen in his hand, it was a different story,” says Blackstar’s director of marketing, Joel Richardson. “He wrote with guru-like knowledge and an understanding of the guitar player’s needs.

“As a new company 17 years ago, we knew that, to succeed, our products needed to impress Nick Guppy. This is a value we uphold to this very day. We wear the Gold and Choice awards given by Nick with pride, as we know he didn’t give them freely.

“It will take some time to come to terms with the fact we won’t be able to tell Nick about our latest products and wait eagerly for his opinion to be printed in Guitarist magazine. From all at Blackstar: thank you, Nick. You have helped us more than you could ever know.”

“Nick was a revered and respected voice within the world’s guitar playing community,” says Steve Mueller (Product Development, Mesa/Boogie & Gibson Amplifiers).

“His knowledgeable depth, thoroughness and fairness in his reviews earned him a distinguished position as a true authority. He will live on through this massive body of work. It will underscore his legacy as one of the most authoritative and prolific reviewers the world has ever known.”

From an editor’s perspective, Nick was the perfect contributor, not only for Guitarist but also Total Guitar. Nothing was too much trouble. His copy was always early, always accurate. Above all, reading his words, you’d be thinking, ‘I need one of those!’ We can only guess how many hundreds or thousands of amps he helped to sell.

And while Nick came from the old-school all-valve world, he embraced modern digital technologies and is one of few who have written comprehensively about the demise of the valve and its implications for the musician. He traced the evolution of non-valve designs over the past decades and was never short of advice as to how some of those early designs could be improved.

“Nick was a notable advocate of Boss Katana amplifiers and wrote about them in penetrating detail,” comments Rod Brakes on behalf of Boss. “A renowned authority on the subject of amps, he enlightened fellow guitarists by imparting rare knowledge and wisdom gleaned from his lifelong passion.”

Matthew Smith from Bad Cat says: “The guitar playing community worldwide will mourn the loss of a person the likes of whom we are unlikely to see again; we are all the poorer for it. Nick, thank you so much for the years of consistently outstanding writing you gave us, and sharing your love for all things guitar. You’re a class act.”

“Nick’s contribution to the world of the electric guitar was outstanding, his knowledge and experience second to none, and his passing leaves a big hole to fill,” says Cliff Brown at 633 Engineering.

“His passion for great engineering and great tone was inspiring, and on a personal level he was very encouraging to me. When designing a new amp, part of the process would always be, ‘What will Nick think?’ He was a true gentleman and will be missed.”

We’ll leave the last words to Neville Marten, who gave Nick the opportunity to share his passion all those years ago: “Not only will he be missed by family and friends, but also by everyone at the magazine and I’m sure his thousands of loyal readers. Many thanks, Nick. Safe travels.”