Turn an Old Guitar Amp Into a Rockin’ Computer

For guitarists, the amplifier is almost as important as the guitar itself — sometimes more so. As such, most musicians have very strong opinions about which guitar amps are best, and many people will spend more on their amps than any other piece of equipment. That means it can be heartbreaking when an amp stops working. But, by following Celian_31’s guide, you can bring that old amp back to life as a cool computer.

Celian_31 had Marshall MG30FX guitar amp that stopped working, and that he couldn’t get fixed. The MG30FX is a decent amp, but it’s one of the lowest in the Marshall lineup and its solid state electronics weren’t worth having professionally repaired. So, when Celian_31 ended up with a handful of old industrial computers, he decided to use parts from them to revive the broken Marshall amp as a computer. The exact steps on how to do that will differ based on your specific amp and the computer components you choose to use, but the basic steps should be similar.

That process started with the disassembly of both the guitar and donor computers. The amp’s wood cabinet was then cut with a jigsaw and handheld router to add openings. Next, a handful of mounts and trim covers were 3D-printed and spray-painted. The final step was to reassemble the amp with all of the upcycled computer parts, along with a few new components that Celian_31 wasn’t able to salvage from the old computers. The final result looks fantastic, is far more awesome than your typical computer.