Steve McKinley is a guitarist/bassist with a passion for tube amps and the pursuit of a perfect tone. Born and raised in Florida, young Steve enjoyed working with tools alongside his father and shared a deep love for music with his mother. In his teens, Steve enjoyed tinkering with mini bikes and off-road motorcycles. When he got his first real motorcycle, he asked to sell it when his interests turned to guitars. His father drove him to a local guitar store and bought him his first guitar: a used, early model Music Man Stingray II and a Peavey Studio Pro amp. Steve started practicing and there was no turning back.
While playing in bands in his 20's, he began learning about amps. When they broke at the most inopportune times, he started learning how to fix them in a pinch. Later, with better understanding, he started helping out friends and soon became the local go-to guy for amps. Throughout the years he continued to gain knowledge from the likes of Aspen Pittman, Gerald Weber, Jeff Bakos, Ken Fischer and Ritchie Flieger.
In 1998, Steve opened Atlanta Tube Amp and worked out of his band’s rehearsal room. However, space was limited so he moved his workshop to his garage, where ATA currently exists. Over the years he's expanded his services to include the dying art of speaker repair (so his customers can keep their amps original) and effects pedal modifications. Steve offers popular mods like converting your SD-1 to a TS-808, as well as his own custom mods. In 2005 he launched Steve McKinley Electronics.