Stewart Ward

About me:

I've played in numerous rock bands, but I have to admit, I never really felt comfortable in that genre. Well, just take a look at me... I've no 'rock' image! But I soldiered on over the years and gradually switched to soul & covers bands and then function/corporate work. I gave up playing in public in 1979 - business called and no time. It was not until 2000 when I started to go to blues jams, that I realised I was really happy playing this blues stuff. I always had a leaning towards swing jazz/blues styles. That's what got my foot tapping really. Also, the advent of the Internet exposed me to Blues Radio (like KOQX BLUES RADIO). There I heard the many different forms of blues, jazz blues and country blues, which I knew existed, but could never find enough of... thanks to very limited output on British radio. I now have a huge collection of 'real' modern American blues largely by unknown artists. Not the slit-you're-wrists stuff that most think of. Those unknown players certainly give some of the 'name' players a good whipping!

I earn my living from designing electronic products for musicians. In fact, I was the creator of Session amps back in late 1979. Now I run a small Internet trading company called Award-Session (www.award-session.com). We make all sorts of specialist bits and pieces that guitar players seem to find useful... including a vast range of inexpensive custom cables to very high specs.

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A Hellecasters connection: Back in early 1991, I embarked on a project of designing some direct recording preamps for electric guitar. The first, the AW10 rackmount, was used by Jerry Donahue on the first Hellecasters album 'Return Of The Hellecasters' and the results can be heard on 'Orange Blossom Special' playing in the back ground now. This preamp was later re-designed and crammed into a stomp-box style case and renamed the JD10 after Jerry Donahue who adopted it... that pedal is still available now and a steady seller.

Over the last few years, I've turned my hand to designing a few guitars. Just for fun really, as I do like to have guitars that are different to the run-of-the-crop. I'm quite bored with looking at Strats and there is still a lot that can be done with guitars. Those of you who are died-in-the-wood traditionalists will disagree, and I respect that. But being a typical Aquarian, I have to move forward... always looking for new ways of doing things! Leo Fender was the same too! If not, you wouldn't have the Strat and Tele!!

Aquarians are usually quite dogmatic and want to right the world. Rebellious even. All true!! So I can be a bit radical... in your mind. But being aware of these traits has helped me to keep a lid on it! Resultantly, I am a much more patient soul with a willingness to 'listen' to and help my real friends. But I still seek change... Scarey for some, I know!