A little about us
About Us: Noisy Hammer
Built for Tone. Made to Last.
At Noisy Hammer, we don't do mass-produced. We believe that your gear should be as unique as your music. Based in our workshop in Norwich, UK, we are a dedicated custom shop specialising in handbuilt electric guitar and bass speaker cabinets, handwired valve amplifiers, and bespoke enclosures.
Our Story
Noisy Hammer was born from the intersection of two lifelong passions: carpentry and live sound engineering. Founded and managed by Ryan Hillier, the business combines over a decade of experience in professional audio with a craft learned at the workbench since childhood. After years of working as an engineer in music venues, Ryan noticed a gap in the industry where musicians would spend thousands on premium guitars and pedals, only to run them through generic speaker cabinets. Noisy Hammer was created to change that, turning technical sound requirements into beautifully aesthetic, custom-built reality.
The Noisy Hammer Philosophy
Every build, from a custom 1x12 cab to a full valve amp combo, is designed around your specific sound and style. We love being the "little shop" you can talk to, and whether you have a specific technical requirement or a creative idea in your head, we work with you to choose the fabrics, hardware, and speakers that define your tone. Our cabinets are handcrafted using high-quality materials like Baltic birch ply and English Ash, ensuring they look as good as they sound. While we take pride in our Norwich HQ and personal shop-floor chats, we ship our custom creations to tone-chasers and gigging pros worldwide.
More Than Just Cabinets
Beyond our flagship speaker cabs, we offer custom rehousing to give your favourite amp a new home within a bespoke enclosure. Our handwired amps, including the Juno and JEM series, deliver everything from vintage punch to modern clarity. We also provide custom printed grill cloth so you can personalise your rig with high-quality audio-grade printing featuring your own artwork. Additionally, we offer expert repairs specialising in valve gear servicing to keep your tone at its peak. You won't find generic here; you'll find gear made by builders who listen, care, and get it.
Born on the Road. Built in Norwich.
Noisy Hammer started in 2018, but the foundation for it was laid over decades on stage, in venues, and behind mixing desks.
Founded by Ryan Hillier, Noisy Hammer grew out of a life spent steeped in the UK music industry.
Having played in local bands since the age of 13 and worked as a world touring Front of House and Monitor Engineer from 19, Ryan spent years living alongside stage rigs, acoustic spaces, and live sound.
Carpentry has always been at the heart of everything Ryan does, having been taught woodworking by all of his granddads from a very early age. That early guidance turned woodwork into his biggest lifelong hobby alongside music.
The spark for the workshop came during a tour with Ducking Punches. Their frontman Dan needed a solution to streamline his setup, asking if Ryan could take the drivers from his bulky Marshall 1960 4x12 and rebuild them into a custom 2x12. That cab became Noisy Hammer build number one.
When the global pandemic brought live music and touring to a sudden halt, Ryan turned to that lifelong passion for carpentry. What began as a creative outlet during lockdown quickly evolved into a dedicated custom shop. Bringing two decades of touring experience and venue technical management directly to the workbench, Noisy Hammer became a full time reality.
Roots in the Local Scene
Norwich has been home to Ryan for 40 years, making it the natural home for the workshop. Having served as Technical Manager across iconic regional venues including Norwich Arts Centre, Epic Studios, and the Norwich Waterfront, remaining rooted in the local creative ecosystem is a core value of the business. Noisy Hammer exists to support musicians, studios, and artists with gear built right here in East Anglia.
Uncompromising Craft and Heirloom Quality
Noisy Hammer operates as a true custom shop. We do not manufacture mass market, throwaway gear. The industry is saturated with lightweight, factory built gear designed to be replaced rather than repaired. We build the exact opposite: roadworthy, heirloom quality equipment engineered for incredible longevity and backed by a lifetime warranty. Our design approach merges a DIY punk spirit with classic British valve tone and mid century modern aesthetic choices. Every cabinet, hand wired amplifier head, and enclosure is designed to feel like a statement piece of furniture while delivering raw, unadulterated rock performance. We build using dense Baltic birch plywood for our standard high performance cabs, alongside solid hardwoods like English ash, walnut, and Douglas fir sourced through local arborists and tree surgeons. Featuring custom in house printed grill cloths, custom Tolex, and bespoke timber finishes, we bring virtually any aesthetic vision to life. Built using modern, high grade internal components combined with traditional hand wiring techniques, every unit is engineered to eliminate the common failure points encountered on tour.
Built for Your Creative Outlet
Great gear should be an extension of your creativity. We work collaboratively with every client through a detailed consultation process, exploring wood options, sound characteristics, and custom aesthetics to bring the exact idea in your head into reality. If a piece of gear looks stunning, feels personal, and sounds phenomenal, it inspires you to play. That drive to create something exceptional for every artist is why we do what we do.
The Future of Noisy Hammer
Our goal is to continue growing our Norwich base into a hub for musicians, studios, and builders. We are working toward opening a larger workshop space and destination center where players can visit, test builds, learn about the craft, and experience our gear firsthand.