Amptweaker is a guitar and bass effects pedal company founded in 2009 by James Brown, a veteran amp designer who spent 18 years at Peavey — where he co-designed the iconic 5150 amplifier with Eddie Van Halen and developed Joe Satriani's signature amps — before serving as chief engineer at Kustom Amplification. Brown launched Amptweaker with his wife Phyllis out of Cumming, Georgia, with the goal of building high-gain pedals informed by decades of tube amp design. The brand's tagline, "Hi Gain effect pedals redefined," reflects its focus on delivering amp-like distortion and overdrive tones in stompbox format.

Amptweaker is best known for its Tight Metal and Fat Metal distortion pedals, along with the TightDrive and TightRock/BigRock overdrive lines, the TightFuzz, the PressuRizer compressor, and the Depth-Finder. Most pedals are offered in three sizes: Standard (mid-size enclosure), Jr (compact), and Pro (large-format with multiple effects loops for deep signal-chain integration). The Pro editions, with up to three switchable effects loops built into a single pedal, are a distinctive feature of the line. Alpha Distribution later acquired the brand when Brown departed to join Fender's EVH amplifier division as principal analog design engineer.

Amptweaker pedals have been adopted by a wide range of professional players spanning rock, metal, funk, and progressive music, including Adrian Belew, Jeff Ament, Bootsy Collins, Dug Pinnick, Steve Stevens, Synyster Gates, Juan Alderete, Reeves Gabrels, Buck Dharma, and Tim Lefebvre.

Amptweaker has 35 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Distortion Effects Pedals, Overdrive Effects Pedals, and Bass Effects Pedals. Their gear is featured by 19 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Metal, and Funk / Soul. Notable users include Rob Chapman, Charles Michael Parks, Jr., and Derek Engemann. Most Amptweaker products sit firmly in the high-end, boutique range.