Oliver grew up with an interest in music and electronics, assembling crystal radio sets and playing guitar and bass in high school bands.
[2] In 1960, Oliver invented and patented the B-15, a bass combo amp with closed-back reflex cabinet, double-baffle porting system, and an innovative flip-top function.
The B-15 was the first in Ampeg's Portaflex series, and after becoming the preferred studio amp of session musicians like James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey, went on to become the most-recorded bass amplifier in history.
In 1961, with the introduction of the Ampeg Reverbrocket, Oliver was the first to integrate Laurens Hammond's new spring reverb into a guitar combo amplifier.
Eventually he scaled down manufacturing and operated Oliver Sound as an amplifier service center out of his basement in Massapequa, New York.