Sweetwater’s Chuck Surack
Who: Chuck Surack, president and founder of Sweetwater
What: Fourth largest retailer of music instruments and pro audio products in the country.
Where: Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Adamson Systems
Brock Adamson
Who: Brock Adamson, president, CEO and head designer of Adamson Systems Engineering.
What: “What do you think?”
When: Founded in 1983.
Fulltime employees: 55.
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Tony Marra of Thermal Relief Design
BUSINESS
Who: Tony Marra, owner/founder of Thermal Relief Design, Inc.
Where: “Vegas, Baby!”
When: “I started the company with my wife, Lori, as TLM Electronics in 1987 in Pleasantville, N.Y. When we moved to Las Vegas in 1996 I changed the name to Thermal Relief Design.”
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A&S Makes Its Case
Made-to-order case company introduces “FlyWeight” cases.
The case brought back into A&S the other day was old — 22 years old. But it was hardly the historic artifact you might think.
The band that had been using it all that time had no interest in letting it go, rather, they just wanted some of the interior foam replaced. That’s not exceptional in the experience of A&S Case Company, but rather typical. “There are cases being actively used out there that were made when the company was first formed in 1976,” says Bill Waskey. “They may have had a caster replaced, and, of course, they look a bit worn but they are still very serviceable.”
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Pat Quilter of QSC Audio
BUSINESS
Who: Patrick Quilter, chairman and senior amplifier designer of QSC Audio Products.
What: Manufacturer of pro audio products.
Where: Costa Mesa, Calif.
When: Founded in July 1968 “on a very small scale and got serious” around 1973.
First gig: “We provided a PA system for a dingy cellar nightclub near the Golden Bear, a prestigious dive in Huntington Beach, Calif. It turned out to be an ‘unpaid gig,’ and due to our naiveté about purchase contracts and collateral, they even got to keep the PA system.”
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Ted Leamy, Pro Media/UltraSound
Who: Ted Leamy, COO, Pro Media/UltraSound.
What: Tour sound, corporate event production and audio installations.
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Digidesign’s Robert Scovill
BUSINESS
Who: Robert Scovill, market manager for Digidesign’s Live Sound Products.
What: Manufacturer of Pro Tools software and hardware; ICON control surfaces; and the VENUE Live Sound Environment.
Where: Daly City, Calif.
When: Founded in 1984.
Current clients include: Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Radiohead ¬— “too many to list!” — are all users of VENUE technology.
Recent company highlight: The release of the new I/O product called Mix Rack.
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Rane Founders/Owners Linda Arink and Dennis Bohn Special He Said/She Said Edition
BUSINESS
Who: Founders/Owners: Linda Arink (“she”) and Dennis Bohn (“he”).
What: An audio tools manufacturer.
Where: Mukilteo, WA
(20 miles north of Seattle).
When founded: 1981.
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Lab.gruppen/TC Group’s Tim Chapman
BUSINESS
Who: Tim Chapman, head of marketing, Lab.gruppen
Where: Kungsbacka, Sweden (just south of Gothenburg).
When founded: Lab.gruppen was founded in 1979; since 2002, it has been part of the TC Group.
What: Creating sound reinforcement products for the professional audio industry — designs and manufacturers power applications and powered loudspeaker management systems.
HEAR Technologies
BUSINESS
What: Hear Technologies
What it does: Manufacturer of professional audio equipment for recording, TV, video postproduction and live sound.
Where: Huntsville, Ala.
When: Founded in 2001.
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Who: Jeffrey Cox, vice president, EAW Brand Group.
What: Design and manufacture high-performance professional audio equipment.
Where: Facilities in Whitinsville, Mass., and Woodinville, Wash.
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Wireworks
Who: Jerry Krulewicz, president and co-founder of Wireworks Corporation.
What: A manufacturer of audio and audio/video cabling systems for the professional audio, broadcast and live performance industries.
Where: Hillside, N.J.
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