Soundcraftsmen, California
Soundcraftsmen was a manufacturer of high-end audio stereo components located in Santa Ana, California, United States. The company was founded in 1961 by Ralph Yeomans, a concessionaire in Fedco (a discount membership store chain in southern California, until the chain closed in 1999). Early Soundcraftsmen components included tube-type receivers and amplifiers.
Ralph and Charles decided the first product was to be an equalizer, something not already on the market. They employed an electronics engineer, Paul Rolfes, in 1968 to design the equalizer. It was introduced by Charles at the 1969 CES in New York. National distribution started in late 1970. In the mid 1970s they introduced their line of preamplifiers and power amplifiers, including the first preamplifier/equalizer combo. Soundcraftsmen equalizers and their compact “brick” style power amplifiers gained a sizable following among audiophiles during the 1970s and 1980s. All Soundcraftsmen equalizers and amplifiers were made at the company’s Santa Ana, California facility.
Soundcraftsmen: the short history
The original page follows Wikipedia closely. Two points it states without the context: Charles, in "Ralph and Charles", is Charles Gassett, who introduced the first equalizer at the 1969 Consumer Electronics Show; and the company's story continued after the page ends. Gassett left in 1980, MTX bought Soundcraftsmen in 1991 and renamed it MTX Soundcraftsmen, and MTX discontinued the components in the mid-1990s.
The page also mentions that early Soundcraftsmen products included tube-type receivers and amplifiers, which is why the brand appears in a tube collectors' archive at all.
| Founded | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ralph Yeomans |
| Location | Santa Ana, California |
| First product | Graphic equalizer, shown at CES 1969 |
| Acquired by | MTX, 1991 |
Questions collectors ask
What was Soundcraftsmen's first product?
A graphic equalizer designed by engineer Paul Rolfes, hired in 1968, and introduced at the 1969 CES in New York.
What happened to Soundcraftsmen?
MTX bought the company in 1991 and discontinued its components in the mid-1990s.
Sources: Wikipedia: Soundcraftsmen.
