ART PRO-AUDIO TURNS 40
Over the past four decades, Applied Research and Technology (ART) has stayed true to its mission to con tinuously innovate a budget-minded, quality product line.
By Kimberly Kapela
As Applied Research and Technology (ART) celebrates its 40th anniversary, the company is reflecting on its journey, which has been defined by innovation and a dedication to making high-quality au dio equipment accessible to all. Since its founding in 1984, ART, which is owned by Yorkville Sound, has embodied the spirit of “musicians helping musicians” — a mis sion that has inspired countless artists and redefined the performanc-versus-price bar rier in audio technology.
Its mission to provide quality, budget minded equipment was born out of the personal experiences of ART’s five founding employees, who were themselves musicians frustrated by the high cost of professional grade audio equipment.
“ART’s mission has always been to look at higher-end products and look at the features and benefits of those products that may be unreachable to the common person and to bring those down and add features like that into ART products in a quality form,” said Steve Hendee, one of the company’s founders and Yorkville Sound’s current export manager. “That’s always been the success of ART’s products — they’re easy to use, well-built and the overall quality is excellent.”
Hendee took care of the back-end of the business in ART’s early days by doing audio tests for products. In its infancy, ART focused on creating signal processors, rack effects, and digital reverbs that were both high-quality and affordable.
But 40 years later, Steve Long, CEO of ART and Yorkville Sound, said he attributes the success of ART to its commitment to maintaining a customer-centric approach. Under Long’s leadership, the company has thrived by focusing on creating solutions tailored to the specific needs and challenges were predominantly run by musicians.
“If you go back many, many years, every company in the music business was run by musicians,” Long said. “Recently, there’s tended to be consolidation in the number of companies that have been taken over by people who aren’t coming from the music world. I think the big advantage we have is we plan to stick with our focus. Whenever we hire people to work here, they’re always musicians. [One thing] I always say about our company [is] it’s musicians helping musicians.”
ART has built its reputation on the foun dation of producing reputable products, and the success of the company is a testament to this unwavering commitment. One of the largest examples of ART’s dedication to excellence can be found in the ART Tube MP, which continues to remain within reach for all musicians, no matter their level or budget.
“ART’s success is rooted in producing solid, reliable products,” Hendee said. “Some of the products, like the ART Tube MP, was arguably the world’s most popular tube preamp that came out in the mid 1990s, and it’s still in the market 30 years later because it’s a high-quality product. It has stood the test of time and so many of our key products have done the same.”
AN ENDURING LEGACY ART’s legacy of quality is not limited to the Tube MP. Many of the company’s key products have similarly stood the test of time, becoming essential tools in the studio and during live performances. With the launch of ART’s Solo series this year, along with its preamps and other forthcoming products, Hendee said he envi sions a promising future for the company. “I think the future looks really bright for ART,” Hendee said.
Music Inc Article -Here-