HH Electronics is a British
amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
manufacturer, that was founded in 1968 by Mike Harrison, Malcolm Green and Graham Lowes in Harston near
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where its first
solid state TPA and MA range of studio quality amplifiers were designed and manufactured. These amplifiers were used by many recording and broadcasting studios, including the BBC.
The company later moved to larger premises at
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, named the 'Dust Bowl' producing the first of the IC range of music amplifiers. The I/C100 Organ/Musical Instrument Amplifier, which gave a massive 100-
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
RMS of undistorted power and featured a unique green electro-luminescent lit front panel which was to become one of HH's unique selling points, was produced with musicians
specially the semi-proand the retail music equipment market in mind. The separate 412BL
x 12"speakerBass/Lead Cabinet was also produced for the I/C100. The I/C100 was also put in a cabinet
alled a Combowith 2 x 12"
Celestion
Celestion is a British designer and exporter of professional loudspeakers.
History
Origins
What became Celestion was started in Hampton Wick (suburban London) in 1924. ''Cyril French'' and his three brothers had taken over a plating works ...
Speakers
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
.
Following a move to
Bar Hill
Bar Hill is a purpose-built village with a population of 4,000 about 4 miles (7 km) northwest of Cambridge, England on the A14 road, just east of the Prime Meridian.
History
Prior to the building of the Bar Hill settlement the area was o ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
circa 1975, or just before, HH extended its range of sound reinforcement equipment to include models such as the MA100 Mixer Amplifier, a 100 watt, 5 channel PA amplifier 'head' with a switchable spring reverb. The IC100L, V-S Bass and the V-S Musician, a two-channel 100-watt guitar amplifier head with a spring reverb, separate gain and master volume controls and a built in switchable solid state distortion circuit. This circuit was designed to emulate valve amplifier distortion
ence V-S for valve soundbut with controllable master volume, the V-S circuit was encased in a block of resin to prevent copying by competitors. All the amplifiers were housed in smart slim carryable heads and 2 x 12 or 1 x 15 combo enclosures. Many new PA
speaker cabinets
A loudspeaker enclosure or loudspeaker cabinet is an enclosure (often rectangular box-shaped) in which speaker drivers (e.g., loudspeakers and tweeters) and associated electronic hardware, such as crossover circuits and, in some cases, power ...
were designed and put into production, such as the 212 & 412 Dual Concentric, 212BL, 215BL, 412BL, 115PA Radial Horns and Bass Bin + Piezo plus the Concert Series of pro PA systems. A large range of studio and live mixing consoles, from an 8:2 to a 24:8:2, was designed and manufactured in the early 1980s, plus an HH electric piano and a range of tape echo machines and effects pedals.
Loudspeakers were also designed and manufactured in-house with cast Magnesium Alloy frames under the supervision of HH Acoustics
ed by acoustic guru Ed Form in order to match the quality of the amplifiers and speaker cabinets.
Continuing designs brought along another of the first
19-inch rack
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or "ears" that protrude from each side of the equ ...
mountable studio quality power amplifiers, the S500D, a favourite with the big pro touring and hire companies. Producing nothing less than 250 watts RMS of power per channel, these amplifiers were ideal for the big touring supergroups in the 1980s. Also there was the V-series of amplifiers, including the V100, V200, V500 and V800
MOSFET
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...
.
HH moved premises again around 1985 to Clifton Road,
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
and began to develop new amplification products, such as the VX Range of 19" Rack Amplifiers, MXA and Invader series speakers.
In the 1990s they were bought out by
Laney Amplification
Laney Amplification is a British designer and manufacturer of guitar amplifiers, bass guitar amplifiers, cabinets, and public address systems. Laney Amplification does not sell directly to the public, instead dealing with distributors and ret ...
.
HH Electronics is now based in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hh Electronics
Audio equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Guitar amplifier manufacturers