Hughes & Kettner is a German manufacturer of
instrument amplifier
An instrument amplifier is an electronic device that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a musical instrument into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical ins ...
s, cabinets and
effects boxes.
History
The company was founded in
Neunkirchen in 1984 by two brothers, Hans and Lothar Stamer, and moved to
St. Wendel three years later.
It is cited as a "long and good standing reputation as a maker of solidly performing tube amplifiers".
In 1989, Hughes & Kettner offered the first realistic
speaker emulation device, the Red Box, providing the sound of a speaker without needing a microphone. In 1997, the company designed the Rotosphere, a tube-powered effects pedal simulating the sound of a rotary cabinet, similar to a Leslie, but in a much smaller form factor. It has been used by guitar players but also but some keyboard players, such as
Jon Lord
John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...
. In 2011, ''
Music Radar
MusicRadar is a music website that offers information pertaining to artists and their music. The site features music gear news and reviews, artist interviews and online music and production tutorials. It is owned by British media company Future ...
'' named the Rotosphere as one of the best modulation and filter pedals of all time.
The company is actively producing new models, both tube and solid-state amplifiers. In 2020, the company released the 50W Spirit Nano amplifier head, which combines a transistor amplifier with a Red Box Leslie simulator. The era 1 and era 2 are general purpose amplifiers that are suitable for
acoustic guitars and microphones.
Notable users
Notable users of Hughes & Kettner products include
Rush's
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...
[ and ]Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
' Tommy Thayer
Thomas Cunningham Thayer (born November 7, 1960) is an American musician and songwriter. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the American hard rock band Kiss. He was also lead guitarist for the band Black 'n Blue.
Early life
Thomas Cu ...
, who have signature amplifiers by the company (The TriAmp MKII Alex Lifeson and the Duotone Tommy Thayer). Marillion's Steve Rothery
Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...
is a longtime user of the Rotosphere and prefers it to other Leslie simulators.
Other Hughes and Kettner users are Joel Stroetzel
Joel Michael Stroetzel (born July 24, 1980) is best known as the rhythm guitarist from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.
Background
Stroetzel attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston but did not graduate. Stroetzel's gu ...
who has used the company's Rostophere, Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz (born April 4, 1977) is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and ...
, Joe Bonamassa
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...
, Peredur ap Gwynedd
Pendulum is an Australian electronic rock band founded in 2002. Pendulum originally formed in the city of Perth, Western Australia, by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul "El Hornet" Harding. The band was later expanded to include members Ben ...
who uses a GrandMeister 36, Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. He has also recorded ...
, Tony Macalpine
Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...
, Michael Wilton
Michael F. Wilton (born February 23, 1962) also known as The Whip, for how fast his fingers "whip" around the guitar fretboard, is an American musician, best known for being a guitarist and songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, w ...
and Allan Holdsworth.Time Machine Tour
The Time Machine Tour was a concert tour by the Canadian rock band Rush that began on June 29, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and ended July 2, 2011 at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. The tour was notable for featuring the album ...
in 2010.
External links
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes and Kettner
Guitar amplifier manufacturers
Sankt Wendel (district)
Companies based in Saarland
Audio equipment manufacturers of Germany
1984 establishments in West Germany
Companies established in 1984
German companies established in 1984