Acoustic Control Corporation was a manufacturer of

instrument amplifier An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier 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 music ...

s, founded by Steve Marks (with the help of his father) and based in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Its original location was a shack on Sunset Boulevard in

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History

Most of the amplifiers produced by ACC were solid-state, but a few models later in production were valve amps. The company is remembered in particular for its Acoustic 361 bass stack, consisting of an Acoustic 360 bass pre-amplifier and one or two Acoustic 361 W-bins, each featuring a built-in 200-watt RMS power amplifier and a rear-facing 18" Cerwin-Vega loudspeaker. Acoustic also produced the "Black Widow" electric guitar and electric bass 1972 - 1975. The guitars and basses were based on designs used by Paul Barth for his Bartell guitars and basses. The majority of the guitars were built in Japan although Semi Moseley (of Mosrite fame) claimed to have built the last 200 guitars. One user associated with this guitar was jazz guitarist Larry Coryell who had an endorsement deal. Jimmy Nolen of James Brown's band was also a "Black Widow" user. Robby Krieger of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

was the most high-profile early user of the Acoustic 260 head and 261 cabinet—the first models ever produced by ACC. Krieger's Acoustic amps were a major public-relations boost for the fledgling company. Albert King and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

also used the 260 and 261. Canadian guitar virtuoso Frank Marino used the 270 model amplifier as did

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

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and Ernie Isley.

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

used the Acoustic 134 model combo guitar amplifier. Bassist

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

was a famous user of Acoustic bass amplifiers, using two 360/361 units onstage. Other bass amp users included Gary Thain from Uriah Heep, Larry Graham, Jimmie Randall,

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

, Carl Radle, Kelly Groucutt, Ric Grech,

John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...

, Tony Stevens, Peter "Overend" Watts, Danny Sheridan, Rod Ellicott (Cold Blood),

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, John Deacon, and Kirk Powers, the last two using an Acoustic 371 (combination of the 370 amp & 301 bass cabinet). The Mahavishnu Orchestra members (bass, keyboards, violin excluding John McLaughlin) used Acoustic amplifiers. Verden Allen, organist with Mott the Hoople used a 260 head amp. In the early '70s the Dutch band Focus used the 271 and 371 models while on the tour following the release of their '' Focus II'' LP. Acoustic Control Corporation went out of business in the 1980s, then returned under the name True Tone Audio as a manufacturer of P.A. amplifiers. Latter-day employee and designer Steve Rabe went on to establish specialist bass amplifier manufacturer SWR (now owned by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation) in 1984, then Raven Labs in 1998. Acoustic returned in 2007 under the name Acoustic Amplification, starting with the models B20 and AB50. In 2011 another branch of Acoustic, Acoustic USA founded by George Grexa and manufactured by The G.P.G. Co, launched a new version of the 360/361 bass amplifier as well as various speaker cabinets and a power amplifier. The new re-designed version of the historic Acoustic 360/361 has immediately featured bassists like

, Antonio Iorio and many others.

External links

Acoustic Amplification Official Home Page
Guitar amplifier manufacturers Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States {{Musical-instrument-company-stub