One brand, two target groups with very different needs… – that hardly sounded like a recipe for sustained success, so we decided to give each target group – audio users and guitarists – a brand of its own. The first HK Audio product, the P1 system, hit the market in 1989. By the time the 1990s rolled around, all PA speakers from St. Wendel sported the new brand logo. Hughes & Kettner has since been the brand reserved for instrument amplifiers.

That year, we installed our first computer-controlled milling machines to scale up production, tighten up tolerances, and usher in the age of Industry 2.0 in our factory.

The Red Box was a milestone product. This ingenious little DI box would become the template for a new category of product that continues to inspire imitations to this day.

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