The Base

AMEK

GB · 1973–2005

AMEK was a British mixing-console manufacturer founded in 1973 in Manchester by Graham Langley (analogue design) and Nick Franks (business, a London School of Economics graduate), who had first met as teenagers at a local grammar school. Starting in a garden shed and then a first workshop in Altrincham, AMEK — with its TAC (Total Audio Concepts) subsidiary — became a fixture in studio, broadcast and live sound, earning the Queen's Award for Export in three consecutive years during the 1980s. Its customer base included many studios and multi-platinum artists (Genesis, Metallica, U2). In the early 1990s AMEK began a collaboration with Rupert Neve, who designed several modules and the 9098 console. Acquired by Mark IV Audio in 1992 and folded into Harman International in 1997, AMEK kept manufacturing at Trafford Park (Manchester); Graham Langley left the company in 2001 after 28 years, and the brand was retired by Harman around 2005 in favour of Soundcraft and Studer.

Consoles