MI Pro

German acoustic amplification specialist Aer is that rarest of beasts; far from simply churning out product and focusing on numbers, pushing its product out far and wide at whatever the cost to retail, Aer is a company that cares.

It cares deeply about its product, down to the smallest screw. It cares about ensuring that retail is given a chance to sell its amplifiers without having to worry about being undercut by websites advertising stock they don’t have. And it cares about being independent in a time when increasing numbers of small manufacturers are being swallowed up by the industry’s biggest names.

Founder, co-director and all-round acoustic supremo, Udo Rösner, and his fellow director, Michael Eisenmann, have been living and breathing Aer since 1992, after years of working together. “We had a retail outlet together for two or three years, where he was involved in pro audio on a small scale, mainly sound reinforcement, while I was involved with acoustic guitars,” says Rösner. “We share two passions, which are ideal for what we do; one is the passion for loudspeakers, and the other is for acoustic guitars.

“If you look at it, the vibrating top of an instrument and the vibrating cone of an instrument have certain similarities, which are very important when you undertake any sort of project in this direction. So luckily we got together and started making our way, which has not been an easy one – there have been many ups and downs.”

Working in various parts of the industry, including retail and small scale manufacture for companies aware of the duo’s interest and expertise in everything from pickup systems to sound reinforcement, it was only a matter of time before designing and manufacturing their own product was on the cards.

“Being involved in retail, and knowing a lot about acoustic instruments, I was close to many luthiers here, so we built pickup systems and things like that for them, and at a certain point in this development, we were coming out with prototypes of acoustic amplifier systems,” says Rösner.

“Suddenly things started to materialise in that we had the contacts and the opportunity to come up with something that, in all honesty, surprised us.

“In 1992, that’s what happened. We were in a garage situation, getting the stock out of the shop and preparing it for weekend study and prototype construction, then everything back into the shop for Monday. We worked like this for some time, and then in 1992 we had prototypes of the AcoustiCube, which we introduced at Frankfurt where we were invited as the guests of German manufacturer, Lakewood.”

At that first crucial Musikmesse, the response was immediate to what was still a prototype design from the fledgling Aer. Word quickly spread about the capabilities of this compact but astonishing sounding acoustic amplifier, with professional players flocking to the stand. With demand clearly there, Rösner and Eisenmann had work to do.

“We had to do a lot of things at the same time,” continues Rösner. “We had to get production going, get a place where we could manufacture, as well as learn to understand the industry from a manufacturing point of view, which is pretty difficult as well. If you get into the wrong hands, suddenly there are so many people around saying they can help, so we were pretty confused, but we made some good decisions.

“We understood early that one product won’t necessarily make you successful, so we had to develop a range. Plus, we had to try to find the right partners to work with in the sense that even today we still support the complete supply chain, so we work exclusively with distributors and retail stores.

“In this respect, in comparison with many other brands, this is the most expensive supply chain existing, but it is the one that guarantees service and care for the consumer. If we worked in a different way, some pieces of information and service would just not be happening any more.”

A commitment that has stayed with Aer from its early days, its belief in the network of distributors and retailers that support its products is tangible. “We are pretty well established now, we’re in 33 countries around the world and this concept has made its way without marketing campaigns or big money,” Rösner continues.

“It’s all been through word of mouth and the hard work of everybody involved. You can’t do everything as a manufacturer, especially as a smaller one, you can concentrate on development and manufacturing, but you need very good retail and distribution resources to make it happen, and I’m happy to say we have that.”

Of course, the successes Aer has experienced are in the most part down to a product that is the result of passionate dedication from its inventors, and a relentless pursuit of the perfect representation of what it is the company stands for.

“Over the years, we have developed more product which is far from an easy process,” adds Rösner. “The acoustic concept we have is different from any others; it needs a lot of understanding about instruments, acoustics, physics and electronics to come up with something that delivers this clarity and these sound pressure levels in these unbelievably small cabinets, and that’s the secret of it.

“We came up with a combination of several factors – dynamic control systems, well selected and modified speakers, high performance power and circuits – so that everything in the unit is a system of its own. If you take one component and exchange it, it alters the whole system.

“Simple equations like running say, a cello through different types of speakers, like a ten-inch and a tweeter or a 15-inch and a two-inch horn, mean you will have different sounding instruments, and you don’t want to have that when you are playing an acoustic instrument.

“You want the authenticity of tone, and this means authenticity within the systems. So coming up with a new product has not been like with other amplifier manufacturers, where you have an idea and then have a 30w, 50w, 70w etc, you really have to come up with something, which as a different product has the same ability to reproduce the tone without any colouring or at least as little as possible, while also avoiding adding noise and effects that you don’t want in the acoustic signal.”

German-based manufacture of its amplifiers is also a crucial aspect of the Aer outlook. The company remains steadfast in its refusal to ship its manufacturing to the far east simply to cut costs, preferring to keep the factory in its home country – a fact backed up by a planned move to a new German facility.

“We are committed to staying in Europe, to manufacturing in Europe, and are shortly to buy new expanded premises in Germany,” continues Rösner. “Whichever scenario may come up with whatever advantage, we want to provide jobs in our country as we want people to be able to buy our product. If we don’t provide jobs, then who is going to buy our products? Most people will find this strange, as many people get their products made cheaper abroad, but we simply don’t think this way.”

A keen awareness of the current state of play in the MI business, rather than altering Aer’s practices, has simply strengthened its resolve as a proudly independent manufacturer. “We want to stand on our own two feet, and are confident we can do this with a good bunch of people around us,” concludes Rösner.

“It is really tough for smaller makers to succeed: the internet is causing problems – people are advertising product they don’t have, and there’s very little anyone can do about it. But for us, we had our best business year ever last year. Our base is Europe and we’re happy to be here.”

“We have to appeal to the intelligence and the understanding of the consumers. We have to trust them to find out that if they go for the better choices he may be better off at the end of the day. We have good distributors and a network of good dealers, as well as loyal customers who love the product, which means we can move forward – even when things are as they are now.”