Shure acquires Crowley and Tripp microphones

News

Andy Barrett Apr 14 2009, 9:28am

After over 20 years, mic giant returns to ribbon mic manufacture

Microphone manufacturer, Shure, has bought Crowley and Tripp Ribbon Microphones from Soundwave Research Laboratories of Ashland, Massachusetts in a deal that includes all intellectual property, microphone processing equipment, product designs and assets connected to the Crowley and Tripp line.

This re-opens an old area for Shure, which will manufacture ribbon microphones in its Wheeling, Illinois base, using the patented Roswellite shape-memory acoustic ribbon material developed by Soundwave Research. The company had been a leading developer of ribbon mics in the 1950s and 60s, but abandoned their manufactire during the 1980s.

Rotosound

“Ribbon microphones have always been prized for their warm sound quality, but older designs are delicate, which has limited their applications," said Scott Sullivan, Shure’s senior director of global product management, when announcing the purchase. “With the acquisition of the Crowley and Tripp product line and their Roswellite ribbon technology, Shure is extending the use of ribbon microphones to the stage in addition to their use in the studio."

The manufacture of Shure ribbon microphones will be kept exclusively in the USA for the foreseeable future. The mic giant will also adopt all service and support for existing owners of Crowley and Tripp ribbon microphone products.