After graduating from college in
electronics in the early 70’s. I enrolled into The Welsh College
of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales where I was living at the time.
The WCM&D then had a very conservative view on music. They did not
even consider the bass guitar a real instrument! So I opted for learning
the Upright Bass classical-style and taught by Earnest C. Haigh. (He
was an 81-year old musician with 60 years of bass playing experience
and a former principle bassist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
I was playing in Rock, R&B and Jazz groups in bars, nightclubs and
did some studio work for the BBC TV company in order to pay for my music
tuition.
One thing that had always frustrated me was that the current equipment
for bass players was never up to the sound that was in my mind. It seemed
that there was always a disconnection between the equipment and me.
So I started to modify my basses and amplification on the search of
the Holy Grail of great bass tone. I learnt about loudspeakers from
a true pioneer of audio, the late Mr. Reginald Solomon. A cinema - sound
engineer, who worked most of his life for Western
Electric. (W.E. was the original founder of
the pro-sound industry). This led me to becoming a pro-sound engineer
working first for Vitavox,
a respected and old British Loudspeaker company that manufactured huge
horn cinema speakers. After this I started my own sound reinforcement
company in London. Two things stayed with me, my fascination for bass
playing and sound. I was building a lot of my own recording equipment
in my studio then. The speakers I used for near-field monitoring were
my own design. These later became the Acoustic
Energy AE1’s now considered a milestone in the
evolution of hi-fi and also in the recording industry. GRP
records (a renowned Jazz label) used AE speakers and even eventually
the famed Abbey Road studios too.
In 1990 I moved to USA and worked briefly for
Boston Acoustics in New England designing their premier loudspeaker
range, the Lynnfield series. In 1994 I founded Platinum Audio, which
made expensive home hi-fi speakers and studio monitors. In that period
I designed probably the worlds most expensive and massive home loudspeaker
system: the Air-Pulse, which
sold for $175,000 a pair! The Japan Audio Society praised the Air-Pulse
as the best loudspeaker ever developed in the 100-year history of loudspeakers!
In 1998 I founded American
Acoustic Development which is the parent company of PJB.
AAD
has a staff of over 150 employees and a 100,000-sq. ft. facility dedicated
to designing, manufacturing and marketing of loudspeakers and amplifiers
for home, car and pro-audio markets. All PJB products are made in the
AAD factory with pride and passion under my guidance.
In 35 years I have come full circle
to my first love, a long hard road but one that has been enriching and
a many hard lessons earned. I now bring to the bass community something
that is my greatest passion and one that has encompassed all my life’s
lessons in bass playing and sound engineering.
Our staff at PJB shares my passion
to build only the best. That does not mean the most expensive. We are
dedicated to giving our utmost in quality, value and service to the
discriminating bassist.
If you have any questions about how
to get that ultimate tone, please do not hesitate to contact
us. We will endeavor to give you the best advice possible.
Phil Jones
President / Designer
