Useful Arts was born out of an aesthetic quest for vibrant, living sound straight from the source — not merely a technically clean sound that needs enhancement after enhancement to speak in a mix.  Back in the days when the U-47 was a commonly-used “standard” microphone, there were no “standard” preamps — studios used hand-built consoles with custom tube preamps designed to capture the personality of the recording.  In the same way, our hand-built products are designed to enhance dynamics and perceived tonal richness, not simply to make a small signal electrically bigger.  We invite you to hear for yourself the difference that philosophy makes.

We hand-build Class A tube gear in the United States for recording professionals and musicians.  We don’t build “clones” of classic gear — our designs are created from the ground up and thoroughly optimized to achieve specific sonic goals.  We use circuit topologies inspired by some of the most treasured gear made during the 40s, 50s and 60s, coupled with modern design techniques to ensure reliability, compatability and feature sets that meet the needs of the digital age.  This approach requires expensive, bulky and heavy components, but as a small company we don’t have to cut corners to meet the rigid cost constraints of mass-produced brands.  (We don’t make washing machines or cell phones, nor do we report to those who do).  Our engineering mandate is to create the best-sounding equipment possible, not to figure out how to get acceptable sound at a retail price point.  The result is gear that captures the sound of microphones and instruments not only with clarity, but with beauty.

There is plenty of usable gear out there that will give reliable performance with amazing specs.  So who needs yet another option?  People who want their recordings and live performances to sound intimate and powerful without the need for further processing.   Plugins can do incredible things, but they can’t create raw data that isn’t there.  Our devices ensure that every nuance and every transient is translated in a way that excites the ear.