Peavey ElectronicsTaking Rock N’ Roll Global

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Peavey Electronics, Meridian, MS

mCe mississippi’s creative economy Red Hots & Deep Blues

FewpeoplehaveinfluencedthemusicindustrylikeHart-

leyPeavey.Hiscompany,PeaveyElectronics,isaleading

manufacturerofelectronicinstrumentsandamplifications

systems.ThePeaveyguitarclientlistreadslikeamajor

recordlabel,withtopartistslikeShaniaTwainandDuran

Duran.PeaveysystemscanbeheardattheSydneyOpera

House,theGrandOleOpry,andmanyotherinternational

culturalinstitutions.

YoumightexpectamusicindustrygiantlikePeaveytocome

fromabigmusiccitylikeLosAngeles,Nashville,orNewYork.

Butforthisgloballeader,homeisMeridian,Mississippi,the

citythatactuallygavebirthtoPeavey’srockandrolldreams.

Itwasa1957concertthatalteredhislife.Only15yearsold

atthetime,HartleyPeaveydrovetothenearbytownofLau-

reltohearthegreatBoDiddley.Thenandtheresomething

changedinyoungPeavey,andhebelievedhewasdestined

forrockandrollgreatness.

ThesoundofBoDiddley’slegendaryguitarawokethisnew

passion,andPeaveyfelthiscallingwastoplaytheelectric

guitaraswellasthemanwhoinspiredhim.Asitturnsout,

theaspiringmusicianwaspartlyright.

AtthetimePeavey’sfatherownedasmallmusicstorein

Meridianandwaswaryofhisson’srockandrolldreams.It

wasn’tsomuchthattheelderPeaveydislikedrockandroll

musicasitwasthathehadseentoomanyelectricguitars

returnedtohisstorebyparentswhosechildrenhadquickly

abandonedtheirrockandrolldreams.TheelderPeavey

triedtomakeadealwithhisson.Hecouldgetanelectric

guitarassoonasheactuallylearnedhowtoplaytheguitar.

Hartleygaveithisbest,buthistalentsfellfarshortofhis

father’shopes.

Sincehisfatherwouldnotbeofassistance,Peaveyknewthe

onlyoptionwastomakehisownelectricguitar,andheset

aboutcraftingonewithsteelstrings,aspareacousticguitar,

andsomeelectricalwiring.Oncetheguitarwasassembled,

Peaveyhadtofindawaytoamplifythesoundandgetthe

samevolumeandqualitythatBoDiddleywasabletoget.

Usingthesameingenuitythatheusedtomaketheguitar,

Peaveywentaboutthetaskofdesigningandmakinganam-

plifier.Afterweeksofexperimentation,Peavey’shomemade

amplifierbecameareality.

Althoughhedidnotrealizeitatthetime,thiswasthebegin-

ningofPeaveyElectronics’successinthemusicindustry.In

spiteofgivinguphisdreamofperforming,Peaveywould

helprevolutionizetheguitarindustryandthesoundofam-

plifiedandelectricmusic.PeaveyElectronicsbeganin1965

asoneman’sattempttocreatethehighestqualityproduct

atanaffordableprice.Inthebasementofhisfamilyhome,

Peaveyfocusedmostintensivelyontheamplifiers.He

“would build one amplifier a week, go out and sell it, come

back and start on another one.”

PeaveyElectronicshascontinuedtogrowsinceitsearlydays

throughanongoingcommitmenttoinnovation,tocreating

new,costeffectivesystemsthatservetheneedsofanevolv-

ingrecordingindustry.

Inadditiontothemusicindustry,Peaveyidentifiednew

industrieswheretechnologywouldberelevant.Herealized

thatdespitestrongcompetitionformusicamplifiers,there

wereonlyafewhigh-pricedproductsforpublicaddress

systemsthatweregrowinginpopularity.Peaveydecided

thathismusicamplifierscouldbealteredintoamoreafford-

ablepublicaddresssystem.Thisdecisionmarkedamajor

developmentinPeaveyElectronics,anditbuiltuponits

corecompetenciesinmakingmusicamplifierstomeetthe

growingneedforaudioservicesinentertainmentandother

industries.

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Hartley Peavey, Founder of Peavey Electronics

mCe mississippi’s creative economy Red Hots & Deep Blues

Peavey’s ImpactTodayPeaveyElectronicsisanindisputablegiantinthe

industry.Thecompanycontinuestoproducesomeofthe

mostpopularelectricguitars,amplifiers,speakers,electronic

keyboards,andotherelectronicaudio-enhancementequip-

ment.Thecompany’sproductlinesincludeseveralseriesof

bassguitars,anumberofdifferentelectricguitars,aswellas

microphones,mixers,publicaddresssystems,andamplifiers.

Italsoproducesaccessories,suchascables,bags,straps,

tubers,andspeakerstands.

Thecompany’simpactandinfluenceonthemusicandsound

systemindustryisextraordinary.PeaveyElectronicswas

thefirsttoproduceguitarsusingaComputerNumerically

Controlled(CNC)machine.Otherpeoplethoughthewas

crazy,thathecouldn’t“machine”aguitarandgettheright

precisionandtolerances.Atthattimethemaincompetitors,

GibsonandFender,weremakingguitarsstrictlybyhand.

Nonetheless,usingCNCequipmentcutdownonthecostsof

makingtheguitarswhilemaintainingtheprecisionneeded

tomakeagoodqualityproduct.Now,electricguitarsarees-

sentiallymadethisway.Peaveysettheindustrystandard.

Thecompany’sMediaMatrixsystemwasthefirstcomputer-

aideddesignedandcontrolledaudiosystem,andithasset

theworldstandardforaudiosound.Thesystemisinuse

inmorethan5,000transportationfacilities,themeparks,

sportsstadiums,andcasinos.Peaveysoundsystemshave

beenincorporatedintothenewShanghaiairportandwere

theprimarysystemusedintheBeijingOlympics.Peavey

alsohasanewproductlineofsoftwareandothersarein

thepipeline.Oneprogramallowstheconsumertoimitatea

rangeofdifferentsoundsthatcreatesavirtualband.

Morethan2000Peaveyproductsnowaredistributedin136

countries.And,inordertomoreeffectivelycompeteinthe

globalmarket,PeaveyElectronicshasestablishedaninter-

nationalproductionanddistributionsystemin33facilities

acrosstheUnitedStates,Canada,England,andNetherlands.

Throughoutthisperiodofexplosiveinternationalgrowth,

PeaveyElectronicscontinuestomaintainitsinternational

headquartersinMeridian.PeaveyElectronicsisthetenth

largestmanufacturerinMississippi,withmorethanamillion

squarefeetofwarehouseandmanufacturingspace.

Peavey’s Creative ApproachPeaveyhasmorethan180patentsforthedesignofmusical

instruments,audiosystemsandenablingtechnologiesthat

givethesesystemssuchauniquesound.Thislevelofin-

novationisaresultoftheprocessheusestoconceiveofand

designhisproductsandthewaythecompanyapproaches

themarket.

AsPeaveysaid,“We listen to our customers and what they

want and need, and then we find creative ways to meet

those needs in a timely fashion and at a price that they can

afford. In order to survive in this industry, this is what you

have to do. You have to build a solid foundation that gives

you flexibility and an ability to be creative. If you don’t have

that, nothing else matters.”

Hartleysurroundshimselfwiththebestpeoplehecanfind.

Heprovidesthesparkandservesastheinspiration.Hethen

bringsinindustrialengineers,productdesigners,software

people,programmers,aswellasmechanicalandelectrical

engineersintothediscussion.“They all argue about the de-

signs, the electronics, the systems for building a product, and

at some point, it all becomes clear. Basically, we come up

with the products by talking it through, pushing the envelope

and by trying to be as creative as we can.”

Anexampleofhowthiscreativeprocesscomestogether

involvesthedobro.Mostdobrosareacoustic,butHartley

thoughtthat,liketheguitar,thedobrocouldbeanelectronic

instrument.Heinitiallystartedontheideaofdesigningan

electricdobroonhisown,sketchingouthisdesignconcepts

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Hartley Peavey showcases his products

Red Hots & Deep Blues

Hartley Peavey showcases his products

andprinciplesandtryingtofigureouthowthestrapscould

beconfiguredsothattheplayercouldwearitoverhisneck

(thewaydobrosareplayed).Atacertainjuncture,thepro-

cesswasturnedovertohisdesignersandengineers.They

tooktheinitialworkandtransformeditbyaddingafewkey

designsandstructuralimprovements.Theresultwasyetan-

otherproductlineinthelonglistofPeaveymusicalproducts.

AnotherimportantbusinessstrategyforPeaveyisvertical

integration.Thecompanydesignsandmakesallitneedsto

manufactureandsellproductsin-house.Hartleysaidthat

hecouldhaveoutsourcedtheproductionofsomeofthe

componentpartsofhisamplifiers,butchosetodevelopthe

skillswithinthecompany.Asaresult,“we had to learn how

to design and make our own chassis, our own circuit boards,

and eventually everything else in-house. And, while we

thought it was a tremendous disadvantage… we discovered

that it was the best that could have happened.”

The FutureInrecentyearsPeaveyhastalkedofchallengeshefacesrun-

ningadesignandtechnology-drivenbusinessintheheartof

Mississippi.

WhilePeaveywouldliketokeepthecompanyheadquarters

andmanufacturinginMeridian,heisoftenforcedtolook

outsideofMississippitofindqualifiedandmotivatedengi-

neers,productdesigners,andcomputerprogrammers.Just

ashedemonstratedindustriousnessinthefaceofprevious

businesschallenges,Peaveyhasappliedhisowncreative

solutionstohelpbuildrelevantskillsamongMeridian’sresi-

dents.Inordertohaveenoughskilledemployees,Peavey

helpedestablishajobtrainingprogramatMeridian

CommunityCollege.

Despitehisunwaveringcommitmenttoimprovingeconomic

conditionsinMississippiandMeridian,Peaveyfeelsthatoth-

ersinthisindustrywillhavetohelpthestatecreatemoreof

acultureofeducationalinvestment.Hepointsinparticular

tostatepolicymakerswhomPeaveysuggestsmustaggres-

sivelyinvestinhigh-leveljobtrainingprogramsandskill

development.

GiventheoriginsofPeaveyElectronics,HartleyPeavey

knowsthepowerthatanearlyloveofartandmusiccan

haveinshapingachild’sfuture.AndhebelievesinMissis-

sippi.“People ask me why Mississippi and I say, where do

you think rock and roll was born?”

mCe Red Hots & Deep Blues mississippi’s creative economy

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