Fletcher mixing to 4-inch 16-track with Longview Farm’s Neve 8078
Boston-based Mercenary Audio celebrates 15 years as an equipment dealers, surviving numerous corporate shifts, launching a custom repair shop and establishing a “nearly functional” dot-com.
After a short stint as a booking agency, Mercenary Audio became a vintage equipment brokerage company on January 9, 1989. In the early 1990s, the company purchased the equipment from Capricorn Recording Studios in Macon, Ga., which jump-started its vintage equipment dealings. Mercenary Ironworks, a division that specialized in custom racks, was launched in 1994, building mounting frames for vintage Neve and other modules that could withstand the rigors of the road.
In 1995, Mercenary went online, and by 1996, it was operating a fully functional online Web store affectionately named “HAL.” While the focus remained on vintage gear, the company also dabbled in small, unknown boutique manufacturers, including Manley Labs; Mercenary has been that company’s dealer for the past six years.
The company began putting its stamp on equipment, with the first true Mercenary Edition being the Drawmer 1969, followed by the Great River Electronics MP2-NV Mercenary Edition.
The newest members of the Mercenary Edition family are the Great River EQ2-NV and the Pendulum Audio Quartet II, the Drawmer 1968 and the Little Labs STD. Next year, the company will produce a solid-state/tube microphone produced with Josephson Engineering that features a capsule based on the Sony C-37.
For the full Mercenary story, visit www.mercenaryaudio.com.
