Want to Own a Bass Cabinet Company? Acme Sound Is Looking for a New Owner
Acme Sound has been producing hi-fi bass cabinets for decades, but its future now hangs in the balance. In a statement on Facebook, founder Andy Lewis has announced that Acme has suspended production. Rather than ending the business entirely, he’s looking for someone else to continue its legacy.
He began by explaining that it’s been 30 years since Bass Player Magazine introduced his designs to the world with reviews of the Low B-2 and Low B-4 models. He was 41 when that life-changing event happened. He’s now 71. Though the company has given him joy, freedom, and flexibility, he’s ready to step away.
“The experience and the business have been great, and the love and loyalty I’ve gotten from my customers all over the world has been a continued source of joy for me. I have come to the point, however, where I need to pass the business to someone else, if I can, in order for production to continue. Amazingly enough the speakers, essentially unchanged in all these years, are still in demand, despite the lack of advertising in the last 15 or more years! The business is still viable, but for someone else, not me. It isn’t fun for me anymore, and I don’t need the money. I would like more time to write on the subject of the physics of loudspeakers, an area in which I have contributions to make. Also, my 1×10 model has gotten some attention in the audiophile community, and I have been asked to make this model available in fine hardwoods for home-use. I don’t know if that will happen or not. Until I can find a way for the business to continue in someone else’s hands, production is now suspended, and after I sell the few remaining cabs I won’t have any more available.”
Acme Sound’s latest product lineup includes the Low B-1, the Low B-2, the Low B-112 Flat Wound, the Low B-112 Full Range, the Low B-212 Impulse Compensated, and Low B-1 Wedge cabinets. The company website lists the Acme difference as focusing on innovation, full-range sound, and portability.
“I hope to find someone to take the business who will be willing to learn how to build these things right, which might not be as easy as it sounds,” Lewis concludes. “If you’re interested, or know somebody who would be, please let me know. I know there are a lot of loudspeaker hobbyists who dream of doing it professionally, and this could be a chance for such a person to make that leap. This person will find my terms quite reasonable. I expect to let my inventory of parts to go at cost, or close to it, and I’ll want a commission on units sold. If someone want to make a better offer…”
For more info, contact Lewis via the Acme Sound website.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
