MRH:
Tell us a little about your company history.
ST:
SoundTraxx began as Throttle Up! Corp., in Pocasset,
Massachusetts in 1989. Our first product, introduced in
January of 1990, was not actually a sound system, but a
lighting system called the Hyperlight. The Hyperlight was
the first lighting system to use a microprocessor, not only to
provide brilliant lighting effects, but also to allow the user
to select the desired effect from within one model. Our
Hyperlight effects are now part of every sound decoder (and
some motor decoders) we make.
Our first sound system, the SoundTraxx D220-IR Diesel Sound
System, was introduced in 1991. This was the first sound and
throttle system to incorporate wireless control.
This was followed a year later by the SoundTraxx S220-IR Steam
Sound System, the first digital sound system to offer ‘playable’
whistles. By this time, everyone was calling us SoundTraxx, so
we began marketing and doing business under that name.
We moved the business to Colorado in 1994 and settled in
Durango in 1998.
We designed and
built a modern
building for
our corporate
headquarters
and main
manufacturing
facility.
We announced the
first Digital Sound
Decoders in 1996,
DCC Impulses Column - 2
1: The first SoundTraxx system from
Throttle Up! (D220-IR) circa 1991
1
2: The headquarters building designed and built for
SoundTraxx in Durango, Colorado.
2
introducing the first DCC decoder to be integrated with sound
and lighting functions.
From our first year of production in 1997, we’ve continued
developing sound decoders for other model manufacturers (for
example, Bachmann and Athearn) and our end-users, including
our SurroundTraxx Multi-Train Sound System.
In 2004, we announced the creation of a new product line,
Blackstone Models (3), featuring exquisitely detailed HOn3
locomotives and rolling stock. The Blackstone Models products
have been very well received and have been credited with
rejuvenating the HO narrow gauge world.
MRH:
What are the sources of your sound files and why do the
Tsunamis sound so good?
ST:
The engineers at SoundTraxx created all of our sound files.
We go into the field, recording from actual prototypes. While
we certainly have a ‘formula’ or procedure for how we make
our sound files and recordings, we believe that they sound as
good as they do because of what we do with our software after
the recording takes place. This includes using the resources
MRH-Oct 2013
