Groove Tubes started back in the late 1970's when Aspen Pittman, founder and visionary, hired some technical folks to explore why tubes performed and sounded so different. Apsen has always had a great fascination with tubes, tone and amps and his personal collection of vintage amps and tube recording mics hovers around 250+ pieces! Driven by curiosity, as much as an itch to start a new business, Aspen and these engineers discovered entirely new tube operating characteristics to measure and new ways of interpreting these test data results. This research became the foundation for the Groove Tubes performance testing and matching process we still use today.

Over the last 20 years, Groove Tubes has grown from a modest garage workshop to an international business with over 1,200 U.S. retail outlets and distributors in more than 40 countries worldwide. The company is run by guitar amp tone lovers, and while the organization has long since moved out of the garage, that tinkering workshop vibe has never left their day-to-day operations. The current list of Groove Tube believers is frankly too comprehensive to list (see our Friends and Relations in this section), suffice it to say that most professional guitar players are using Groove Tubes in their amps, playing some kind of Groove Tubes amp, or recording with a GT mic or signal processing.

Now as the established guru for tube tone, it was natural for Aspen to expand his product line to include tube gear. His first breakthrough invention, the Speaker Emulator, allows the output of a tube guitar amp to directly interface with a recording console or a PA mixer. Based on this patent, Aspen formed GT Electronics, which eventually developed into a wide range of tube guitar preamps, tube amps and guitar speaker systems. Aspen also branched into tube based recording audio gear with the development of the GT tube microphones, tube compressors, mic preamps, and EQ's.

Perhaps Aspen Pittman is best known for writing The Tube Amp Book, the bible of all tube knowledge and coolness. Now in it's 5th reprinting, The Tube Amp Book has sold over 75,000 copies, and has awakened (and educated) a modern guitar generation to everything great about tubes. Aspen's products and his book have helped fuel the current tube mania that is sublimely afflicting all guitar players!

Groove Tubes bought it’s present building in August of 2000. The new GT home has close to 12,000 feet of office, lab, and manufacturing space and is located in the small town of San Fernando, California. The new building has allowed expansion into actual tube production, and Aspen was blessed to be able to acquire the entire production line from the old G.E. company upon it’s closing. This line will produce the original GE 6L6 and 6CA7 power tubes to the original specs and sound. Actually, at NAMM 2002 in Anaheim GT proudly introduced the first effort from this adventure, showing the new GT6L6-GE to rave reviews...it was generally confirmed this new GT tube is the exact equal of the famous 6L6. Jimi Hendrix recorded may of his hits with this tube in his Fender Twin Reverb.

Aspen still oversees all operations at Groove Tubes, with the help of his wife Sigi who serves as controller and a long time staff of service and sales staff members, many have been with the company for 15 years or more!