“We would never rent from any other company!”
History
Roy Welter grew up in Bloomington, MN, the youngest of 8 kids. In 1979, he joined his brother Art [pioneer in the "proprietary" speaker system field]. For over a decade, their company Southern Thunder Sound enjoyed providing live sound in the Twin Cities and nationally, touring with such bands as Gang of Four, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Little Steven, and World Party. [Many shows at First Ave!] Art owned the show department and Roy owned the rental department. When they sold in 1992, Roy reinvested proceeds into the first batch of rental gear that became Audioquip in October, 1992.
Audioquip mission was to specialize in wireless mics and intercom, along with some unusual “hard to source” audio pieces like press feeds and digital recorders. Roy recalls: “the first three months felt like the Maytag Repair man commercials, with more wrong number phone calls than customers.” Production companies, theaters, schools, and corporate customers continued to return, and Audioquip established itself as a customer-focused, tech-savvy resource for the music and arts communities in the Midwest and nationally.
Roy: “Audioquip was a great job. There were relationships with customers that became good friends. The best part was working with two fantastic guys for so many years: Rob Foy and Gary Lopac. And now seeing the transition to the young, fresh, smart energy with Nate and Topher is so great.”
Get in touch
We at Audioquip know that finding the right solution for your event is a choice not to be taken lightly. That’s why we invite you to call us to walk you through your needs, the scope of your event, and your budget. If we can’t help you, we’re pretty sure we’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
Book A RENTAL ▸
The Guys
president
Nate Reiter
Nate grew up in MN and WI listening to Casey Kasem’s Top 40 and watching MTV. He picked up a guitar in middle school and became immediately hooked, ultimately writing, recording, and touring in support of his post hardcore band Dropnickel. After grinding it out in the printing/manufacturing industry for a couple soul-crushing decades, he took his business education and translated it into a career in pro audio, buying Audioquip from Roy in 2018. With his passion for helping clients, the performing arts, and tinkering with gear, Nate has struck a professional groove leading Audioquip into its next era of service.
Nate: “Audioquip is a perfect fit for me, for all the obvious reasons. But what is most appealing has been people’s loyalty and love for what we do. This has all been made possible by Roy and Rob, and how they built ease-of-use into such a customer-centric service. I look forward to running my leg of the Audioquip journey for the next [several] decades, and I am humbled and honored to be a part of our fantastic team, serving this incredible community.”
General manager
Topher Pirkl
Topher is a private person with no social security number or paper trail. He really does appear to be quite knowledgeable in the field of pro audio. Topher joined Audioquip in May, 2017 as Inventory Specialist, and took over General Manager duties from Rob in July, 2019.
inventory specialist
Patrick Reiter
Patrick is an album guy. Still has his hundreds of LPs from his youth! He began translating his already well-trained ear into guitar playing when he finally received his first axe on his 16th birthday. With plenty of customer service, CAD, and machine code experience in his rear-view mirror, Patrick parlayed it all into a career in wireless pro audio, working on most of the orders that flow through Audioquip.
Patrick has been playing guitar with rock acts on Twin Cities stages for over 33 years. “The art of performing and playing music has always been close to the heart so this next journey is right in the wheel house. No more corporate office vibe, now an extremely hard-working customer-focused rock ‘n roll vibe." —paTrick \m/_
RETIRED!
Rob Foy
After working and traveling in pro audio for over 10 years with several local production companies, Rob joined Audioquip in May of 1996. This made him the 'really old guy' on staff who had been first point of contact for customers for over 23 years! Since 1977, Rob has been a professional drummer and percussionist: “I always recommend building your mix with kick and snare first!”
Rob retired July 31, 2019. With his wife Amy, he literally drove off into the sunset.