Charlie Butten

Charlie Butten, audio engineer, teamed up with Bob Cohen in the mid-60’s to create an intercom system for crew communication in live productions. By 1968, they developed the industry’s first distributed amplifier analog beltpack system, known today as the ‘partyline analog beltpack system’ and established the “Clear-Com” business in San Francisco. The original RS-100 was used by such groups as Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead, and later versions were adopted by many production crews in various music venues all over the world. During the 2018 NAMM Show, Clear-Com celebrated their 50th anniversary and Charlie reflected on his career and provided sound advice for future generations of audio engineers.