Professional console designer and audio industry veteran John Petrucelli, 64, a resident of Hawthorne, NJ, passed away recently at the Hackensack University Medical Center after a lengthy illness.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Petrucelli developed a well-earned reputation for innovation in design. The son of the late Mario J. and Alice (Lucia) Petrucelli, he graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1977.
Petrucelli began his career in audio in the New Haven, CT area, first working with local bands and sound companies before starting his own company, PET Projects, which modified existing equipment for recording studios throughout New England. At that time he also began designing and building his own creations.
In the early 80s, Petrucelli joined Allen & Heath Brenell USA, where he designed a number of live sound mixers that were manufactured and sold by the UK parent company internationally.
John Petrucelli lived audio, always trying to improve the state of the industry and the products that he helped create.
“John Petrucelli lived audio, always trying to improve the state of the industry and the products that he helped create,” recalls long-time friend and colleague Chuck Augustowski. “The first console that we designed together was the Allen & Heath SRM monitor mixer. We did the final assembly of the prototype for this product in a hotel room next to the convention center just prior to its introduction at a NAMM Show in Anaheim with parts sent from our parent company in England, just completing it in time for the opening of this show.”
In 1991 Petrucelli was a founding member and chief engineer of Crest Consoles, where he introduced a number of design innovations that helped the company become a top maker of mixing products for both pro touring and installation applications.
In late 2004 he became a founding member and part owner of mixer company APB-DynaSonics, where he served as both president and chief design engineer. The company was noted for the overall excellence of its designs as well as maintaining a focus on analog at a time when most were pursuing digital.
Following that, Petrucelli went back to his roots and becoming a contract design engineer for various companies, PMI Audio among them, where his expertise helped in revitalizing many renowned products/brands, including Trident Audio.
Just as importantly, his friends and colleagues recall his unique sense of humor, able to make everyone around him smile and engage in discussion, along with him being an exceptionally caring and thoughtful person, thinking of others before himself. He is survived by four sisters, numerous other family members, and his dear friend and partner, Olga Gomelskaya.
“John Petrucelli (known to many as JP) was my partner for the last 35 years and I will miss him dearly,” says Augustowski. “In that time, he became my Friend, Partner, and Brother. He was a person who was always willing to help anyone who asked and the word ‘no’ was not in his vocabulary.”