Pulse Techniques, the company behind the Pultec brand, was founded in February 1953 by electronic engineers Eugene Shenk and Ollie Summerlin, former classmates at the RCA Institutes in New York. Operating out of a small facility in Teaneck, New Jersey, the original firm initially built adjustable power supplies and audio oscillators before developing the product that would define its legacy: the EQP-1 Program Equalizer, commissioned around 1953 for MGM's mastering studio. The company's doors closed in 1981 when Shenk retired without finding a buyer, but the equipment had already become a permanent fixture in professional studios worldwide.

Pultec's reputation rests on a small family of passive, tube-driven equalizers — most famously the EQP-1A, the 2U EQP-1A3, the MEQ-5 midrange equalizer, and the HLF-3C high/low filter. The EQP-1A in particular is known for the so-called "Pultec trick," the ability to simultaneously boost and attenuate at the same low-frequency band to produce a distinctive curve that has been emulated in countless hardware clones and software plugins. The circuit topology — passive LC filter network followed by a tube makeup amplifier — is credited with the smooth, musical character engineers associate with the brand.

Pulse Techniques was revived in 2000 by Steve Jackson, who licensed the name and resumed manufacturing the EQP-1A3, MEQ-5, and related units built to the original specifications. The modern catalog has since expanded to include mastering-stepped variants (EQM-1A, MEQM-5), solid-state versions using the API 2520 discrete op-amp in place of the tube makeup stage, and 500-series modules such as the EQP-500x and MEQ-500. The company is based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Pultec has 14 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Effects Processors. Their gear is featured by 48 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Electronic, and Pop. Notable users include Glenn Rosenstein, Anyma, and Philippe Zdar.