Central Music Company
Encyclopedia
CME is the registered trademark of Central Music Company, a musical high-tech company founded in Beijing
, China
in 1993. Its main focus is consumer and professional digital music production equipment.
, Moog
, MOTU
, Novation
, PreSonus
, RME
, and Røde
(among others). CME was also the distributor for Yamaha
music production products in China, until April 1, 2005 when Yamaha
founded its own Chinese subsidiary. After this, CME began researching both the Chinese and overseas markets and started developing its own products. These products are now sold worldwide under the CME brand name.
controllers. Their UF series MIDI keyboard
s were particularly ubiquitous in professional music creation circles in the early-to-mid 2000's, seen in demo videos of virtual instrument
s such as Propellerheads Reason and Arturia
. It appealed to professionals and amateur musicians alike for its unique design, rugged solid-metal chassis, keyboard action, and MIDI control capabilities. The hammer-action of the keys on the 88-key UF8 keyboard were particularly popular. CME has branched out from only making MIDI keyboard controllers and also has made:
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1993. Its main focus is consumer and professional digital music production equipment.
History
Central Music Company imports and distributes into the Chinese music production market many of the world’s most well known music production brands including Apogee, E-Mu, Event, KurzweilKurzweil Music Systems
Kurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. Founded in 1982 by Raymond Kurzweil, a developer of reading machines for the blind, the company made use of many of the technologies originally designed for reading machines and...
, Moog
Moog Music
Moog Music is an American company based in Asheville, North Carolina which manufactures electronic musical instruments. The current Moog Music is the second company to trade under that name.-R.A. Moog Co. and the original Moog Music:...
, MOTU
MOTU
MOTU can refer to:*Mark of the Unicorn, a music-related computer software and hardware supplier.*Masters of the Universe, a toy and media franchise by Mattel....
, Novation
Novation Digital Music Systems
Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a UK musical equipment manufacturer. Founded in 1992 as Novation Electronic Music Systems, the company specialises in MIDI controllers and analog modeling synthesizers, which they have manufactured in China....
, PreSonus
PreSonus
PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recording and live sound equipment, founded in January 1995 by engineers Jim Odom and Brian Smith, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
, RME
RME
RME Audio is a German company, based in Haimhausen, that designs and builds professional audio hardware, including audio interfaces, analog to digital converters, and digital-to-analog converters. While the majority of their audio interface solutions are PCIbased as well as PCI-Express, they...
, and Røde
Røde Microphones
RØDE Microphones, based in Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia, is a company, established in 1967 by Henry and Astrid Freedman, that designs and manufactures microphones and related accessories...
(among others). CME was also the distributor for Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
music production products in China, until April 1, 2005 when Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
founded its own Chinese subsidiary. After this, CME began researching both the Chinese and overseas markets and started developing its own products. These products are now sold worldwide under the CME brand name.
Products
CME is known primarily for its MIDI keyboardMIDI keyboard
A MIDI keyboard is typically a piano-style user interface keyboard device used for sending signals or commands over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices connected and operating on the same MIDI protocol interface...
controllers. Their UF series MIDI keyboard
MIDI keyboard
A MIDI keyboard is typically a piano-style user interface keyboard device used for sending signals or commands over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices connected and operating on the same MIDI protocol interface...
s were particularly ubiquitous in professional music creation circles in the early-to-mid 2000's, seen in demo videos of virtual instrument
Virtual instrument
Virtual instrument may refer to:* A Software synthesizer* A program that implements functions of an instrument by computer, sensors and actuators. This can be a program written in the LabVIEW or in other programming languages ....
s such as Propellerheads Reason and Arturia
Arturia
Arturia is a software company located in Grenoble, France and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers...
. It appealed to professionals and amateur musicians alike for its unique design, rugged solid-metal chassis, keyboard action, and MIDI control capabilities. The hammer-action of the keys on the 88-key UF8 keyboard were particularly popular. CME has branched out from only making MIDI keyboard controllers and also has made:
- ASX - an expansion card for the UF series and VX series keyboard controllers that made them stand-alone synthesizers
- Bitstream 3X - a Wave Idea MIDI desktop control surface
- Matrix K - a USB audio interface with optional firewire expansion
- Matrix X - an analog 5 channel mixerMixing consoleIn professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
- Matrix Z - a 4-channel analog headphone amplifierHeadphone amplifierA headphone amplifier is an audio amplifier designed particularly to drive headphones instead of loudspeakers. Most commonly they are found embedded in electronic devices such as integrated amplifiers, portable music players and televisions, but standalone units are not uncommon.-Consumer headphone...
- U-Key - a portable synthesizer
- UF series UF5, UF6, UF7, UF8 - MIDI keyboard controllers
- VX series VX5, VX6, VX7, VX8 - MIDI keyboard controllers with motorized faders, touch-sensitive pads, and HUIHui-China:* Hui people, a Chinese ethnic group* Huizhou Chinese, a subdivision of spoken Chinese* Hui , a Chinese term referring to a secret brotherhood* Hui County, Gansu, China...
control surface capabilities - WIDI-XU - a wireless MIDI transmitter the size of a small USB flash driveUSB flash driveA flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
. - WIDI-X8 - a wireless MIDI system
- ZSC series ZSC64, ZSC 76, ZSC88 - MIDI keyboard controllers with weighted keys on all smaller-size models