Digidesign
Encyclopedia
Avid Audio is an American digital audio
technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM
chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid
Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign brand was be phased out. Avid Audio products will continue to be produced and will now carry the Avid brand name.
, which came in three variants: Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered.
Pro Tools|HD required a Digidesign TDM system and interface, and was intended for professional recording studios. Pro Tools LE was a complete package intended for home users and some post-production facilities. The package included the Pro Tools LE software and hardware such as the M-Box 2 or Digi 003. Pro Tools M-Powered was simply the Pro Tools application adapted to run on M-Audio hardware, and generally comparable in power to an LE system.
In 2010, these various editions of Pro Tools were mostly abandoned and it is now being sold by Avid as a singular software product, with the level of functionality dependent on the hardware chosen by the user.
Digidesign also made a number of products for the Pro Tools platform, including several software plug-ins. They also manufacture a wide variety of hardware add-ons for Pro Tools, such as audio interfaces, MIDI interfaces, Synchronizers
, and control surfaces
. In the spring of 2005 they introduced a system for live sound mixing
called VENUE
.
The SDII (Sound Designer II, sometimes seen abbreviated as SD2) is a monophonic/stereophonic audio file format, originally developed by Digidesign for their Macintosh-based recording/editing products. It is the successor to the original monophonic Sound Designer I audio file format.
the possibility of integrating their renamed 'Sound Tools' software into the Emulator III keyboard released in 1987, however E-MU rejected this option and Gotcher and Brooks went on to start DigiDrums.
Sound Tools was debuted on January 20, 1989 at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers). At this stage Sound Tools was a simple computer based stereo audio editor. Although the software had the possibility to do far more it was limited by the hard drive technology, which was used to stream the audio and allow for the non-destructive editing that Sound Tools offered.
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM
EPROM
An EPROM , or erasable programmable read only memory, is a type of memory chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. In other words, it is non-volatile. It is an array of floating-gate transistors individually programmed by an electronic device that supplies higher voltages...
chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid
AVID
AVID stands for:* Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges in the U.S....
Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign brand was be phased out. Avid Audio products will continue to be produced and will now carry the Avid brand name.
Products
Digidesign's flagship software product was Pro ToolsPro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
, which came in three variants: Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered.
Pro Tools|HD required a Digidesign TDM system and interface, and was intended for professional recording studios. Pro Tools LE was a complete package intended for home users and some post-production facilities. The package included the Pro Tools LE software and hardware such as the M-Box 2 or Digi 003. Pro Tools M-Powered was simply the Pro Tools application adapted to run on M-Audio hardware, and generally comparable in power to an LE system.
In 2010, these various editions of Pro Tools were mostly abandoned and it is now being sold by Avid as a singular software product, with the level of functionality dependent on the hardware chosen by the user.
Digidesign also made a number of products for the Pro Tools platform, including several software plug-ins. They also manufacture a wide variety of hardware add-ons for Pro Tools, such as audio interfaces, MIDI interfaces, Synchronizers
Synchronizer (film editing)
A film synchronizer is a device used in the editing phase of filmmaking.Film synchronizers generally have 1 to 8 "gang", or slots through which film can be threaded. Each gang consists of a group of large diameter sprockets on a common shaft. A rotating knob on the front, which moves the threaded...
, and control surfaces
Electronic mixer
An electronic mixer is a device that combines two or more electrical or electronic signals into one or two composite output signals. There are two basic circuits that both use the term mixer, but they are very different types of circuits: additive mixers and multiplying mixers...
. In the spring of 2005 they introduced a system for live sound mixing
Live sound mixing
Live sound mixing is the art of combining and processing a number of audio signals together to create a "mix" that the audience or performers at a live show hear. There can be a variety of different mixes required, depending on the performance requirements...
called VENUE
Venue (sound system)
Venue is a brand of live sound digital mixing consoles introduced by Digidesign in February 2005. The system now includes three different consoles and a number of ways they can be configured. They can all be connected to Pro Tools, the audio editing software also created by Avid/Digidesign, to...
.
History
- 1984 - Founded as Digidrums by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. Later became Digidesign.
- 1989 - Digidesign launches the first digital audio workstationDigital audio workstationA digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
system, Sound ToolsSound ToolsSound Tools was a digital audio workstation released by Digidesign in the late 1980s. Its successor, Pro Tools, is the current industry standard in music production and TV/film audio post production....
, for the Apple Macintosh. The company refers to it as "the first tapeless recording studio". - 1991 - Digidesign releases the first Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
multitrack system, marking a significant advance in digital audio. This integrated software and hardware system (digital audio workstationDigital audio workstationA digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
) is among the most popular for audio production for television, music, and film. - 1995 - Avid TechnologyAvid TechnologyAvid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
acquires Digidesign. Digidesign now operates as a business unit of Avid. - 2001 - Digidesign wins a Grammy award for Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
. - 2003 - Avid acquires Bomb FactoryBomb FactoryBomb Factory is a recording studio and manufacturer of music plugins based in Los Angeles, California.-Music studio:Bomb Factory Studios features an extensive collection of vintage and historic equipment and musical instruments...
's extensive product catalog. These products are now included with Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
systems. - 2003 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes Digidesign's contribution to audio post production for film with an OscarAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. - 2004 - Avid acquires M-AudioM-AudioM-Audio is a business unit of Avid Technology that designs and markets digital audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music software...
, which now operates as a business unit of Digidesign, but maintains the M-Audio brand name and remains largely distinct from Digidesign. - 2005 - Avid acquires Wizoo, which now operates as Digidesign Advanced Instrument Research Group (A.I.R.), but remains largely autonomous, operating out of BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - 2006 - Avid acquires SibeliusSibelius notation programSibelius is a scorewriter program, created by Sibelius Software for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and RISC OS. It is used by composers, arrangers, performers, music publishers, teachers and students, particularly for writing classical, jazz, band, vocal, film and television music...
, the music software, in a deal worth over US$23 million. - 2010 - the Digidesign brand name is phased out, with Digidesign products now falling under the Avid product banner.
- 2011 – Digidesign becomes Avid Audio
History of Avid Audio software
Digidesign Software was developed by UC Berkeley Graduate, Peter Gotcher and his friend Evan Brooks, both double majors in electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley.Sound Designer
The first incarnation of today's Pro Tools started life in 1984 as Sound Designer, while the pair were creating and selling drum sound chips under their Digidrums label. Sound Designer was originally designed to edit sounds for the E-MU Emulator sampling keyboard.Sound Designer File Formats
The SDII (Sound Designer II, sometimes seen abbreviated as SD2) is a monophonic/stereophonic audio file format, originally developed by Digidesign for their Macintosh-based recording/editing products. It is the successor to the original monophonic Sound Designer I audio file format.
Sound Tools
Gotcher and Brooks discussed with E-MU SystemsE-mu Systems
E-mu Systems, Inc. is a synthesizer maker and pioneer in samplers and low-cost digital sampling music workstations.-History:Founded in 1971 by Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, E-mu began making modular synthesizers...
the possibility of integrating their renamed 'Sound Tools' software into the Emulator III keyboard released in 1987, however E-MU rejected this option and Gotcher and Brooks went on to start DigiDrums.
Sound Tools was debuted on January 20, 1989 at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers). At this stage Sound Tools was a simple computer based stereo audio editor. Although the software had the possibility to do far more it was limited by the hard drive technology, which was used to stream the audio and allow for the non-destructive editing that Sound Tools offered.