Avid Audio (formerly Digidesign) is an American
digital audio
Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sa ...
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
An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...
chips for
drum machines. It is a subsidiary of
Avid Technology
Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video edi ...
, and during 2010 the Digidesign brand was 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 Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
, 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
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
interfaces,
Synchronizers, and
control surfaces. In the spring of 2005 they introduced a system for
live sound mixing
Live sound mixing is the blending of multiple sound sources by an audio engineer using a mixing console or software. Sounds that are mixed include those from instruments and voices which are picked up by microphones (for drum kit, lead vocals an ...
called
VENUE
Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a concer ...
.
History
* 1984 - Founded as Digidrums by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks.
Later became Digidesign.
* 1989 - Digidesign launches the first
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...
system,
Sound Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Avid Audio, Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and OS X, macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, au ...
, for the
Apple Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
. The company refers to it as "the first tapeless recording studio".
* 1991 - Digidesign releases the first
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
multitrack system, marking a significant advance in digital audio. This integrated software and hardware system (
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...
) is among the most popular for audio production for television, music, and film.
* 1995 -
Avid Technology
Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video edi ...
acquires Digidesign. Digidesign now operates as a business unit of Avid.
* 2001 - Digidesign wins a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
award for
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
.
* 2003 - Avid acquires
Bomb Factory's extensive product catalog. These products are now included with
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
systems.
* 2003 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes Digidesign's contribution to audio post production for film with an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
.
* 2004 - Avid acquires
M-Audio
M-Audio (formerly Midiman) is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music softw ...
, 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
Bremen,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
* 2006 - Avid acquires
Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
, 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 became Avid Audio
History of Avid Audio software
Digidesign Software was developed by
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
graduate Peter Gotcher and his friend Evan Brooks, both majors in electrical engineering and computer science.
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 sampling synthesizers like the Prophet 2000, Ensoniq Mirage, Akai s900 and the E-MU Emulator sampling keyboard.
Sounds would be sampled into the synth and transferred onto the Mac. Here, the user could manipulate the sample's sound—EQ, amplitude, etc.; truncate to save memory; or set loop points; and then transfer back into the synth for playback. The software was originally written for editing drum samples and then for burning new chips for the
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far m ...
era drum machines.
=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 Systems
E-mu Systems was a software synthesizer, audio interface, MIDI interface, and MIDI keyboard manufacturer. Founded in 1971 as a synthesizer maker, E-mu was a pioneer in samplers, sample-based drum machines and low-cost digital sampling mus ...
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
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
(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.
Independent public radio producers soon discovered the power and economy of Sound Tools as an alternative to traditional analog tape, sparking the transition to digital program production and distribution in radio.
Pro Tools
The first version of Pro Tools was launched in 1991, offering four tracks and selling for US$6,000. Digidesign continued to improve Pro Tools, adding a sequencer and more tracks, with the system offering recording at 16-bit and 44.1 kHz. In 1997, Pro Tools had reached 24-bit and 48 track versions. At this point, the migration from more conventional studio technology to the Pro Tools platform took place within the industry.
References
External links
Avid Audio page on Avid.comAvid Audio Forums (aka Digidesign User Conference)John Payne: "The Software Chronicles" about Evan Brooks, EQ Magazine, March 2006The Studio Files website: Pro Tools users tech blogEvan Brooks InterviewNAMM Oral History Library
Peter Gotcher InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (2012)
{{Authority control
Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Companies based in San Mateo County, California
Technology companies established in 1984
1984 establishments in California
Audio mixing console manufacturers
Manufacturers of professional audio equipment
Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit
Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States