 Logo as of 30 January 2010 | |
| Industry | Consumer and professional audio electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 1985 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Betty Bennett (CEO) [1] |
Number of employees | 35 |
| Website | apogeedigital |
Apogee Electronics is an American manufacturer of audio interfaces, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, USB & iOS microphones, and audio production software. [2]
Apogee Electronics was founded in December 1985 by former Soundcraft USA president Betty Bennett, [3] audio engineer Bruce Jackson, [4] and digital electronics designer Christof Heidelberger, [5] after the three set out to improve the sound quality associated with early digital audio devices. [6]
Apogee initially made its name designing anti-aliasing filters that solved many of the early problems associated with digital audio. [3] Apogee's 944 filters could be used to upgrade the stock filters of Sony PCM-3324 24-track digital tape recorders, and later Mitsubishi ProDigi decks and DAT recorders. As an OEM, Apogee also provided low-jitter clocks and their UV22 encoder to other manufacturers. [3] [7]
In 1991, Apogee introduced its first outboard analog-to-digital (A-D) and digital-to-analog (D-A) converters, the AD-500 and AD-1000, each earning TEC Awards, [8] [9] as did the UV-1000 mastering processor and FC-8 digital format converter. [10] [11] [3] [12]
In 1998, the company continued to garner TEC awards with the AD8000, an 8-channel, 24-bit A-D converter with built-in low-jitter clock and UV22 encoder, and optional Apogee Multimedia Bus (AMBus) cards for interfacing with Pro Tools, or via ADAT or TDIF-equipped digital audio equipment. [13] [14] The Big Ben digital clock, Trak 2, AD16, and Mini-Me converter followed. [3] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
By 2005 the company had 25 employees, [3] and relocated to a new headquarters on Berkeley Street in Santa Monica. [20]
In 2006, Apogee began introducing a series of audio interfaces for Mac, beginning with the Symphony and Ensemble multi-channel interfaces. [21] [22] The following year, a 2-channel desktop audio interface, Duet, was introduced, followed by the 4-channel Quartet in 2012. [23]
Apogee Electronics won NAMM Foundation and Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (TEC Awards) in 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994, 1992 and 1988 [24]
Apogee Studio is a recording studio located within Apogee Electronics' Santa Monica headquarters. Mixing engineer Bob Clearmountain, husband of Apogee's CEO Betty Bennett and consultant to the company, collaborated with Apogee in 2005 to convert unused space into a recording studio and performance venue. [25]
Beginning in 2010, Santa Monica radio station KCRW began hosting live music performances in the venue, called KCRW Apogee Sessions and later KCRW Live from Apogee Studio, with Clearmountain handling the audio engineering. [26] [27] Artists for these KCRW sessions have included David Gray, Ryan Adams, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Vampire Weekend, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Regina Spektor, Glen Hansard, the Shins, k.d. lang, Shelby Lynne, Leon Bridges, Norah Jones, the Avett Brothers, Mayer Hawthorne, Alabama Shakes, Belle & Sebastian, John Legend, Beck, John Mayer, Common, and Queens of the Stone Age. [28] [29] In 2024, Cory Henry recorded his album Live at the Piano at the studio; the first recorded there to receive a Grammy Award nomination. [29]
Apogee Electronics supports non-profit organizations, including Corazón de Vida, [30] CARE, Amnesty International, Plastic Pollution Coalition, the ONE Campaign, Save the Children, AmeriCares, MusiCares, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and Conservation International. [31]
Apogee Electronics is a corporate partner of UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability, [32] and is recognized as a Santa Monica certified Green Business. [2] and won the Sustainable Quality Award. [33]
Apogee is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). [34]
Apogee has a certificate of compliance from the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive). The WEEE Directive addresses the end-of-life (EOL) phase of products and contributes to the reduction of wasteful consumption of natural resources. The company has been solar powered since 2020. [2]
Solid State Logic Ltd. (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound reinforcement and music recording industries. SSL employs over 160 people worldwide and has regional offices in Los Angeles, Milan, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo, with additional support provided by an international network of distributors. Solid State Logic is part of the Audiotonix Group.
Shure Inc. is an audio products corporation headquartered in the USA. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a manufacturer of consumer and professional audio-electronics including microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers, and digital signal processing. The company also manufactures listening products, including headphones, high-end earphones, and personal monitor systems.
Alesis is an American company that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, audio processors, mixers, amplifiers, audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio, and electronic percussion products. Based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, Alesis is an inMusic Brands company.
TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California. TASCAM established the Home Recording phenomenon by creating the "Project Studio" and is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. TASCAM also introduced the first low-cost mass-produced multitrack recorders with Simul-Sync designed for recording musicians, and manufactured reel-to-reel tape machines and audio mixers for home recordists from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s. Since the early 00's, TASCAM has been an early innovator in the field-recording and audio accompaniment to video with their DR-series recording platforms. TASCAM celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021.
Bob Clearmountain is an American mixing engineer and record producer. best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan Adams. Described by Sound on Sound magazine as having "his name on more hit records than anyone else in the history of popular music", he is credited with establishing the role of mixing engineer.
Elliot Ray Scheiner is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, four Emmy nominations, three TEC Awards nominations, a TEC Hall of Fame inductee, and was a recipient of the Surround Pioneer Award.
Harrison Audio is an international company based in Nashville, Tennessee that manufactures high-end mixing consoles, Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), audio plugins, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound reinforcement and music recording industries. The company is renowned as an industry innovation for its "in-line" mixing console design that has subsequently become the standard for nearly every large-format music console. In October 2023, Harrison was acquired by Solid State Logic.
Unique Recording Studios was a five-room recording studio operating near Times Square in New York City from 1978 until 2004. Founders and co-owners Bobby Nathan and Joanne Georgio-Nathan installed the first Otari 24-track tape deck in New York. The studio was known for its extensive collection of synthesizers, which attracted Steve Winwood, who jammed for many hours in the process of creating his multi-Grammy winning album Back in the High Life (1986) at Unique.
Universal Audio is an American company that designs, imports, and markets audio signal processing hardware and effect pedals, audio interfaces, digital signal processing, virtual instrument, and digital audio workstation software and plug-ins.
The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, and concerts. TEC is an acronym for Technical Excellence and Creativity.
Ted Jensen is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' Hotel California, Green Day's American Idiot and Norah Jones' Come Away with Me.
An audio engineer helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer…"
Musical outboard equipment or outboard gear is used to process or alter a sound signal separately from functionality provided within a mixing console or a digital audio workstation. Outboard effects units can be used either during a live performance or in the recording studio.
Bruce Robert Jackson was an Australian audio engineer who co-founded JANDS, an Australian audio, lighting and staging company. He joined American touring audio engineer Roy Clair and mixed concert stage monitors for Elvis Presley in the 1970s. With Clair Brothers, a concert sound company, Jackson designed audio electronics including a custom mixing console. Beginning in 1978, Jackson toured as Bruce Springsteen's band engineer for a decade, using Clair Brothers sound systems. A business interest in Fairlight CMI in Sydney introduced Jackson to digital audio, and he subsequently founded the digital audio company Apogee Electronics in Santa Monica, California, where he lived at the time. After selling his share of Apogee, Jackson co-founded with Roy and Gene Clair a joint venture which produced the Clair iO, a loudspeaker management system for control of complex concert sound systems. Jackson turned the venture commercial with the help of Dave McGrath's Lake Technology. Dolby Laboratories bought the technology and formed Dolby Lake with Jackson as vice president, then in 2009 Lab.gruppen acquired the brand. Jackson was honoured with the Parnelli Innovator Award in 2005 for his inventive loudspeaker controller.
Recording Workshop (RECW) is an advanced educational facility that teaches the process of music recording and audio production. It is located seven miles south of Chillicothe, Ohio, USA.
DPA Microphones is a Danish manufacturer of condenser microphones and microphone solutions for the professional markets, owned by the Italian private equity fund, Palladio Holding S.p.A. The current CEO is Kalle Hvidt Nielsen. The company was founded in 1992 by two former employees from Brüel & Kjær - Morten Støve and Ole Brøsted Sørensen. Brüel & Kjær had decided to close their Pro Audio department and Morten and Ole made a contract with B&K to take over sales, service and development. At that time, DPA solely supplied high-end studio microphones for recording and broadcast use. In 1995 they teamed up with Dan Ingemann Jensen and Jens Jørn Stokholm from DanaBallerina and co-developed the later famous DPA 4060 and 4061 miniature condenser microphone, which quickly became the preferred microphone in the theatre world on Broadway in New York and the West End in London. The company received the prestigious King Frederik IX award at a ceremony in Fredensborg Castle.
Live from KCRW is the fourth live album by the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Released on 29 November 2013 on Bad Seed Ltd, it is a recording of a live radio session done for KCRW on 18 April 2013 at Apogee Studio in Santa Monica, California. The session, which featured a stripped-down line-up performing songs from the band's back catalogue and their most recent release, Push the Sky Away (2013), was recorded by Bob Clearmountain.
George Marino was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Michael Marquart is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, and founder of the musical project A Bad Think. He founded Windmark Recording recording studios in Virginia Beach and Santa Monica. Marquart's studios have recorded many notable musical artists, including Coldplay, Jeezy, J. Cole, YG, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar. In 2021, Marquart sold Windmark Recording to Joie Manda.
Paul Wolff is an American electronics engineer and entrepreneur, who is a designer of professional audio recording equipment. He designs recording consoles including immersive and audio mixing equipment for professional recording. He has been associated with companies including Datatronix, API, Tonelux, and Fix Audio Designs. His customers include Jim Messina, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Startec Studios, among others.