A company founded in 1995 and based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, PreSonus® Audio Electronics, Inc., is one of the top leading designers and manufacturers of audio-recording and live-sound software, hardware, and related accessories, and this year they’re celebrating 25 years in the business.
The first ever PreSonus office all started in PreSonus President and Chief Strategy Officer Jim Odom’s garage. Being a musician, producer, and LSU graduate in electrical engineering, he co-founded the company with his fellow LSU engineering graduate and current PreSonus VP of Engineering Brian Smith. Together, their goal was to build professional and affordable music production equipment for musicians and audio engineers, 25 years later they have not only achieved that goal but excelled in their field and become a leading player in music production equipment and tools.
PreSonus’s first product was a true modern innovation and set them strokes ahead many of their competitors at the time, the DCP8 enabled the studio engineer to insert 8 channels of analog compression, with the ability to save, recall, and automate settings. These were features that at the time were only found in mixing consoles costing more than $100,000, PreSonus was making waves in the industry from the very beginning.
This wasn’t the only first for PreSonus, check out the full list!
1995 – Patented MIDI control over analog devices
1996 – the first multi-channel compressor with an onboard bus link
1997 – the first stereo analog compressor with presets and manual control
1998 – Invented proprietary IDSS control
2000 – the first 8-channel mic preamp with ADAT output
2002 – The first Analog/Digital recording system over FireWire
2003 – the first rackmount monitoring controller with talkback
2004 – The first FireWire audio interface with eight onboard mic preamps
2005 – the first completely software-controlled audio interface
2006 – the first audio interface with integrated monitor control
2007 – the first single-Fader DAW control surface
2008 – the first digital mixer with a continuously bidirectional FireWire interface.
2008 – the first dedicated recording application for a digital mixer
2009 – the first DAW with both recording and mastering
2010 – THE First DAW with direct-to-Soundcloud export
2011 – the first DAW with Melodyne integration
2011 – The first digital mixer control app on the Apple App Store
2012 – the first iPhone monitor mix control app in the App Store
2013 – the first cross-platform integration between software and hardware
2014 – the first powered loudspeaker with Dante™ connectivity
2015 – THE First DAW with cross-platform multitouch support
2016 – the First bi-directional control between a DAW and digital mixer
2018 – the First DAW with real-time pitch control over MIDI and audio
2018 – The first fully-integrated AVB ecosystem
2019 – invented Patent-pending constant directivity loudspeaker design
Regardless of which stage of your musical journey you’re at, beginner or pro, PreSonus has all of the tools you’ll need to make your creative vision come to life. From home studio to the arena stage, PreSonus has got you covered for all you could possibly need and more. From mixing systems to studio monitors and headphone mixing systems, PreSonus is right there by your side to get you set up whether you’re a musician, audio engineer, podcaster, live streamer or any kind of creative content creator. PreSonus is here to help, wherever sound takes you.
To celebrate their 25th anniversary, PreSonus has entered 2020 with a bang. Pulling out all the stops they’ve already brought us some really exciting new releases and content! To kick things off, back in January PreSonus® announced the new River City Sessions performance series. The online series is available on PreSonus’s YouTube channel and features artists performing in PreSonus’ world-class, Walters-Storyk Design Group-designed River City Studio at PreSonus HQ in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The River City Sessions include both performances and also in-depth tutorials so you can see how the magic goes on behind the screens, you’ll receive insight into recording and mixing with the pros!