Studer Celebrates Digital Success Story: Marks 60th Anniversary in 2008

Tape Pioneer To Leader In Digital Live And Broadcast Consoles - Reaches Milestone.

In what represents one of the most challenging and successful business transformations in the history of professional audio and recording, former tape pioneer and industry stalwart, Studer celebrates its 60th anniversary, having transformed itself into the leading innovator and manufacturer of digital console technology. For fifty years, Studer tape machines were ‘must-haves’ in all of the leading recording studios around the world and, as a result, many of the most iconic and successful music recordings up to the late 1990’s were engineered and recorded on Studer tape machines. Since then Studer steadfastly employed the same commitment to quality and innovation in pursuit of excellence in digital console design, and has emerged as the leading name in sonic performance, user interface design, bullet-proof reliability and advanced functionality.

According to Andy Trott, President of Soundcraft and Studer, “The Company’s ethos has changed little but its focus has changed entirely towards digital console and mixing systems development. Studer remains the epitome of quality in product design and fine engineering – often referred to as the ‘Rolls-Royce of the audio world’ - and we value and protect that characteristic today just as much as Willi Studer did when he started the business 60 years ago.”

Bruno Hochstrasser, Executive Vice President of Sales for Soundcraft and Studer has one of the ‘closest kinships’ with the company, “I was actually born the same month and year as the Studer Company so this year is very much a double celebration for both of us! I’ve seen huge change during my 37 years with the business and remain proud of our achievements; maybe even more so these days as we have totally re-engineered to become number one in digital broadcast consoles.”

This year marks the 60th anniversary since Founder Willi Studer started the company in 1948 to adapt American-made tape recorders to the requirements of the Swiss market. Studer soon stopped adapting, and starting innovating, and in 1950, the first 500 units left the production line. From its beginnings as a tape recorder manufacturer, Studer went on to acquire a reputation as an analog mixing console brand. In the mid-80s, the turn to digital technology began with the digitally-controlled A810 analog tape recorder, followed by the all digital D820 and D820X tape machines. Shipping its last two analog consoles to Japan in 2007, the company is today firmly placed in the digital universe as a leading manufacturer of audio mixing consoles, routing equipment and call management systems targeted at the broadcast and live-sound market for the most discriminating customers.

In October 2007, following input from its customers, the company introduced a touring version of the highly successful Vista 5 platform. The resulting product was accordingly named the Studer Vista 5 SR; a reinforced aluminum console specifically developed to handle the rigors of life on the road. The new version added a steeper viewing angle for standing operation, adjustable illumination for variable ambient conditions, and increased and modified ventilation systems. It is available with preset configurations for Front-of-House and Monitor use.

Studer’s patented Vistonics™ user interface, featured in the console, uses an array of encoders mounted directly into TFT screens to give immediate viewing and control of channel and output parameters. The Vista 5 SR quickly became a popular choice for touring companies and is currently being used on tour with Billy Joel, Keith Urban, Celine Dion and Rascal Flatts.