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Category Archives: Trade Shows


25 Years of WHABAM!

If there’s one word to sum up the man, the myth, the legend, Rick Naqvi… it’s: WHABAM!

Rick is as much of a staple to PreSonus as drag and drop is to Studio One. He loves his team, music, and his job! After spending a quarter-century serving the PreSonus family, he is the expert when it comes to selling PreSonus with passion and enthusiasm.  If you’ve met him, you love him (and you’re probably still hypnotized by the Rick Effect.) And if you haven’t met him, here’s your chance to get to know him better.

 

How long have you worked for PreSonus?

This coming October will be my 25th year at PreSonus. I was employee #5 or #6 I believe.

What was your job title when you started? What is your job title now?

Well, I was the first guy in sales so I guess my title would have been “Rick Naqvi, Sales Guy.” Today my role is Senior Vice President of Global Sales.

What were you doing before working at PreSonus?

In my early 20s, I was playing in two bands (Zaemon and Chris LeBlanc Band), running a recording studio and working in a music store called BeBop Music Shop. I was finishing a Marketing degree at LSU at that time as well.

What about PreSonus made you want to work here at the time?

I knew Jim Odom from the local music scene. He was one of our hometown guitar heroes and although he was a few years older than me, we went to the same high school and even took guitar lessons from the same guy. I did a recording session with him in the early ’90s and he used to come into the music store I worked at. I remember him bringing in the prototype of the very first PreSonus product, the DCP-8, about a year before PreSonus started. When Jim approached me about being a part of a startup company, it was a no-brainer for me.

Let’s talk about the Rick Naqvi Effect. People LOVE you and recognize you as the face of PreSonus. How did this come to be? How has it helped you?

Haha!! LOL. Well, I guess since this year will be my 25th year of working at PreSonus, I’m definitely one of the blessed people that found something to do with their lives that has spanned pretty much my entire adulthood. I’ve always been passionate about music and technology and I love people. So PreSonus has been the perfect place for me. I’m in awe of the fact that people use our products to share and experience music together with each other. That’s the part of this job that never gets old. I love being part of a team whose mission is to help people make music.

The FirePod was one of PreSonus’ first major products. What need was the FirePod supposed to meet?

The Firepod was the first recording interface with eight microphone preamps in 1U. So you could basically mic an entire drumkit at once. Or record a small rhythm section. It was also one of the first interfaces that allowed for multiple units to be used at the same time. So if you needed 16 simultaneous inputs, you could chain two of them together, and so on.

Any fun stories about the FirePod?

Here’s a true story. The original design for the FirePod had eight inputs but only two mic preamps. Jim Odom was beta testing one of the early prototypes and took it home to record his son’s band. When he realized it was going to be a hassle to hook up additional outboard preamps, he came to work the next day and changed the design of the Firepod to include the other six preamps. We literally had to reshoot images for a tradeshow launch that was happening a few months later. However, putting eight preamps on the Firepod solved a huge need, not only for Jim but for tons of customers. It was one of our most successful products without a doubt.

What has been one of the biggest challenges of working at PreSonus? Major roadblocks?

Working for a technology company has its ups and downs. There have been good years and not so good ones too. Sometimes you create a product that really resonates with people and other times there are challenges that keep a product from its full potential. There’s nothing more important to us than delighting our customers. And when we can’t do that, it is a major bummer for us. Thankfully, our mistakes give us the experience to get better and that’s what we strive to do every day.

In 1995, how did you define success?

One of my first job tasks was to contact dealers and try to tell them about our product. I had a copy of Music Trades that had a list of the Top 100 US Dealers. So I literally picked up the phone and started cold calling people!  It was so hard to tell people about a brand new product from a brand new company that they had never heard of. It was amazing just to get someone on the phone who would give me the time of day. Amazingly a bunch of people that got called by a 25-year-old Rick Naqvi are still in the business and are some of our most trusted dealers and life-long friends.

Tell us a cool NAMM story. Or any other PreSonus story.

One time at a NAMM Show I had to give a DigiMax demo to Steven Seagal. Turns out he’s a musician and had a studio at the time. It might have been one of the strangest demos of my life. He was super serious and never cracked a smile. When I told him you could only do 96k using AES outputs, not ADAT, I thought he might judo chop me or something.

 

When you think about the last 25 years, how does it make you feel seeing how far PreSonus has come?

It really doesn’t seem like I’ve worked for one company. It seems like I’ve worked for about 5 different companies. I’ve been through three building moves and I’ve seen tons of people come and go. I’ve seen kids of our employees grow up and start families of their own. It’s truly humbling to have been a part of this great journey.

Read more about the last 25 years with PreSonus

 

 

PreSonus 2018 Rep and Distributor of the Year Awards!

Every year at NAMM, we like to recognize distribution partners and reps who have gone above and beyond in their support of PreSonus. Thanks to the below for leading by example, and for setting the bar so very high.

 

 

Join PreSonus at Messe in Frankfurt, Even from the Comfort of Your Own Home

For those of you in the USA wondering what Musikmesse is, think NAMM—but in Germany.

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“Musikmesse in Frankfurt is the international trade fair for instruments, sheet music, production, and marketing.” It all starts this Thursday, April 7 and runs to Sunday, April 10.

The PreSonus team will be there. Visit our booth and be one of the first in Europe to see the new Studio 192 Mobile and ULT Speakers in person! Find the PreSonus booth located at Hall 9.1 Booth F41.

At our booth, participants are invited to check out the gear, connect with us on social media, and enter to win one of five copies of Studio One Pro we’ll be giving away every day of Messe! To enter, participants must:

  1. Take a picture in our social corner–the orange corner in the photo above
  2. Post the photo to their social profiles and include the hashtag #StudioOneMesse.
  3. We will randomly select winners and will contact them directly. Follow #StudioOneMesse to see what PreSonus users are up to at the show and to congratulate the winners!

Studio One 3 Professional Wins Software Award at NAMM2016

Studio One Award

Big thanks to Music and Sound Retailer for this recognition at NAMM 2016. While the award bears MSR’s name, Studio One 3 Professional was chosen by music dealers who voted it to be the best of the year. We’re honored, and you all are too kind. To learn more about Studio One 3, click here. 

 

Webcast Jan 22: PreSonus from NAMM 2016! New Products and Studio One Giveaway

NAMM-2016-WEBCAST

Tune in to PreSonus LIVE on Jan. 22 at 2:00 pm PST for our coverage from the 2016 NAMM show in Anaheim, California! We’ll be showing you new PreSonus products and giving away a copy of Studio One 3 Professional!

 

See you in the chat room!

Enter the form below to sign up for a reminder e-mail on the day of the show:




Schedule of Events for PreSonus at NAMM 2016

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It’s that time of year again—the NAMM Show starts up on Thursday, Jan 21! If you’re going to be at the show, come on down to Hall B, booth #5700 to be the first to see some brand new products and rub elbows with some of the kind folks who designed the gear and software. We’ve got presentations happening at our booth and at the IMSTA Technology Presentations series. Dates and times for all are listed below. See you in Anaheim…

…unless, of course, you’re not going to be in Anaheim. We understand that not everyone can make it to the show, so kindly keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest from the show as it happens! We’ll be posting here on the blog, as well.

 

IMSTA TECHNOLOGY PRESENTATIONS
CONVENTION CENTER LEVEL 2
Room 201 CD

Mastering in Studio One—Seamless Integration
Record, mix, master, and digitally release to the web. Learn more about the Studio One Project Page and mastering functionality in Studio One.

Thursday January 21 | 3:00 pm – 3:20 pm

 

Notation Software Redefined: An Overview of Notion
Learn why Notion is seen as one of the most powerful and easy-to-learn notation solutions available. Notion features samples by the London Symphony Orchestra, is the only notation editor compatible with Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone, has numerous interactive entry methods, and is bridging the gap between audio and notation applications.

Friday January 22 | 10:30 am – 10:50 am

 

Studio One 3—Why now is the time to make the move to Studio One
Find out more about the new features in Studio One 3 that have made it this year’s most talked about DAW of professional musicians and recording engineers. Take a quick tour of the many unique new features of Studio One 3 as well as revisit some of the old and now improved favorites.

Saturday January 23 | 5:00 pm – 5:20 pm

 

Built to Create – Studio One and Studio 192 Integration.
Explore the many features of the brand new Studio 192 audio interface/studio command center, and see the powerful integration between the Studio 192 and Studio One 3. Discover how to record audio with the lowest latency all while monitoring with on board DSP processing and effects.

Sunday January 24 | 12:00 pm – 12:20 pm

 

PRESONUS AUDIO ELECTRONICS PRESENTATIONS
PRESONUS BOOTH #5700, HALL B

Mastering in Studio One—Seamless integration
Record, mix, master, and digitally release to the web. Learn more about the Studio One Project Page and mastering functionality in Studio One.

Thursday January 21 | 1:00 pm
Friday January 22 | 2:00 pm
Saturday January 23 |  3:00 pm
Sunday January 24 | 11:00 am

 

Built to Create – Studio One and Studio 192 Integration
Explore the many features of the brand new Studio 192 audio interface/studio command center, and see the powerful integration between the Studio 192 and Studio One 3. Discover how to record audio with the lowest latency all while monitoring with on board DSP processing and effects.

Thursday January 21 | 11:00 am
Friday January 22 | 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm
Saturday January 23 |  1:00 pm
Sunday January 24 | 3:00 pm

 

Virtual Session With Studio One 3—A Freelance Musician’s Perspective
A real-world show & tell of how today’s session musician can use Studio One to do session work at home. Using Studio One 3’s basic audio/MIDI features and how to quickly access them just as they would an instrument that has been practiced and mastered over time.

Thursday January 21 | 12:00 pm
Friday January 22 | 1:00 pm
Saturday January 23 |  2:00 pm
Sunday January 24 | 1:00 pm

 

Studio One 3—Why now is the time to make the move to Studio One
Find out more about the new features in Studio One 3 that have made it this year’s most talked about DAW of professional musicians and recording engineers. Take a quick tour of the many unique new features of Studio One 3 as well as revisit some of the old and now improved favorites.

Thursday January 21 |: 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm
Friday January 22 | 11:00 am
Saturday January 23 |  12:00 pm, 4:00 pm
Sunday January 24 | 2:00 pm

 

Notation Software Redefined: An Overview of Notion.
Learn why Notion is seen as one of the most powerful and easy-to-learn notation solutions available. Notion features samples by the London Symphony Orchestra, is the only notation editor compatible with Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone, has numerous interactive entry methods, and is bridging the gap between audio and notation applications.

Thursday January 21 | 3:00 pm
Friday January 22 | 4:00 pm
Saturday January 23 | 11:00 am
Sunday January 24 | 12:00 pm

Join us at INFOCOMM 2015!

Here’s what you need to know about what we’re up to at InfoComm 2015, June 17-19 in Orlando, Florida. We’ll be at booth #1259, demoing new product from both PreSonus and WorxAudio. Join us to receive a free full-line demonstration of the WorxAudio by PreSonus loudspeaker family, including AI-Series contractor systems, powerful X & V-Series line arrays, and some incredible subwoofers. Learn about new AVB connectivity including how our StudioLive AI console mixers control and send audio to AI-series StudioLive rackmount and console mixers. We’ve also got UC Surface 1.3, which adds Smaart functionality to the RM-series mixers, among other cool things. Add free WorxAudio T-shirts (while supplies last, and you have to hear the WorxAudio demo to get one) and live music from Briana Tyson, and we’ve got a heck of a show on our hands!

As if that’s not enough, you can get a Free pass to Infocomm by clicking hereFill out the interactive .PDF with the following information, and you’ll be good to go:

  • Sponsor: PreSonus Audio Electronics
  • Booth: 1259
  • VIP code: PRE115.

 

TheWorxAudio / PreSonus Booth is #1259. WorxAudio Loudspeaker demos will be held in the WorxAudio / PreSonus Demo Room, which is 102B.

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PreSonus Recognized with Multiple Accolades at #NAMM2015

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Look—we like to be humble, but come on—it’s nice to be noticed. And we got noticed at NAMM this year to the tune of five awards from various industry honchoes. We’re flattered, and it looks like we might need to be upgrading the old trophy case if this trend continues into next year. Here’s a recognition-roundup from The Loudest Show on EarthNAMM2015awards.

TEC Award Winner – Best Mobile App:
Capture for iPad

NAMM U – Best in Show / Gotta Stock It
AudioBox Music Creation Suite

Technology in Music Education
2015 Ti:ME Award for Outstanding Contributions to Technology in Music Education

Music and Sound Retailer Music and Sound Awards:
Best Multitrack Recorder of 2014: AudioBox iTwo
Best Mixer/Console of 2014: StudioLive RM Series

Musical Merchandise Review
Special 20th Anniversary Commemorative Award

Last but not least, we got several noms that we didn’t result in us taking home a li’l statue or glass widget to put in the display case—but that’s OK. They can’t all be zingers. We may well have been the most-nominated company at the show, but we’ll draw the line at actually keeping score.

Other nominations included: 
Monitor Station V2 (Studio & Sound Reinforcement)
Capture for iPad (Audio Apps for Smartphones and Tablets)
Temblor T10 (Studio Monitors)
Notion 5 (Musical Instrument Software)
Studio One 2.6.2 (Workstation Technology)
StudioLive 32.4.2AI (Small Format Console Technology)
StudioLive AI Series Speakers (Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.@SWAudio on the RM Series Mixers at #NAMM2015

Thanks to StreamWorks Audio for the coverage from NAMM! For more on the RM series mixers, click here.

#NAMM 2015 Spotlight: @MinosTheSaint

Minos

Baton Rouge folky genre-benders Minos the Saint bring something new to the table and continually refresh the musical conversation. According to Dig Magazine, their world folk sound is “a swirl of Eastern European Folk, Cajun, Latin, a tinge of classical, all focusing over a soulful singer-songwriter, Peter Simon.”  Dig might call them “world folk,” but we call them “dear friends.”

Minos the saint performs every day of the show at noon.

Click here for more on ALL the presentations at NAMM this year.