Photo: courtesy of PreSonus
As published on May 26, 2014 in The Star-Ledger newspaper in New Jersey: “Robert James ‘Bob’ Tudor, 47, a pioneer and legend in the audio/MI industry, died Thursday, May 22, 2014, at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, N.J., after a brave seven-year battle with metastatic colon cancer.
“Funeral services will begin Wednesday [May 28] at 10:30 a.m. at Allwood Funeral Home, 660 Allwood Rd., Clifton, N.J., allwoodfuneralhome.com, followed by a burial at Glendale Cemetery. Visiting hours are Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
“Born in East Orange, N.J., in 1967, Bob was the youngest son of William R.M. and Dolores (Nigara) Tudor of West Orange, N.J. Bob began playing the piano at an early age, studying with Arthur Rubinstein and Juilliard fellow Josephine Bacher. Bob first attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before changing direction and pursuing his passion for music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied film scoring, jazz and music production. Bob spent his early career as a co-founder of Metropolis recording studio in Boston, where he recorded a variety of artists including Peter Wolf/J. Geils Band, Aimee Mann, New Kids on the Block, Bobby Brown and others.
“As Bob’s interests evolved, he integrated his engineering background with his love of music. At the beginning of the Internet era, Bob moved to Los Angeles, Calif., joining ResNova Software, to bring client/server software to the World Wide Web. ResNova was acquired by Microsoft in 1996. He later worked as software director for Mackie Designs, creating their line of digital mixers, hard-disk recorders and control surfaces. After leaving Mackie, he founded his own company, SaneWave, developing products for a wide assortment of pro audio manufacturers.”
Read the full Star-Ledger obituary for Bob Tudor.
While Tudor worked for SaneWave, Mix magazine briefly profiled him in “On The Move” in Mix‘s December 2003 issue:
Who: Bob Tudor, president of SaneWave Inc.
Main Responsibilities: herd cats (engineers), create exciting pathways for people to go down, negotiate contracts
Previous Lives:
• 1995-2001, director of digital technology, Mackie Designs Inc.
• 1990-1995, VP of product development, Resnova Software Inc.
The one profession I would least like to try would be a…ballet teacher
The moment I knew I was in the right profession was…when it required taking apart a TV in my hotel room to fix a trade show prototype the night before.
The last great book that I read was…Debugging the Development Process.
Currently in my CD changer: U2, Dave Matthews Band, Creed, Pink Floyd’s The Wall
When I’m not at work you can find me…playing ice hockey, riding my motorcycles, and enjoying time with my wife, Rachel, and our animal critters.
In a press release from PreSonus, it is recalled that, “Overall, Tudor and the SaneWave team had designed more than 100 products, including such hits as the TASCAM US-2400 Control Surface and X-48 Hard Disk Multitrack Audio Recorder, Electro-Voice DC-1 Speaker Processor, M-Audio ProjectMix, and Lexicon MX-500 FX Processor. He did additional projects for QSC, Samson, Shure, Alesis, Gibson, Fender, and many others. One of SaneWave’s best clients was PreSonus, for which he helped define and design the FaderPort and the StudioLive digital-mixer line. That led to his decision to join the company full time in 2008. His products have garnered five TEC Awards, five MIPA Awards, and numerous other awards. As Tudor put it, ‘I enjoy developing disruptive products’—that is, innovative products that can potentially shake up and energize the market.”
As Chief Technology Officer, Tudor oversaw all PreSonus advanced development activities, and evaluated and implemented emerging technologies that have been used in many of the company’s most successful products. Along with PreSonus CSO Jim Odom, Tudor developed the strategic direction of the company’s innovative products and technologies.
PreSonus CEO Jim Mack says, “Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of working with Bob, or even interacting with him at events or trade shows, was likely touched by his energy, enthusiasm, and passion for technology—and specifically, technology that allowed people to make better music. He was always fascinated with what could be done and was never really deterred by challenges or technical hurdles. He not only made things that no one else could see or do possible, he made them look easy. We have not only lost a truly amazing engineer but a very dear friend to so many people in this industry.”
Tudor wrote the following about his career on his LinkedIn profile: “My professional experience is typical for an entrepreneur. Multiple start-ups, a lengthy adventure with a public company, and a lemonade stand when I was a kid.”
On LinkedIn, Tudor described his work for PreSonus as such: “I am an officer reporting to the CEO, Jim Mack (my former partner at SaneWave). Strategically I am focused on emerging technologies, relationships with partners, and connecting the various technology assets we have around the world to share ideas and technologies. Tactically I enjoy being an engineer and mentoring the younger people. I spend a good part of my time chopping wood on new technology platforms for later commercialization. This keeps me current with tools and design practices, and let’s me continue my passion to do the work while keeping me away from the critical path.
“I am most proud of surviving advanced (stage IV) cancer during the length of this position. I love the people, the role, and the soul of the company. When you face your own mortality young, you realize what is important. Financial success is important, but there’s more to a business than that. We pave an honest trail and I’m proud to be associated with the company.”
Donations may be made on Tudor’s behalf to the American Cancer Society.
For another remembrance of Tudor, read “Farewell Bob Tudor” in Bobby Owsinski’s Big Picture Music Production Blog
