Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. and Audient Ltd., both of the UK, announce an agreement whereby Focusrite will commence the production and sale of certain Audient product designs. The first product to be released under this agreement is the Focusrite Control 2802 Dual Layer Mixing Console, a small-format recording console and DAW control surface in one package.
Phil Dudderidge, chairman and managing director of Focusrite, says, “The 2802 is a superb analog mixer and DAW controller in one tidy package, designed to a highly professional standard. Dave Dearden [Audient’s technical director] is a designer I have known and worked with since the 1970s, and he is one of the few analog mixer gurus still working, with a team around him young enough to embrace the challenges of DAW control.”
Dearden adds, “Dual Layer is the result of a lengthy development project aimed at redefining the analog console and we’re very proud of the results. Establishing this new relationship with Focusrite means we can together deliver designs such as the 2802 to as many users as possible. Without question, Focusrite’s formidable strength in global sales and distribution will help ensure that we maximize the potential of this technology.”
Under this agreement, Focusrite and Audient will continue to work together on developing and delivering new designs, bringing Dual Layer and other new technologies to a wider audience than Audient can reach on its own. Audient says it will develop key new products, such as the ASP8024DLC, that use this same technology.
Dudderidge continues: “Audient’s design values reflect our own. We have been fortunate to build a head of steam over the past few years that enables us to address global demand levels. This agreement works well for both companies. We look forward to offering more products, co-developed by our respective engineering and product marketing teams.”
The Focusrite Control 2802’s Dual Layer Technology allows the user to jump between analog mixing and DAW control. In a single surface, the Focusrite Control 2802 integrates state-of-the-art summing of 28 inputs, comprehensive monitoring, stereo master bus compression, and control over every major DAW. The Control 2802 also offers eight Class-A microphone preamplifiers, ultra low-noise analog circuitry with reportedly extreme high-frequency extension, Ethernet-based control, and DAW and console automation.
Focusrite states that the Control 2802 will be available from June 2011, and that it greatly complements Focusrite’s recently announced RedNet range of networked audio interfaces, available worldwide from Q4 2011.
Find out more about the Focusrite Control 2802 small-format console.
