Studiomaster

Modern live sound production began with the development and mass production of reliable, high power PA amplification, capable of good sound reproduction. Back in 1976 a company called RSD (Recording Studio Design) based in rural England, was among the first to design and build such amplifiers. Not only did they challenge the performance specifications and engineering of the few available, hugely expensive, imported US designs that could put out more than a few hundred watts per channel, they were affordable – very affordable. RSD – so named because this small band of sound engineering entrepreneurs wanted to bring the sound quality of the recording studio to the concert stage – could not build enough of the 800 watts per channel RSD 800B. Not only were they snapped up in huge numbers to power extravagant concept shows and arena tours by mega groups like Pink Floyd, with the explosion of punk in the late 1970’s came a gigging revolution, and PA hire grew into an industry; and all the companies used the RSD 800B. Just as importantly these amplifiers were affordable, so that even bands setting out on the road to stardom could gig with a decent sounding PA system in the back of the van.

The company kept on developing ground breaking new products, introducing the first compact monitor console and one of the first 8-buss home recording mixing desks, designed to operate with the new breed of eight-track home recording tape machines. It was this – the Studiomaster 16-8 – that heralded the change of company name and the move to a new factory in the town of Luton where it remained for many years. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, the new R&D department produced a string of innovative product developments, continually making available features and technologies, previously the preserve of big recording studios or millionaire musicians, to bands and songwriters starting out. Among them were the first four buss mixers, designed as sub-mixers for the new breed of keyboard bands, with their racks of synths, sequencers and drum machines, and for four-track bedroom recordists.

It was the ‘invention’ of the powered mixer however, that would be the next big success story and become the ‘signature’ Studiomaster product class. The Studiomaster 8-2 married the two things the company did better than anyone else – a compact portable professional mixer with integrated power amplification; in this case separate left, right and monitor channel amplification. Effectively a PA system in a box, it only needed wiring up to speaker cabinets. The powered mixer was a gift to gigging musicians, small venues and rehearsal studios the world over. Along with more firsts like MIDI automation featured home recording desks and preset operable digital effects processors, the company continued its growth and mass market domination of the music technology industry. Today Studiomaster is not only a sound industry legend, it remains a UK based pro-audio engineering and manufacturing company, under the ownership of the Sound king Group, among the largest musical equipment and professional audio manufacturers in China. While retaining its product development and engineering activities, and strategic management and distribution functions at its Milton-Keynes head quarters in the UK, it has access to investment and mass production facilities via its parent company in Ningbo, south of Shanghai.

Nippon Enterprises South has been distributing Studiomaster products in India since 2018.

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