PreSonuSphere 2013 Earns Standing Ovation

	Engineering power trio (L to R): Khaliq Glover, John Mills, and Jim Odom. Photo: T. Kibodeaux service@preauxactive.com

Rarely does a manufacturer receive a standing ovation from its users, but the PreSonus team received a heartfelt and enthusiastic one at the closing ceremony of its third annual PreSonuSphere user conference.

PreSonuSphere 2013 brought 450 musicians, producers, engineers, and other music-business professionals from all over the globe to the beautiful Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Attendees sold out two hotels and filled numerous area restaurants while enjoying Southern cooking, Southern hospitality, crowd-pleasing music, informative educational seminars, and seemingly endless networking opportunities.

The event kicked off on Thursday evening, October 24, with a rooftop jambalaya cookout, serenaded by Louisiana country/folk-rockers L'Angelus and Baton Rouge bluesmaster Chris LeBlanc.

The next morning started with "Breakfast with the Chiefs," in which legendary journalist, musician, and industry personality Craig Anderton grilled a panel consisting of PreSonus CEO Jim Mack, chief strategy officer Jim Odom, chief technology officer Bob Tudor, VP of sales Rick Naqvi, and executive VP John Bastianelli about industry trends and their vision of the future.

Friday and Saturday were filled with presentations on a wide range of topics. Anderton, Grammy-winning engineer Khaliq Glover, renowned acoustician John Storyk, composer and sound designer Justin Lassen, veteran front-of-house engineer John Mills, producer and clinician Martin Atkins, and church-sound specialist Doug Gould were among those presiding over seminars and fielding questions on recording, mixing, mastering, acoustics, music education, stage lighting, the music business, and more.

PreSonus staff offered in-depth tips and techniques for the company's StudioLive AI-series digital mixers, Studio One music-production software, Notion music-notation software, and Nimbit direct-to-fan service. Attendees heard the presentations and music via PreSonus' new StudioLive AI PA speakers and auditioned Sceptre- and Eris-series studio monitors, as well as getting a sneak peak at as-yet-unannounced products.

Multitrack recordings of performances by L'Angelus were captured live to Studio One, and attendees were treated to an up-close and personal journey from recording the first riff all the way to final release on Nimbit. An assortment of partner companies staffed booths where attendees could check out their products and ask questions.

Friday night's highlight was a high-energy set from Lafayette, Louisiana, rockers Royal Teeth, which brought the crowd to its feet.

PreSonuSphere 2013 ended with a standing ovation on Saturday evening, but the journey continues: The company says PreSonuSphere 2014 promises to be even bigger and better.