As part of our Best of German Brands series, we talk to Clyde Sendke of Steinberg, which is now celebrating 30 years in business.

The firms director for product planning looks back on some of the companys main achievements since it was founded in 1984, explains how it has benefited over time from the Yamaha acquisition and reveals why its best selling products are in high demand at the moment...

This year sees Steinberg celebrate its 30th anniversary. How would you summarise the progress that the company has made over the last three decades?

Thirty years is a very long time, and much has happened at Steinberg since its establishment. In the first decade, the company was primarily developing its sequencer software, which transformed from the Pro 16 MIDI sequencer to Cubase, a MIDI and audio sequencer available for Mac OS and Windows.

In the second decade we introduced WaveLab, the non-proprietary protocols VST (Virtual Studio Technology) and ASIO (Audio Streaming Input/Output), as well as achieving a millennium release with our Nuendo digital audio workstation.

The third decade saw profound changes to the company, further extending the product portfolio, strengthening our channels and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation.

What are the companys biggest strengths?

Its innovative approach, engineers, drive to discover new concepts and to realise these to the benefit of our end-users. Another advantage is our large network of professional users who continuously feed back to us to make our products even better.

What are the main advantages of being a German brand?

It might sound like a cliché, but as a German brand, we place high demands on the quality and performance of our products. We work accurately and fruitfully in small teams, exploiting our research to the maximum to achieve our objectives, and then turn these to our commercial advantage.

Why do you think Germany remains such a major hub for pro audio manufacturing?

I assume Germany continues to play an important role in pro audio manufacturing owing to two facts – this country draws from a rich, eminently long musical history, going back further than Bach and extending past Karlheinz Stockhausens Elektronische Musik of the past century. Germany is also a land renowned for its accuracy and efficiency, creating generations of engineers that have impacted technological advances in many scientific fields.

How has your business performed over the past year?

It has been our best year yet. All our products – software and hardware – have been performing extremely well. Weve improved our customer service, have been expanding in staff and the close collaborations between Steinberg and our parent company have come to fruition.

What have been your best selling products during this time?

The last major update to Cubase, as well as the point update have been very successful over the past year, while on the hardware side sales of our UR22 audio/MIDI interface (pictured, above) have rocketed to an all-time high.

Why do you think they have sold so well?

Cubase has been doing well due to many reasons. For one, weve introduced unique and useful features, such as Chord Track and VST Connect, while adding powerful synthesizers like Retrologue and Padshop. One of the most profound changes to version 7 of our flagship DAW was certainly the revamped mixer, MixConsole, with its all-new channel strip.

The point update released a few months ago saw many workflow enhancements. However, its not only the purchasable updates that are well received by our customers, but the frequent maintenance updates we release to maintain the best user experience with our products.

As for the UR22, it is one of the best audio interfaces in its price segment boasting premium sound and build quality and including a streamlined version of Cubase.

Youve introduced many innovative technologies in the past, but has it been a challenge to keep this trend going with more competition around today?

Innovative technologies isnt a guarantee for staying in the lead, but I agree that its one of the companys distinctive attributes. Conceiving and designing novel and useful tools for audio/MIDI processing and production is one of the pillars that sustain this company and its continuous success. We have introduced many new technologies along the way and we intend to do so in the future, and while its interesting to see what our competitors come up with, it doesnt necessarily have an effect on our strategies.

Steinberg has been a part of the Yamaha Corporation for almost ten years now. How has the ongoing partnership with Yamaha benefited Steinberg?

It certainly has, and vice versa. The interfaces and controllers that we have been introducing to the market since 2008 are the direct result of the close collaboration between Steinberg and Yamaha. Another good example is Yamahas Nuage system (pictured, above) with the integration of our Nuendo software. It shows the possibilities derived from Yamahas expertise to build quality audio hardware and Steinbergs years of experience in coding software and its integration.

What are your main plans for the next 12 months?

Our imminent roadmap holds releases to further updates of our flagship software applications, and well be introducing more hardware as well. But besides that, were enjoying our 30th anniversary and are planning on letting others take part in our celebrations, too.

TAGS: yamaha, germany, steinberg, nuendo, cubase, Best of German Brands