With Control V3 now in alpha, a new interface in development and renowned developer Matt Fudge joining the team, Apogee is laying out a clear roadmap for where the company is headed.
Apogee is making significant moves. Under new CEO Dirk Ulrich and as part of the Rockforce Tech group – which also owns Manley – the company has announced Control V3, a new mixer application that brings real-time DSP plugin processing to Symphony Studio interfaces for the first time.
Catch up on all the latest news here.
The headline capability is multi-plugin DSP processing with near-zero latency, something the previous Control V2 software couldn’t do. V2 offered a single channel strip plugin; V3 opens the door to a full ecosystem of Apogee and third-party plugins running directly on the interface hardware – think amp sims, console emulations, vocal pitch correction and beyond. This is made possible by the iMX.8 ARM-Core chips already embedded in all existing Symphony Studio interfaces, meaning current owners will get the full benefit simply by updating to V3.
Symphony I/O MKII users will gain access to the new mixer application, but won’t get real-time DSP plugin processing on dedicated ARM-Core processors, as those chips aren’t part of that hardware. Apogee says it’s exploring the possibility of native plugin processing via the Thunderbolt bus for that platform, with early tests described as promising. Older interfaces like the Ensemble and Duet series may not support V3, though Apogee has committed to investigating what’s technically possible and offering upgrade paths for existing users.
The “analog meets digital” angle is more than marketing language. Rockforce Tech’s shared ownership of Apogee and Manley means there are concrete plans to integrate Manley analog components – including mic preamp transformers – into future Apogee hardware, alongside real-time DSP emulations of Manley circuits running on Symphony Studio interfaces.
On the hardware side, Apogee is preparing to launch Symphony NOVA, a new 4-in/12-out desktop interface featuring the same iMX.8 ARM-Core chips, so it’ll support the same real-time plugin processing as the Symphony Studio range.
Rounding out the announcement, developer Matt Fudge has joined the product team. Fudge has credits on products including Cradle’s God Particle and Native Instruments’ Play Series, and will work closely with Ulrich on shaping the direction of the Apogee and Manley ecosystems going forward.
Control V3 is currently in alpha testing. Learn more here. For local enquiries, head here.
