From a 1985 commission by Rupert Neve for Sir George Martin through to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, The Story of Focusrite ISA is a deep dive into one of pro audio's most enduring legacies.
The Focusrite ISA has been shaping professional recordings since 1985. Now, forty years on, Focusrite has commissioned a documentary to tell that story. Directed by Chris Mayes-Wright, the filmmaker behind the original Focusrite Studio Console film that has clocked over half a million views, the 20-minute feature traces the full arc of ISA from its origins to the studios using it today.
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The film traces the full arc of ISA chronologically – from the origins of the ISA 110 modules Rupert Neve designed for Sir George Martin in 1985, through the Forte console (one of only two ever built) and the ten Focusrite Studio Consoles that followed, most of which are still in active use today. It also stops at The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, home to Studio Console 005 – the largest Focusrite Studio Console ever made – and Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, where head engineer Katie May speaks to her use of the ISA 828 MkII. Restoration engineers Lincoln Fong and Ken Hirsch appear throughout, detailing what it takes to keep these historic consoles running.
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More than a retrospective, the film makes a case for ISA as a living piece of audio history, rather than a museum piece. Forty years on from that original commission, the preamp sound Neve built for George Martin is still shaping recordings in studios around the world.
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