Eric Persing

Eric Persing
Eric Persing in the studio
Born
Eric Armand Persing

(1963-07-21) 21 July 1963 (age 61)
Landstuhl, West Germany
NationalityUnited States American
Known forSpectrasonics, Sound design, Synthesizer Development, Music Production, Roland, LA Session Musician, Sound Libraries
Notable workOmnisphere, Keyscape, Roland D50, Roland JD800, Michael Jackson "Bad" album, Distorted Reality
SpouseLorey Persing
ChildrenJazmine Persing, Soren Persing, Sage Persing
Websitehttps://www.spectrasonics.net

Eric Persing is an American sound designer, professional synthesist, keyboardist, recording artist and music producer based in Los Angeles, California.[1] He is best known as the Founder and Creative Director of the music software and virtual instrument company Spectrasonics®. Recognized as one of the world’s most preeminent synth sound designers,[2] Persing has created over a million sounds that inspire music makers around the world.[3] He has been the producer and primary contributor to all of Spectrasonics' products, including the award-winning Omnisphere®,[4] Keyscape®,[5] Trilian®, and Stylus RMX.[6] Earlier work includes other notable Spectrasonics products like Atmosphere, Trilogy, and Distorted Reality.

Persing started working for the Roland Corporation as Chief Sound Designer[7] from 1984 to 2004,[8][9] where he worked on many influential synthesizers and music-related products such as the Roland D-50,[10] the JD-800,[11] the Roland JX, JV, JP, XP series synthesizers and many others. Even today, his sounds can be heard in many productions and Eric has worked with numerous artists such as Luther Vandross, Quincy Jones, Danny Elfman, Marcus Miller, Herbie Hancock, James Newton‑Howard, Eddie Jobson, Michel Colombier, Diana Ross, Arif Mardin, Chaka Khan, Larry Carlton, Hans Zimmer, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, Randy Newman and Celine Dion.[12] At the 2011 NAMM Show, as part of a joint promotion with the Bob Moog Foundation, Persing exhibited the OMG-1 synthesizer, a unique synthesizer of his own design that integrated a Moog Little Phatty with an Apple Mac Mini and two iPads running virtual instruments, all housed in a custom curly maple cabinet.[13]

Important influences for Persing are Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Jan Hammer, Yes, Genesis and Thomas Dolby.[14]

  1. ^ "ERIC PERSING: Creating Spectrasonics®". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  2. ^ "Digital Dreams: Eric Persing and the JD-800". Roland Articles. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. ^ "Eric Persing". NAMM. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  4. ^ "TEC Awards Winners for 2011". TEC Awards. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  5. ^ "SOS Awards 2018: And The Winners Are..." Sound On Sound. February 2018. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  6. ^ Nick Magnus (2004-12-01). "Spectrasonics Stylus RMX". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  7. ^ "Roland meeting stresses educational market". Music Trades. Music Trades Corp. March 1, 1990. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  8. ^ Battino, David; Richards, Kelli (2005). The Art of Digital Music. Backbeat Books. p. 76. ISBN 0-87930-830-3.
  9. ^ The Church Collective interview
  10. ^ Vail, Mark (2014). The Synthesizer. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-019-539481-8.
  11. ^ "Digital Dreams: Eric Persing and the JD-800". Roland Articles. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  12. ^ "ERIC PERSING: Sound On Sound".
  13. ^ Vail, Mark (2014). The Synthesizer. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-019-539481-8.
  14. ^ KVR audio interview