Overnight a new company appeared called Townsend Labs with what they claim to be 'real 3D mic modelling.' The website is simply a tease at the moment with a picture of a microphone and software, whilst there's not much info on the system the credentials of the two people behind it are impressive.

A little digging finds that the two people behind it are Chris Townsend and Erik Papp. From their LinkedIn profiles you can see more;

of Chris Townsend it says...

"Guitar Products Architect - Avid Technology - January 2007 – May 2012 (5 years 5 months)
• Developed guitar amplifier modeling technology.
• Led a team of four engineers that developed the “Eleven” guitar amplifier modeling plug-in for the Pro Tools HD Accel platform. 
• The "Eleven" software plug-in is currently Digidesign's number one selling plug-in in terms of revenue.
• Potentially saved millions in patent royalties after discovering a Japanese paper which was clear evidence of prior art.
• Conducted extensive investigation of the TI c67x DSP architecture for use in future products.

Erik Papp was one of the people behind Summit Audio where he was CEO for over 10 years before they were acquired in 2011. He also spent some time working with Blue microphones.

Also clicking around their website you can find some quotes;

"The Townsend Mic is the future of microphone technology. Being able to manipulate the polar patterns, mic choice and off-axis effects after recording is a huge advantage. Quite a breakthrough!" Joe Chiccarelli

"Absolutely love what this beast can do. For many studios this could be the one mic to rule them all." Matt Hepworth

With a guy who was part of the team behind Eleven Rack, considered by many as one of Avid's finest products, and the guy who ran Summit for a decade at the helm, we think we should pay close attention to the Real 3D Mic Modelling Technology of Sphere.

What do you think they could bring to the industry with this new product?

More About The Townsend Labs Sphere From Production Expert

Since this article was published we have produced a number of Sphere related items and videos. You can check these out below.