Having spent all my working life in the pro audio industry some 46 years in total, as many of you will know I retired at the end of 2021. I would like to suggest this gives me an ideal view from my armchair to respond to the great question about what makes a classic in our business posed in our recent article What Modern Studio Equipment Will Become Classic? and why I believe we will see a lot fewer classics in the future.

For me, one of the characteristics of a classic is an item that people aspire to own. Another is that it’s a tool that excels at what it does. That could be by design or by accident. An example of the latter could be the Pultec EQ trick, it works because the filter shapes are different, and an example of the former could be the Neve 2254 compressor limiter, it was a really good compressor limiter, especially in its day. 

A third characteristic of what it takes to be considered a classic is that it needs to have stood the test of time. And herein lies the number one challenge for any software to ever be considered a classic. Software by its very nature is transitory. Either because it's updated every so often as it is developed and improved, or it becomes redundant because it no longer runs on the latest operating system or computer hardware.

The shift in emphasis from hardware to software, which has revolutionised our industry and made it so much more accessible, means that there is so much less new hardware being produced, to be in the frame to be considered as a classic. In addition more and more of the hardware we buy is a platform are tools to support the software we now largely depend on. Things like interfaces, screens and storage devices. But there are more. 

For example, consider the large format console.  With the move to a computer-based solution, which initially was a tape replacement tool, the DAW has become the mixer as well as the tape machine and given us so much more flexibility in what we can do than tape and an analog console could ever do. 

The upshot of this change is that the look of our workplace has changed significantly. For some, the centre of the studio changed from an analog console, necessary to manage, process and bring together all the elements from different sources, to a computer, doing the same thing. For me, when I moved from analog to digital and then to a DAW, I went from various analog desks, starting with the one I designed and built from scratch to a Yamaha ProMix 01 digital desk before switching to a DAW, firstly an Apple LC475 with DECK software, before switching to Pro Tools with a Nubus TDM 16 track system. I grew up using a DAW, long before control surfaces were dreamed of, and I also valued a clear desktop, (real, not a computer) for all the scripts and other paperwork needed to work on a project. 

For others, although the computer has become the centre of the workflow, the large format console has been replaced with a large-format control surface because hands-on access to be able to control all the elements of a mix, means that is the best solution for them. That said, I wonder whether as a result of the pandemic and the need to work from home, using small desktop control surfaces with as much as possible in-the-box, the large-format control surface will remain as popular post-pandemic. Time will tell. In my opinion, all these changes in the way we work and the tools we use, mean that classics are going to be a lot less common than they used to be.

These days, I would suggest that classics are turning points or milestones, rather than signs of successful longevity. The interface, which was a significant improvement on what had come before, the control surface that opened up a new way of working, and the jump in the performance of a computer, makes it possible to work in a different way. These are all turning points, but will inevitably be superseded by the next turning point.

The same could be said for software. For example, iZotope RX, was undoubtedly a turning point, especially in the post sector, but it continues to be improved and able to do more and more as iZotope releases each version.  There are others, which I invite you to share in the comments below.

But I cannot see the number of classics being significant from now on. Turning points or milestones yes, but classics, not so much. 

Some turning points in my mind, beyond iZotope RX, would include Pro Tools. In the early days, it was revolutionary in what it enabled us to do, however, nowadays others have caught up and in some areas surpassed Pro Tools. Another turning point is undoubtedly ARA, which supersedes any one specific DAW, by improving signal processing workflow.

Coming back to the post world, which is the one I know the best, other turning points for me have been Matchbox from The Cargo Cult for improving AAF and reconforming workflows, Auto-Align Post for syncing up multiple audio sources and Video Sync (formerly known as Video Slave, for handling video playback with DAWs.

For music production, pitch correction has been a real turning point, led initially by Antares, but back in the day my preference for natural and invisible pitch correction was Pitch Doctor by Wave Mechanics (now Soundtoys), which was lost to me when Soundtoys chose not to convert it to AAX, another example of good software’s life being cut short by a change in the framework around it, which rarely happens with hardware. Nowadays Melodyne from Celemony is a major market leader in this sector. But I would argue that none of these products would ever be considered a classic in the same way that say a Universal Audio 1176 is held. 

You may disagree with me, in which case let’s have a constructive debate in the comments below.