With a reception recently held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Las Vegas (Nevada), attended by more than 250 audio industry figures, Freedman Electronics, the industrial group that houses brands such as RØDE Microphones, Event Electronics, Aphex and SoundField, kicked off the series of events with which it will celebrate its 50th anniversary. During the presentation, RØDE announced the launch of a whole series of innovative new mics.
RØDE founder Peter Freedman expressed his gratitude to the partners and friends gathered there, after which he presented a brief history of the company his parents Henry and Astrid Freedman started in 1967. "If my parents could see us today they would be very proud," said Freedman. "It's been a journey full of bright moments, but also dark shadows, such as when we went from being an installer and distributor of audio systems to a manufacturer and exporter of microphones. 2016 was the best year in our history, and with these new products and the developments we're working on in our Event and SoundField divisions, the next decade looks very promising. Stay tuned...."
To celebrate this milestone, RØDE has produced a 196-page book on the company's history titled "RØDE TRIP Street Side to Worldwide: Inside 50 Years of Freedman Electronics and RØDE Microphones." The book places the company's evolution in the context of the pro audio industry (from the Freedman family's roots in the United Kingdom and Sweden, their emigration to Sydney, Australia, in 1966 and the founding of the Freedman Electronics store the following year, to the company's eventful ups and downs until Peter began manufacturing and exporting microphones under the RØDE brand in 1993) and portrays the company's growth and the lessons learned along the long road traveled.
The new products announced at RØDEShow 2017 include the TFM-50, an omnidirectional tube microphone produced in collaboration with prestigious classical music producer Tony Faulkner; the NT-49 studio tube microphone; the NT-RV, an innovative tube ribbon microphone; and a new version of the NT-5 matched pair, with improved capsules.
The Australian company also announced major new additions to its range of on-camera microphones, which expands with the VideoMic Pro+, a high-quality shotgun mic, and the VideoMic SoundField, the first ambisonic on-camera microphone with 360º surround capabilities.
