5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF

GAMECHANGER AUDIO

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

It's been 5 years already and we'd love to look back at them with you!

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

Here's the story!

In the early days of music tech - each new piece and design idea had the power to spark a new wave of musical expression - sometimes even creating whole new subgenres of music.
Today we have an abundance of musical tools and devices, and yet here at Gamechanger Audio, we've always been convinced that there are still many undiscovered electronic ideas and musical instruments out there in the ether, just waiting to be brought to life.

That is why we gave ourselves the bold name “Gamechanger Audio” - so it serves as a constant reminder that each new product is a challenge to create something that’s never been done before.

We started out in 2015 with an idea to build a piano-style sustain pedal for guitars and all melodic instruments, and over the years, Gamechanger Audio has become one of the most standout brands in the industry.

THE BEGINNING

Like all great things, Gamechanger Audio was born out of a mixture of passion, dedication, friendship and optimism.

“It’s gonna be called PLUS, it's gonna look like a piano pedal and it’s gonna produce the same sustain / sostenuto effect but only for guitars and bass.”

As anyone who's played in trios knows - filling up spaces between individual lines can often be a real struggle, and even clever use of delay and reverb can only do so much...

Kristaps and Martins like the PLUS Pedal idea a lot and agree to come on board. A handshake seals the deal and the guys agree to start building this thing...

Back in 2015 – after three years of music studies (and struggles) in London, guitarist Ilja Krumins moves back to Riga, Latvia with an idea to start a music technology company. After spending 6 months on his first project (an automatic BIGSBY tremolo arm) Ilja meets Kristaps Kalva and Martins Melkis – two new players on the local Rockabilly scene – only to discover that their primary occupation is in electronics and engineering.

The guys immediately head to the local pub (Leningrad Cafe) to get pints and discuss a new type of guitar effect - something that has been brewing in Ilja’s imagination for a while.

The following week the guys set up a basic workspace in Ilja's apartment and the development process begins: weekday evenings 7pm - 12:00pm and throughout the weekends. Martins begins writing the code, Kristaps starts drawing the PCB’s while Ilja keeps the coffee and ideas flowing.

To achieve the PLUS Pedal’s final design, Ilja brings on board a local artist and mechanical engineer Fricis Kalvelis - together they go through multiple stages of mechanical design, prototyping, and graphic design.

“We can probably build this in like 2-3 months.”

November 2016

It’s been 15 months of software development, engineering work and multiple iterations of the pedal’s mechanical design - the first two hand-built PLUS Pedal units with a playable firmware are finally ready.

The guys have already been test-driving the early prototypes with local players for a while, but now it was the right time to get feedback from bigger artists - the guys manage to show the PLUS Pedal to John Scofield & Avi Bortnick, Tommy Emmanuel and Kurt Rosenwinkel. At this point it became clear that the PLUS Pedal needs to go to market.

Ilja invites his former school-mate, the business-savvy Didzis Dubovskis to join the team and thus become the fourth founding member of Gamechanger Audio.

The company was officially registered in Riga, Latvia in December 2016.

SUPPORTED BY

Gamechanger Audio Ltd is supported by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Agreement No SKV-L- 2017/28 19.01.2017.

Gamechanger Audio Ltd is supported by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia within the framework of ERDF Project No. 3.1.1.6/16/I/001 on Creative Industries Incubators.

SIA “Gamechanger Audio” īsteno pētniecības projektu Latvijas Atveseļošanas un noturības mehānisma plāna 5.1.r. reformu un investīciju virziena “Produktivitātes paaugstināšana caur investīciju apjoma palielināšanu P&A” 5.1.1.r. reformas “Inovāciju pārvaldība un privāto P&A investīciju motivācija” 5.1.1.2.i. investīcijas “Atbalsta instruments inovāciju klasteru attīstībai”; īstenošanas noteikumu kompetences centru ietvaros.

Pētniecības projekta numurs un nosaukums: Nr. 1.5 – “Jauna ģitāras efektu pedāļu sērijas izstrāde, kuras darbība balstīta uz inovatīva, skaitļošanas ziņā efektīva apliecējas un nots augstuma noteikšanas algoritma darbību”.

Projekts Nr. 5.1.1.2.i.0/1/22/A/CFLA/002
Pētniecības projekta mērķis ir izstrādāt jaunu SIA “Gamechanger Audio” ģitāras efektu pedāļu sēriju, kuras darbība balstīta uz inovatīva, skaitļošanas ziņā efektīva apliecējas un nots augstuma noteikšanas algoritma (envelope follower, pitch detection) darbību.
Laika posmā no 01.01.2023.-30.06.2023. īstenotas divas rūpnieciskā pētījuma aktivitātes: Nr.1 – “Apliecējas un nots augstuma (envelope and pitch detection) algoritma izstrāde” un Nr.2 – “Algoritma platformas efekta prototipa elektronikas shēmu, spiesto plašu (PCB) un mehānikas daļas projektēšana”, kā arī uzsākta eksperimentālās izstrādnes aktivitātes Nr.3 – “Vadības un efektu plašu (PCB) prototipa izgatavošana, pārbaude un pielāgošana, mehāniskā risinājuma (korpusa) izgatavošana” īstenošana.

Attiecīgi pārskata periodā sasniegti sekojoši rezultāti:
 “Izstrādāts efektīvs apliecējas un nots augstuma noteikšanas algoritms, kas paredzēts darboties uz ekonomiski izdevīgas platformas šajā produktu cenu kategorijā”;
 “Izstrādāta shēma un spiestās plates (PCB) dokumentācija (ražošanas faili) algoritma platformas prototipam un efekta elektronikas daļai, kā arī dokumentācija (ražošanas faili) prototipa mehāniskajai daļai.”;
 Izveidoti divi fiziski korpusu modeļi izmantojot uzņēmuma rīcībā esošu 3D printeri;
 Izgatavoti zemu izmaksu spiesto plašu pirmās iterācijas prototipi atbilstoši izvēlētajai arhitektūrai laboratorijas apstākļos;
 izgatavota universālāka, bet mazāk optimāla galvenā plate, kas atbalsta savietojamību ar divām
dažādām priekšējā paneļa spiestajam platēm.
Aktivitātes Nr.3. īstenošanu paredzēts pabeigt līdz 2023.g. septembrim.

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF

GAMECHANGER AUDIO

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

It's been 5 years already and we'd love to look back at them with you!

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

Here's the story!

THE BEGINNING

SUPPORTED BY

USEFUL INFORMATION

CONTACT US

Curious?

Leave your email to receive news and subscriber-only deals!

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF

GAMECHANGER AUDIO

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.It's been 5 years already and we'd love to look back at them with you!

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

Here's the story!

THE BEGINNING

SUPPORTED BY

USEFUL INFORMATION

CONTACT US

Curious?

Leave your email to receive news and subscriber-only deals!

Gamechanger Audio is a team of musicians and engineers out on a mission to bring more innovation, creativity and originality into modern musical devices.

It's been 5 years already and we'd love to look back at them with you!