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Sunday October 6th, 2002
Gibson Guitar to make MaGIC with 3Com, AMD and Xilinx
Birth of digital guitar ushers in 'convergence' and solves the Last Mile
Gibson Guitar has joined with three of the most important companies in the technology industry 3Com, AMD and Xilinx to revolutionize the way audio and video information is accessed using Gibsons MaGIC digital transport protocol.
Slash and Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz with digital guitar at AES booth
Gibson celebrated at the AES show in Los Angeles by announcing the first digital electric guitar, which will use technology from 3Com and Xilinx and will eventually interface with a digital audio workstation that incorporates expertise from AMD and 3Com.
MaGIC, developed by Gibson Labs, the guitar companys technology division, provides a connectivity standard that will bring about a convergence of the computer, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries.
Its Convergence Meets the Last Mile, explained Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Computers, telecommunications and consumer electronics have developed their own separate, high-bandwidth highways, but for the average consumer, theres no entrance ramp to these highways. With the expertise and support of 3Com, AMD and Xilinx, we will use MaGIC to replace a variety of different ways of accessing audio and video information with one connector and a system which instantly configures itself to what ever form the audio or video information takes. Like the guitar, you plug it in, and it works.
MaGIC will revolutionize the way media information is transmitted in content creation, post production and editing, and in the consumer home, Juszkiewicz added. The world needs MaGIC. Its the right technology at the right time.
3Com is known for delivering innovative connectivity solutions based on Ethernet technology, said James Ticknor, vice president and general manager, Connectivity Division, 3Com Corporation. Our products, combined with Gibsons MaGIC protocol, deliver practical technology that enables new, exciting applications.
AMD processors used for producing high resolution audio represent another facet of AMD product uptake in end-to-end digital production, and were excited that the Gibson brand will be based on our technology, said Ed Ellett, VP of AMD Marketing for Desktops and Workstations.
Xilinx FPGA technology is helping to shape the future of the digital age by harnessing the flexibility of a programmable device at cost points available to consumer products, said Clay Johnson, vice president and general manager of the General Products division at Xilinx. Gibsons bleeding edge MaGIC technology is a perfect example of our desire to bring the digital age to the consumer market.
Gibsons MaGIC short for Media-accelerated Global Information Carrier makes standard Cat-5 Ethernet cable act like a super cable, capable of carrying up to 32 channels of 32-bit, 48 kHz uncompressed digital sound in both directions (64 channels total), with a control stream 100 times as powerful as MIDI over a single wire. It eliminates latency and jitter, allowing professional real-time sync of hundreds of instruments and devices (250 s point-to-point latency over 100 meters).
MaGIC grew out of Gibson Labs ten years of research and development of a digital electric guitar, but its applications are virtually unlimited. Gibson has made MaGIC non-proprietary to promote unrestricted development of new applications.
Gibson, headquartered in Nashville, was founded in 1894 and is the only musical instrument company to have established industry-standard models in every style of fretted instrument. The Gibson Les Paul guitar is recognized around the world as an icon for rock and roll music. Gibson Labs, the companys technology division, has offices in Redondo Beach and Sunnyvale, CA, and has developed innovative sound reinforcement products as well as the award-winning digital transport protocol. For more information please visit www.gibson.com or labs.gibson.com.
3Com is a tier-one provider of innovative, practical and high-value networking products for enterprise customers. 3Com is also a leader in Internet protocol (IP) service platforms and access infrastructure for the network service provider market. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poors 500 company, produces microprocessors, flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. AMD was founded in 1969 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information please visit labs.amd.com.
Xilinx is the leading innovator of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as cores, and unparalleled field engineering support. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Xilinx invented the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and fulfills more than half of the world demand for these devices today. For more information please visit labs.xilinx.com.
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