About us
Get to know the people behind Panda Audio
Panda Audio
Panda Audio is a small, independent R&D company located in Budaörs, Hungary, primarily focusing on digital signal processing and embedded systems development for professional audio applications.
Panda is primarily developing products for Fishman Transducers in Boston, although over the years we have worked with AKAI Professional and Tascam . Our tasks usually include hardware/software system design, hardware/software prototype development and production firmware development.
We have been working with various microprocessors and microcontrollers, including Motorola 56300, Analog Devices 21xx and Blackfin BF532/BF523C, Hitachi/Renesas H8, STMicroelectronics STR7/STM32, austriamicrosystems AS3527 (ARM922TDMI), Texas Instruments MSP430 and Microchip PIC18F. We have expertise in implementing DSP algorithms in C and assembly, C/C++ programming for embedded systems, and real-time operating systems.
Recently we got involved in the development of several wireless MIDI products, like developing core software for the Fishman Triple Play , and our own midiBeam v2 wireless MIDI interface. Also, currently we are evaluating wireless audio technologies for professional audio applications. Our most recent product is the Future Impact bass guitar synthesizer and analog modeling MIDI expander.
András Szalay
András Szalay, has an M.Sc. in Physics from Kossuth University, Debrecen, Hungary (1976). He has also been a former member of the progressive rock group Panta Rhei.
With Panta Rhei he designed and built much of the band's equipment, including various analog synthesizers, and sequencers as well as mixing consoles and effects.
Engineering & Innovation Journey
- 1980 - 1985 - Chief Engineer, Muzix, Hungary
- 1986 - 1987 - Chief Engineer, Shadow, Germany
- 1988 - 1993 - Engineer, Wersi, Germany
- 1994 - 1997 - Chief Engineer, Blue Chip Music, Germany
- 1998 - 2005 - Chief Engineer, AKAI Professional, Japan
- 1998 - to date - Chief Engineer, Panda Audio Kft., Hungary
He has been the inventor and principal designer of the Sinclair ZX81-based MUZIX 81 sequencer and digital audio processor (1981). The system was widely used in Europe from Hungary (Gabor Presser, Omega, PR Computer) to Germany (Frank Farian) and the UK.
He also designed several guitar synthesizers: the first one for Shadow (1986), and later the neural net based AXON series for Blue Chip Music (1994). After Yamaha has licensed the technology of the AXON, András developed the processing engine of the Yamaha G50 guitar synthesizer.
At Wersi he was responsible for the design of ASICs and the development of system software for Wersi's CFP-1 digital piano. He also created several unique data compression algorithms for storing digital audio samples, based on the Karhunen-Loeve transform.
During the collaboration with AKAI Professional he has been Chief Software Engineer of the Hungarian engineering team and has been responsible for the design and development of several products of AKAI professional, like the electronics for the EWI Wind controllers.
He has invented the "Acoustic Imaging Technology", currently used in the Aura product line of Fishman Transducers.
He developed the Future Impact bass guitar synthesizer and the midiBeam 4Control MIDI Interface for analog controllers.
For a full list of all of András's designs over the years click here.
Press & publications on András Szalay's work
Zsolt Rammer
Zsolt Rammer joined Panda Audio early 2015. He has a very wide spectrum of activities covering practically everything in connection with the development of musical instruments, especially guitar effects. He can do hardware design, PCB design, building his own prototypes. But his most important activity is writing guitar effect algorithms and user interfaces on all possible platforms (PC, MAC, IOS). He released amazing guitar effect plugin series under the brand name audiorammer.
George Peng
George Peng joined Panda Audio formally in 2016, but he did the PCB and 3D mechanical design of all products and prototypes since 2010. Beyond these activities he has experience in hardware and software development and web programming. He is responsible for the production management of Panda Audio's own products.