Harrison Audio Consoles
Encyclopedia
Harrison Audio Consoles is an international company based in Nashville, Tennessee
that manufactures mixing consoles and other audio technologies for the post-production
, video production
, broadcast, sound reinforcement
and music recording
industries. The company is renowned as an industry innovation for its "inline" mixing console design that has subsequently become the standard for nearly every large format music console. Over 1,500 Harrison consoles have been installed worldwide, presenting a significant percentage of the overall world market share for high-end audio consoles. The company founder, Dave Harrison, was inducted as a Fellow in the Audio Engineering Society
for this technical contribution of the recording industry and in particular the first 32-bus "in-line" console.
, then a manufacturer of tape recorder and record electronics equipment. In 1972 he approached company CEO Jeep Harned with a concept for an inline mixing console that simplified the incorporation of multitrack recorders
into a console signal path. The Harrison-designed MCI JH400 series console was the world's first commercially available inline console. Realising the importance of his innovation to multitrack production in both the recording and film industries, Harrison established the manufacturing company, Harrison Consoles.
During the first decade of its existence, Harrison Consoles produced a series of popular consoles for the film, music, broadcast TV markets. In 1975 the company introduced its first product, the Harrison 3232, and the first 32 series product. This was followed by the PP-1 film console, the MR-2, MR-3, and MR-4 music recording consoles, the TV-3, TV-4 broadcast consoles, the HM-5 live console, the Raven music recording console, and the Air-7/Pro-7 broadcast and production consoles. These fully analog console designs continued into the 1990s, while the digital revolution was taking place. During this period of rapid digital development, Harrison still continued to produce analog consoles (often with some digital elements) such as the AIR 790/PRO 790 broadcast and production consoles, AP-100 on-air production console, the MR-20 music console, the industry workhorse TV-950 and Pro-950 production consoles, and finally the TV5.1 surround-capable broadcast console.
In 1985 Harrison introduced its SeriesTen, the world’s first totally mixer with console automation
. The SeriesTen used only 3 knobs above each channel strip to "page" between various functions of the console. By separating the knob from the actual audio signal, it was possible to instantly save and recall the settings of the console, without mechanically turning the knobs on the surface. At the time this was unheard of, but it has now become a ubiquitous feature of every digital console on the market. Perhaps proving that the SeriesTen was ahead of its time, many SeriesTen console were still in use in 2009.
ABBA
produced all their hits on their Harrison console at Polar Studios
. The a capella introduction to Kansas
' Carry On Wayward Son
was recorded from Harrison console preamps directly to tape. Throughout the 1980s, seminal music works were mixed on Harrison consoles: Michael Jackson
's Thriller
and Bad
albums were both mixed on a Harrison console by Bruce Swedien
. Janet Jackson
's Rhythm Nation
was mixed on a Harrison SeriesTen, And Sade
's album Promise
and her prior hit song Smooth Operator
were recorded and mixed on a Harrison console.
In 1989 Harrison Systems was acquired by GLW Incorporated. GLW's first product introduction was the release of the SeriesTenB, an updated version of the SeriesTen utilizing a powerful Mac-based automation system coupled with new video interactive graphics for display of console information and the control of console functions through the use of an interactive video screen. The company's technological advances accelerated in the 1990s as additional resources were dedicated to research and development. The first fruits of these efforts was the introduction in 1992 of the fully automated Harrison MPC (Motion Picture Console) followed shortly thereafter by the debut of its sister console, the fully automated Harrison SeriesTwelve.
The Series10 technology was advanced in a follow-up product for film, the MPC. The MPC was a control surface that remotely controlled the audio processing racks. This separation of the control surface from the audio racks allowed the audio processing racks to be placed in the machine rooms, thus allowing for sleeker, cooler, and more acoustic-friendly control surface designs tailored to fit the needs and applications of each individual user. Additional technologies such as automated, motorized joysticks and advanced monitoring features were also incorporated into the MPC.
The Harrison SeriesTenB with its new automation system and interactive video graphics was recipient in 1991 of the coveted Mix Foundation Technical Achievements Award for Console Technology, the TEC Award. Shortly thereafter, the first MPC was installed at Sony Pictures
in Hollywood in 1992, the first truly fully automated large format film re-recording console. The MPC was designed in a tight collaboration with Jeff Taylor, chief engineer at Sony Pictures, and many film and post-production mixers. The ongoing relationship between Harrison and Sony Pictures Post Production Facilities in Hollywood has resulted in the purchase of thirteen massive, fully automated MPC consoles by Sony.
During the late 1990s there was a clear demand for a digital processing engine which could satisfy the need for increased channel counts that were becoming possible with new digital production techniques. Harrison developed the digital. engine, a powerful DSP mixing and routing engine that could provide 768 fully resourced channels and thousands of input and output signals. The digital. engine was designed to retrofit existing analog MPC or Series12 consoles with a new digital backend. Many Harrison customer upgraded their existing consoles to the new engine because it was cost effective and did not incur the "down time" of replacing an entire console.
Harrison continued its technological advancements and was awarded another TEC Award in 1999, this time for Outstanding Technical Achievement in Sound Reinforcement Console Technology. This award was granted to the Harrison LPC (Live Performance Console). The LPC console was co-developed with touring sound company Showco
to create a no-compromise sound reinforcement console. Taking advantage of Harrison's digitally controlled-analog technology, and a newly developed IKIS automation engine, the LPC was designed with motorized potentiometers for every console parameter. Similar to Harrison's motorized joysticks, the motorized potentiometers allowed the user of the console to work in an intuitive way, while providing all the benefits of digital surfaces such as instant recall.
In 2000, Harrison was awarded a patent for their use of automated, motorized panning joysticks. This technology has been licensed to other console manufacturers.
During the early 2000s, increasingly complicated audio productions drove the adoption of TFT screens into the meter bridges of digital consoles. Harrison developed linux-based TFT screens that simultaneously show EQ curves, panning, auxes, metering, bus assignments and dynamics. In addition, a new PreView waveform technology was developed for the screens. This technology allows users to see cues before and after they happen, much like the waveform views on a workstation. This feature was incorporated into the MPC4-D. The MPC4-D has been adopted by premiere film dubbing stages around the world, such as Universal Studios
(Hollywood), CinePostproduction (Munich), MosFilm (Moscow), Shree Balaji (Mumbai), and Deluxe (Toronto).
Many international blockbuster films have been mixed on Harrison Consoles: Transformers 1 and 2, Spider-Man 1 through 3, Jurassic Park
, Pearl Harbor
, Harry Potter
, The Passion of the Christ
and Amélie
are some examples. Television shows The Simpsons
, 24
, and CSI
are mixed on a Harrison console.
In 2004, a new cost-effective version of the Series12 multi-purpose console surface was developed: the Trion. The Trion uses Universal Serial Bus
(USB) connectivity and other non-proprietary hardware. The Air24 was also developed using the same technology for on-air radio broadcast. The new smaller surfaces needed a smaller processing engine, so the Xrange "native" processing system was developed for use in all Harrison products. The Xrange uses Linux and off-the-shelf computers instead of the proprietary systems common to previous-generation consoles. A Harrison console system is made up by the combination of an application-specific console surface (MPC, Trion or Air24), along with a processing engine (Xrange), and an automation computer (IKIS). Each of the three pieces (surface, processing, and automation) are updated regularly by Harrison to accommodate new technologies.
Harrison has adopted Linux as the underlying technology for all of their products. The automation system, console surfaces, DSP processing, and audio routing all incorporate Linux at some level. Harrison has also collaborated with open-source developers on their Xdubber and Harrison Mixbus
products which is based on the Ardour open-source workstation.
Westlake Audio Studios - Michael Jackson 'Thriller'
Rusk studios - The Runaways, Village People, Donna Summer, Laura Brannigan, Elton John
Flyte Tyme - Janet Jackson 'Rhythm Nation'
Power Plant - Sade, Fine Young Cannibals
Polar (Stockholm) -ABBA, Led Zeppelin, Genesis
Musicland Studios (Munich) - Giorgio Moroder, Queen, ELO, Rolling Stones
Amigo, Image
TheEndStudios (Lund Sweden) Billy Cobham, Big Elf, The Knife, Hoffmaestro, Thåstöm, Bob Hund, Bergman Rock, Calle Real,
Film & Post
Sony Pictures Entertainment - Pearl Harbor, Spiderman series, Transformers series, The Simpsons
Universal Studios -U-571, Law and Order
MosFilm (Moscow)
ARRI (Munich)
CinePostproduction (Munich)
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
that manufactures mixing consoles and other audio technologies for the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
, video production
Video production
Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...
, broadcast, sound reinforcement
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...
and music recording
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
industries. The company is renowned as an industry innovation for its "inline" mixing console design that has subsequently become the standard for nearly every large format music console. Over 1,500 Harrison consoles have been installed worldwide, presenting a significant percentage of the overall world market share for high-end audio consoles. The company founder, Dave Harrison, was inducted as a Fellow in the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
for this technical contribution of the recording industry and in particular the first 32-bus "in-line" console.
History
Harrison came to the recording industry after working for 5 years in recording equipment retail. In the early 1970s he acquired a dealership for Music Center IncorporatedMusic Center Incorporated
Music Center Incorporated is the former name of a United States manufacturer of professional audio equipment that operated from 1955 till 1982 when it was acquired by the Sony Corporation...
, then a manufacturer of tape recorder and record electronics equipment. In 1972 he approached company CEO Jeep Harned with a concept for an inline mixing console that simplified the incorporation of multitrack recorders
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
into a console signal path. The Harrison-designed MCI JH400 series console was the world's first commercially available inline console. Realising the importance of his innovation to multitrack production in both the recording and film industries, Harrison established the manufacturing company, Harrison Consoles.
During the first decade of its existence, Harrison Consoles produced a series of popular consoles for the film, music, broadcast TV markets. In 1975 the company introduced its first product, the Harrison 3232, and the first 32 series product. This was followed by the PP-1 film console, the MR-2, MR-3, and MR-4 music recording consoles, the TV-3, TV-4 broadcast consoles, the HM-5 live console, the Raven music recording console, and the Air-7/Pro-7 broadcast and production consoles. These fully analog console designs continued into the 1990s, while the digital revolution was taking place. During this period of rapid digital development, Harrison still continued to produce analog consoles (often with some digital elements) such as the AIR 790/PRO 790 broadcast and production consoles, AP-100 on-air production console, the MR-20 music console, the industry workhorse TV-950 and Pro-950 production consoles, and finally the TV5.1 surround-capable broadcast console.
In 1985 Harrison introduced its SeriesTen, the world’s first totally mixer with console automation
Console automation
Modern digital audio consoles or mixers use automation. Automation allows the console to remember the audio engineer's adjustment of faders during the post-production editing process. A timecode is necessary for synchronization of automation.- Types of Automation :...
. The SeriesTen used only 3 knobs above each channel strip to "page" between various functions of the console. By separating the knob from the actual audio signal, it was possible to instantly save and recall the settings of the console, without mechanically turning the knobs on the surface. At the time this was unheard of, but it has now become a ubiquitous feature of every digital console on the market. Perhaps proving that the SeriesTen was ahead of its time, many SeriesTen console were still in use in 2009.
ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
produced all their hits on their Harrison console at Polar Studios
Polar Studios
Polar Studios is one of the most famous recording studios in Scandinavia. Originally located in a former movie theater from 1934 at Sankt Eriksgatan 58-60 on Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden, Polar Studios was founded by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA in 1977 and had its grand opening on...
. The a capella introduction to Kansas
Kansas (band)
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
' Carry On Wayward Son
Carry On Wayward Son
"Carry on Wayward Son" is a progressive rock single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming their first Top 40 hit....
was recorded from Harrison console preamps directly to tape. Throughout the 1980s, seminal music works were mixed on Harrison consoles: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
and Bad
Bad (album)
Bad is the seventh studio album by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic/CBS Records, nearly five years after Jackson's previous studio album, Thriller, which went on to become the world's best-selling album...
albums were both mixed on a Harrison console by Bruce Swedien
Bruce Swedien
Bruce Swedien is a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer and music producer. He is known for his work with Quincy Jones.Swedien is a five-time Grammy winner and has been nominated 13 times. He recorded, mixed, and assisted in producing the best-sold album in the world, Thriller by Michael Jackson...
. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's Rhythm Nation
Rhythm Nation
"Rhythm Nation" is the second single from American R&B and pop singer Janet Jackson's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 .-Background:...
was mixed on a Harrison SeriesTen, And Sade
Sade Adu
Helen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...
's album Promise
Promise (Sade album)
Promise is the second studio album by the English group Sade. It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 November 1985 by Epic Records and in the United States on 21 December 1985 by Portrait Records....
and her prior hit song Smooth Operator
Smooth Operator
"Smooth Operator" is a song by the English group Sade, released as the fourth and final single from their debut album Diamond Life . It was released as a 7" single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12" maxi single with "Smooth Operator" and "Red Eye" on side A and "Spirit" on side B...
were recorded and mixed on a Harrison console.
In 1989 Harrison Systems was acquired by GLW Incorporated. GLW's first product introduction was the release of the SeriesTenB, an updated version of the SeriesTen utilizing a powerful Mac-based automation system coupled with new video interactive graphics for display of console information and the control of console functions through the use of an interactive video screen. The company's technological advances accelerated in the 1990s as additional resources were dedicated to research and development. The first fruits of these efforts was the introduction in 1992 of the fully automated Harrison MPC (Motion Picture Console) followed shortly thereafter by the debut of its sister console, the fully automated Harrison SeriesTwelve.
The Series10 technology was advanced in a follow-up product for film, the MPC. The MPC was a control surface that remotely controlled the audio processing racks. This separation of the control surface from the audio racks allowed the audio processing racks to be placed in the machine rooms, thus allowing for sleeker, cooler, and more acoustic-friendly control surface designs tailored to fit the needs and applications of each individual user. Additional technologies such as automated, motorized joysticks and advanced monitoring features were also incorporated into the MPC.
The Harrison SeriesTenB with its new automation system and interactive video graphics was recipient in 1991 of the coveted Mix Foundation Technical Achievements Award for Console Technology, the TEC Award. Shortly thereafter, the first MPC was installed at Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
in Hollywood in 1992, the first truly fully automated large format film re-recording console. The MPC was designed in a tight collaboration with Jeff Taylor, chief engineer at Sony Pictures, and many film and post-production mixers. The ongoing relationship between Harrison and Sony Pictures Post Production Facilities in Hollywood has resulted in the purchase of thirteen massive, fully automated MPC consoles by Sony.
During the late 1990s there was a clear demand for a digital processing engine which could satisfy the need for increased channel counts that were becoming possible with new digital production techniques. Harrison developed the digital. engine, a powerful DSP mixing and routing engine that could provide 768 fully resourced channels and thousands of input and output signals. The digital. engine was designed to retrofit existing analog MPC or Series12 consoles with a new digital backend. Many Harrison customer upgraded their existing consoles to the new engine because it was cost effective and did not incur the "down time" of replacing an entire console.
Harrison continued its technological advancements and was awarded another TEC Award in 1999, this time for Outstanding Technical Achievement in Sound Reinforcement Console Technology. This award was granted to the Harrison LPC (Live Performance Console). The LPC console was co-developed with touring sound company Showco
Showco
Showco is a sound equipment provider of touring sound reinforcement equipment and services to the concert touring industry. It is based in Dallas, Texas....
to create a no-compromise sound reinforcement console. Taking advantage of Harrison's digitally controlled-analog technology, and a newly developed IKIS automation engine, the LPC was designed with motorized potentiometers for every console parameter. Similar to Harrison's motorized joysticks, the motorized potentiometers allowed the user of the console to work in an intuitive way, while providing all the benefits of digital surfaces such as instant recall.
In 2000, Harrison was awarded a patent for their use of automated, motorized panning joysticks. This technology has been licensed to other console manufacturers.
During the early 2000s, increasingly complicated audio productions drove the adoption of TFT screens into the meter bridges of digital consoles. Harrison developed linux-based TFT screens that simultaneously show EQ curves, panning, auxes, metering, bus assignments and dynamics. In addition, a new PreView waveform technology was developed for the screens. This technology allows users to see cues before and after they happen, much like the waveform views on a workstation. This feature was incorporated into the MPC4-D. The MPC4-D has been adopted by premiere film dubbing stages around the world, such as Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
(Hollywood), CinePostproduction (Munich), MosFilm (Moscow), Shree Balaji (Mumbai), and Deluxe (Toronto).
Many international blockbuster films have been mixed on Harrison Consoles: Transformers 1 and 2, Spider-Man 1 through 3, Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
, Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
, The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
and Amélie
Amélie
Amélie is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre...
are some examples. Television shows The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, and CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
are mixed on a Harrison console.
In 2004, a new cost-effective version of the Series12 multi-purpose console surface was developed: the Trion. The Trion uses Universal Serial Bus
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
(USB) connectivity and other non-proprietary hardware. The Air24 was also developed using the same technology for on-air radio broadcast. The new smaller surfaces needed a smaller processing engine, so the Xrange "native" processing system was developed for use in all Harrison products. The Xrange uses Linux and off-the-shelf computers instead of the proprietary systems common to previous-generation consoles. A Harrison console system is made up by the combination of an application-specific console surface (MPC, Trion or Air24), along with a processing engine (Xrange), and an automation computer (IKIS). Each of the three pieces (surface, processing, and automation) are updated regularly by Harrison to accommodate new technologies.
Harrison has adopted Linux as the underlying technology for all of their products. The automation system, console surfaces, DSP processing, and audio routing all incorporate Linux at some level. Harrison has also collaborated with open-source developers on their Xdubber and Harrison Mixbus
Harrison Mixbus
Harrison Mixbus is a digital audio workstation which can record, edit, play, and mix multiple tracks of mono and stereo audio. Mixbus is based on the Ardour DAW but is sold and marketed commercially by Harrison Audio Consoles...
products which is based on the Ardour open-source workstation.
Selected Users
MusicWestlake Audio Studios - Michael Jackson 'Thriller'
Rusk studios - The Runaways, Village People, Donna Summer, Laura Brannigan, Elton John
Flyte Tyme - Janet Jackson 'Rhythm Nation'
Power Plant - Sade, Fine Young Cannibals
Polar (Stockholm) -ABBA, Led Zeppelin, Genesis
Musicland Studios (Munich) - Giorgio Moroder, Queen, ELO, Rolling Stones
Amigo, Image
TheEndStudios (Lund Sweden) Billy Cobham, Big Elf, The Knife, Hoffmaestro, Thåstöm, Bob Hund, Bergman Rock, Calle Real,
Film & Post
Sony Pictures Entertainment - Pearl Harbor, Spiderman series, Transformers series, The Simpsons
Universal Studios -U-571, Law and Order
MosFilm (Moscow)
ARRI (Munich)
CinePostproduction (Munich)
Company Timeline
- 1971 Company founder Dave Harrison, creates the "in-line" audio console commercialized by MCIMusic Center IncorporatedMusic Center Incorporated is the former name of a United States manufacturer of professional audio equipment that operated from 1955 till 1982 when it was acquired by the Sony Corporation...
- 1975 Harrison Systems established
- 1975 3232, the world’s first 32-bus, in-line recording console introduced
- 1979 The PP-1 film console introduced
- 1981 MR-2 music recording console introduced
- 1982 MR-3 music recording/TV-3 broadcast console introduced
- 1983 MR-43 music recording/TV-4 introduced
- 1983 HM-5/ live performance SM-5 house monitor and stage monitor introduced
- 1983 Raven music recording console introduced
- 1984 Air-7/Pro-7 on air radio broadcast and production consoles introduced
- 1984 HM-4/SM-4 live performance house monitor and stage monitor consoles introduced
- 1985 SeriesTen, the world’s first totally automated console introduced.
- 1986 AIR 790/PRO 790 on air radio broadcast and production consoles introduced
- 1986 "Real time" interactive graphics offered as an option for the SeriesTenB
- 1987 AP-100 on air micro processor controlled radio broadcast console introduced
- 1987 MR-20 music recording introduced
- 1989 Harrison is acquired by GLW Incorporated
- 1989 SeriesTenB with new Mac based automation
- 1990 VIC – "real time" interactive video graphic display/control introduced for SeriesTenB
- 1991 Harrison implements remote, digitally controlled audio
- 1992 MPC, Motion Picture Console introduced
- 1994 SeriesTwelve multi format introduced
- 1995 TV-950 broadcast console introduced
- 1995 Pro-950 production console introduced
- 1996 TV950 honored at NAB as Editors’ Pick of Show for new product introductions
- 1996 Automated, motorized joystick introduced (now patented by Harrison)
- 1998 TV 5.1 TV broadcast console with surround capability introduced
- 1998 LPC, Live Performance Console introduced
- 1998 digital.engine introduced, supporting 512 channels and 160 buss mixing at 40 bit
- 1998 digital.engine MADI router introduced, allowing up to 2240x2240 audio routing
- 2000 Harrison is awarded the patent for automated motorized joystick innovation
- 2001 TVD, Digital Broadcast Console introduced
- 2001 LPC, Digital, Live Performance Console introduced
- 2001 MPC2, Motion Picture Console introduced and honored with nomination for TEC AwardTEC AwardsThe TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings and concerts...
- 2002 TVD-SL, Introduction of the Digital Broadcast Console featuring heads-up displays
- 2002 Pro950EX Production console introduced
- 2002 IKIS, Introduction of the Harrison IKIS Digital Automation Platform
- 2002 MPC3-D, Digital Motion Picture Console upgrade to the IKIS Automation Platform
- 2004 MPC4-D, Introduction of the Digital Motion Picture Console with heads-up displays
- 2004 PreView displays introduced, displaying live audio waveforms from any source (patent pending)
- 2004 DTC Introduction of the Digital Tools Card with Film specific plug-ins
- 2005 Trion introduced, a Digital Audio Console with an analog feel and heads-up displays
- 2005 IKISdirect, DAW controller introduced for ProTools and Pyramix
- 2005 Serial Supervisor, redundant control system introduced
- 2006 Xrange, Stand-alone, Native, 64-bit Digital Processing Engine introduced
- 2006 Air 24/7, Small format On-Air console introduced
- 2006 Xdubber, destructive stem recorder for Film introduced.
- 2007 IKIS automation on Linux, and Xtools film-specific native processing tools introduced.
- 2008 Trion for Film introduced.
- 2009 Bricasti remote control added to IKISdirect.
- 2009 Mixbus Digital Audio Workstation for Music introduced. (nominated for TEC award)
- 2011 905m Analog Music Console introduced