Image-Line

Image-Line Software (commonly known as simply Image-Line) is a Belgian software company best known for its digital audio workstation program FL Studio[2] and related audio plugins such as Sytrus[3] and Harmor.[4] Image-Line was founded in 1994.[1] In 2007, Image-Line introduced Deckadance, a virtual DJ console application.[2] The company also produced EZGenerator, a template-based web editing program.[5]

Image-Line
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded1994 (1994)[1]
Belgium
HeadquartersGhent
Key people
Jean-Marie Cannie
(Founder, CTO)
Frank Van Biesen
(Founder, COO)
ProductsFL Studio / FL Studio Mobile
Deckadance
EZGenerator
Websiteimage-line.com

History

Early development

Image-Line was founded by Jean-Marie Cannie and Frank Van Biesen, who after seven years of creating stock market software for Pavell Software, decided in 1992 to branch into video games. Their first product was an adult video game based on Tetris, which they then offered on floppy disks in the ad section of Computer Magazine. Around this time CD-ROM games such as The 7th Guest were becoming popular, inspiring Van Biesen and Cannie to begin working with Private, one of the larger producers of adult video games at the time. Private released multiple Image-Line CD-ROM games, including Private Prison and Private Castle.[6][7] The company officially adopted the name Image-Line in 1994.[6]

Didier "Gol" Dambrin

Around the time they released the games for Private, IBM launched the "Da Vinci" contest where the first prizes were color laptops. Image-Line, which at the time had little money, won the contest in the multimedia category after reworking one of their game environments to fit the contest criteria.[6][7]

Image-Line took an interest in Didier "Gol" Dambrin, the developer who won the overall Da Vinci contest as well as the Game category. They hired the 19-year-old to work for them, and his first game for the company was the game Private Investigator. [6][7] Dambrin's next project for Image-Line was the platform game Eat This,[8] a shoot 'em up game that involved killing aliens.[7]

Other Image-Line developers created products such as the invoicing program Fact2000 and E-OfficeDirect, a content-based web tool that would a precursor to their later product EZGenerator.[6] Image-Line also topped the Belgian game charts 4 years in a row with their CD version of the Belgian TV game show Blokken.[6][7]

Audio software

In 1997 Dambrin gained an interest in music applications of the time such as Hammerhead and Rebirth 338, and developed a simple MIDI-only drum machine in an effort to merge the two products into a step sequencer that utilized both rows and steps. Dubbed FruityLoops 1.0, the program didn't fit with Image-Line's other product lines of the time. However, the demo version released in December 1997 became so popular that the number of downloads quickly overwhelmed the Image-Line servers.[6] To gather income to support their servers, Image-Line had Dambrin develop an EJay clone called FruityTracks. Image-Line then served as the program's OEM for Mattel. The program was released as Pro-DJ in France and the UK, and Radio 538 Music Machine in The Netherlands and Belgium.[6]

Image-Line continued to develop the FruityLoops application from a simple drum machine into a large and complex digital audio workstation. FruityLoops was eventually renamed FL Studio for branding purposes and to avoid a prolonged trademark dispute in the United States with Kelloggs.[6] FL Studio is now one of the most popular software production systems in the world, and Image-Line's flagship program.[2] A multitude of plug-ins have been developed by Image-Line to work with FL Studio, including synthesizers such as Sytrus and effects plugins such as Maximus and Edison.[2] In 2007 Image-Line released Deckadance, a DJ mixing program developed by programmer Arguru. Deckadance works as both a stand-alone program and as a FL Studio plugin.[9]

Other software

Beyond audio products, Image-Line developed and distributed EZGenerator, a software program for website design and maintenance. EZGenerator has won multiple awards since its release.[5]

Products
Software Release Notes
FL Studio 1998–present Image-Line's flagship digital audio workstation. The most recent major version is FL Studio 21, released on December 5, 2022.[10]
FL Studio Mobile 2011–present Released June 21, 2011, a version of FL Studio for iOS[11] and on April 17, 2013, for Android
Deckadance 2007–2015 A DJ console and mixing tool, similar to Scratch LIVE and Traktor. Version 2.43 is the most recent release from Image-Line.[12] Deckadance was sold to Stanton/Gibson in 2015. Their latest release is Deckadance 2.72[13]
EZGenerator 1998–2017 A template-based web editing program, and a natural progression of their earlier E-OfficeDirect program, EZGenerator has won numerous software awards.[5] No longer sold.
Fact2000 1997–2012 An invoicing and contact management program. No longer sold.
FruityTracks 1999–2000 A track mixing program. No longer sold (was integrated into FL Studio).
Video Games Release Notes
Porntris 1992 An erotic version of the popular Tetris game.[14][15]
Private Investigator 1996 Awarded 1996 Best Interactive Game at the AMEE Award Show in Las Vegas.[16]
Eat This 1998 A side-scrolling "run and gun" shooter computer game that involves killing aliens with machine guns. While the original release was 2-D, the later version had 30 minutes of 3D animated video.[8]
Blokken 1998–2001 A CD-ROM equivalent to the Belgian quiz show released in Belgium. The game topped the Belgian game charts 4 years in a row,[17] and was released in four versions. It has sold over 50,000 copies.[6]
Virtual Effects Release Notes
Gross Beat - A time-, pitch-, and volume-manipulation effect.
Maximus - Maximus is a multi-band audio limiter and compressor for mastering projects or tracks. It also serves as a noise gate, expander, ducker, and de-esser,[18]
Hardcore - A multi-effects suite of plugins designed to resemble guitarists' stompboxes.[19]
Juice Pack - A collection of Image-Line proprietary plugins ported to VST format for use in other music hosts. The contents of this pack has changed since its release; at the time of this writing it includes the Delay, Delay Bank, EQUO, Flangus, LovePhilter, Multiband Compressor, Notebook, Parametric EQ, Parametric EQ 2, Spectroman, Stereo Enhancer, Vocoder, Wave Candy, and Wave Shaper plugins.
Edison 2007–present[20] A wave editor in VST format that also function as a standalone program.
Pitcher - A real time pitch correction filter – similar to Antares Autotune.
NewTone - A piano roll pitch correction effect – similar to Melodyne.
Vocodex 2009–present[20] A digital vocoder developed by Didier Dambrin.[19]
Fruity Stereo Shaper 2009–present A stereo processor with a mixer for left/right channels and their inverted equivalents, and controls for channel delay and phase offset.[19]
Virtual Instruments Release Notes
Sytrus 2003–present[20] A hybrid, semi-modular synthesizer combining subtractive, additive, and FM synthesis.[20]
DirectWave 2005–present[20] A software sampler that provides sample recording, waveform editing, and DSP effects.[19]
SliceX 2008–present[20] A beat-slicing sampler for processing and re-arranging recorded drumloops.
Harmless 2009–present[21] Simplified additive synthesizer with a unique signal chain.[22]
Harmor 2011–present Advanced Version of Harmless along with waveform views, envelopes, LFOs, and modulation mappings from Sytrus.[4]
Toxic Biohazard - A virtual FM synthesizer similar to Sytrus.
Sawer - A vintage-modeling synthesizer; Sawer attempts to emulate old Soviet Union-era subtractive synthesizers.
Morphine - An easy-to-program additive synthesizer.[22]
PoiZone - An easy-to-program subtractive synthesizer.[22]
Ogun/Autogun 2009–present[20] Ogun is An advanced additive synthesizer specialized in creating metallic timbres, while Autogun – a free version of Ogun limited to semi-random preset generation.[22]
Sakura 2009–present[20] A physical-modeling synthesizer designed to emulate string instruments.
Drumaxx 2010–present Percussion synthesizer.[23]
Groove Machine 2011–present[24] Step sequencer with the ability to automate all parameters per-step.[25]
Wasp/Wasp XT 2002–present[26] A "broad" analogue emulation synthesizer, intended to emulate analogue synthesizers in general.[27]
SimSynth Live 2002–present[28] Three oscillator synthesizer with Oberheim-inspired SVF filter.[29]
DX10 2002–present[30] FM Synthesizer that features low CPU usage.[31]
DrumSynth Live 2007–present[32] Drum synthesizer based on two noise generators run through band pass filters. VSTi version of the standalone program by Maxim Digital Audio.[33]

See also

References
  1. "Image-Line Company Page". www.image-line.com/. Image Line. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  2. "Image-Line to Show FL-Studio 10 and other projects". Musikmesse. 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  3. "Sytrus". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  4. "Image Line - Harmor". Image Line. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  5. "EZGenerator Award Gallery". Image-Line. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  6. "Image-Line: A company history". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  7. "Interview with Jean-Marie Cannie". IMSTA. 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  8. "Eat This". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  9. Studio, F. L. "History". FL Studio. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  10. "FL Studio 21 Release ( 2022/12/05 )". Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  11. "What is FL Studio?". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  12. "Deckadance History". Image-Line. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  13. "Deckadance by Stanton/Gibson". Stanton/Gibson. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  14. "KVR: Forum Archive - try the new sytrus". KVR Audio. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  15. Jazzzy786 (December 1, 2006). "Porntris Review". Classic PC Games. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  16. "SEC Info - Private Media Group Inc - 424B3". SEC Info. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  17. "Blokken". Image-Line. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  18. "Maximus". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  19. "Editions". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  20. "Version History". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  21. "Image Line releases Harmless - Additive Subtractive Synthesizer". KVR Audio. KVR Audio. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  22. "Plugins". Deckadance. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  23. "FL Studio Features". Image-Line. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  24. "Image Line releases version 1.0.2 of Groove Machine". KVR Audio. KVR Audio. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  25. "Groove Machine by Image Line". KVR Audio. KVR Audio. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  26. "Image Line Wasp 2 VSTi released". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  27. "Wasp". Image-Line. Image Line. Archived from the original on 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  28. "Image Line SimSynth Live VSTi & DXi released". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  29. "SimSynth Live by Image Line". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  30. "PluginSpot/Image Line DX10 Released". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  31. "DX10 by Image Line". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  32. "Image Line releases DrumSynth Live VSTi". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
  33. "DrumSynth Live by Image Line". KVR Audio. KVR Audio.
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