Eye & I Productions was founded in 1986 by partners Mark L. Wiens and Paul D. Chasteen.
Since then, the company has become one of the world's leading sound development companies.
The Eye & I Productions Voice Crystal Sound Sets are selling in music stores world-wide.
Voice Crystal general midi sound sets have also shipped with some of the world's top personal computer
sound cards and sound chips.
The company started by producing sounds for the Ensoniq ESQ1 keyboard, and
now produces third-party keyboard synthesizer sounds for Roland, Ensoniq, Kurzweil, Yamaha, Emu, Kawai,
Alesis and Korg products. Eye & I Productions has created after market synthesizer sounds for some of
the world's top motion picture sound tracks including Twister, Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption,
The Lion King, Pocahantas and many more.
The Voice Crystal sounds have also been used in the United States'
leading television shows, including; Married With Children, Miami Vice, Home Improvement,
America's Most Wanted, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, 20/20, and more.
The Voice Crystal synthesizer sound card products have been used on top recording artist's albums world-wide.
Just to mention a few keyboard recording artists that use and endorse the Voice Crystal sound card products:
Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer,
Jan Hammer, Aerosmith, Yanni, and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
Voice Crystal also produces and manufactures retail audio CDs and CD-ROMs containing sound samples and loop
patterns developed by top studio musicians. These sounds are used by professionals and home consumers in
sampling keyboard units, disc jockey and computer systems.
Some of the professional musicians that have
developed the loops and patterns for Voice Crystal CD products include Frank Gambale of JVC Records,
Steve Reed of the Rippingtons, the recording group for G.R.P. Records, and Jonathan Moffet (the drummer
for Madonna, Elton John, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson).
In 1989, Eye & I Productions started developing different size Voice Crystal general midi sound sets.
The Voice Crystal 4Meg 16bit 44.1Khz, 2Meg 16bit 44.1Khz and 1Meg 8bit sound sets were created to sound as
close as possible to the industry standard Roland Sound Canvas under the restrictions of the provided
operating systems. The Voice Crystal sound sets have been incorporated with some of the top selling
PC sound cards on the market, including the following products: Turtle beach Maui, Rio and Monterey;
Advanced Gravis UltraSound, UltraSound Max, UltraSound Pro and UltraSound Plug & Play.
For a little
over a decade now, synthesizer and sampler owners have rejoiced at the
availability of alternative sounds and patch selections for their gear. Before,
one could only purchase the latest sounds by purchasing the latest synth,
which ultimately meant a huge expense. With the advent of the modern day
synthesizer and sampler, one can now expect to open the latest trade magazine
to see the latest sounds available on cartridge, memory card, disk, audio
CD and CD ROM (the latter two being the most popular) for a fraction of what
it would cost to purchase the latest "digital doohicky" from their local
dealer. The public can now be outfitted with latest sounds every month rather
sitting out a long twelve for synth and sampler manufacturers to develop,
test and manufacture. At the forefront of this ever changing industry has
been Eye & I Productions, sometimes better known as creators of the Voice
Crystal product line.
Eye & I Productions has been one of the worlds leading
innovators in sound development technology since 1986 (several
lifetimes for many software companies) with a product line that was
paved with years of work in various areas of the music business, from
musical group recording and live performance to designing small electronic music products
for musician friends.
President Mark L. Wiens and Vice President Paul D.
Chasteen developed and marketed a small, transparent blue epoxy sound cartridge
with a bright LED. When inserted in an ENSONIQ ESQ-1 Synthesizer the unit
was bestowed with new sounds that varied from what originally had been
programmed, hence the name Voice Crystal.
Later, Eye & I Productions had expanded the Voice Crystal
product line by creating new selections of sounds stored on the
different colored cartridges that
lit up when inserted. Later, the company grew into sound development for
other synthesizer and sampler companies including Roland, Korg, Yamaha, Akai,
Alesis, Kawai & E-MU. Voice Crystal had become a staple item in nearly
every keyboard retailer in the world. In a way, this new interest in music
software was a catalyst in a completely new department in music shops, oriented
towards computer software.
Voice Crystal and Eye & I Productions have developed sounds
for world renowned recording artists and have received credits on a great
number of major recordings. Keith Emerson
and Jan Hammer to name a few, have used
the Voice Crystal sounds on their recordings and live performances. Voice
Crystal sounds can also be heard on television and radio commercials, sitcom,
soap and film.
A few years later... Eye & I Productions became
a major player in the world of multimedia. The
sonic quality of Voice Crystal can now be heard on sound chips and boards
developed by some of the biggest chip manufacturers in the world. The Turtle
Beach Monterey Board and Advanced Gravis Ultrasound have earned much notoriety
and accolades and each one contains sounds that were developed by Eye &
I Productions. The new Advanced Micro Devices (A.M.D.) Interwave Chip houses
the Voice Crystal sounds. The Interwave Chip contains a highly sophisticated
operating system and boasts one of the finest General MIDI soundsets ever
developed. The Interwave Chip allows the general public access to professional
sounds at a very low cost.
The Voice Crystal Product line continues and has made great
strides in the synthesizer and sampler industry. Samplers have become one
of the most prominent tools in the music industry, capable of capturing a
sound or a musical phrase and giving the end user the capability of utilizing
it in a recording or performance. A sample can include a Funk guitar riff,
drum groove, vocal line, etc.. A sample is only limited by the sounds you
hear. Sampling has most assuredly earned its place in the professional and
home studio, by giving the end user the power to use any sound for
music.
The Voice Crystal name has become synonymous with a well-defined
sonic quality and artistic value in the popular sample market. The new Voice
Crystal sample CD titles each differ in sound
and style. The range is enormous, with sample CD's ranging from drum loops
played by Jonathan Moffett (Drum Guru for Madonna,
Janet Jackson among others) to grinding machine assaults.
Voice Crystal has
called upon some of the worlds most prominent performers, sound designers
and "best guns for hire" in the business to create sample CD's that stimulate
creativity and work intuitively in a wide range of music. Imagine having
Grammy Award winning guitarist Frank Gambale perform
funk licks throughout your track. Or how about the rhythmic whining of a
machine with the sputters of digital dysfunctions becoming the segue for
a dance mix. It's possible with the Voice Crystal sample CD's. Hip-Hop drums
and bass grooves, analog synth loops, Funk guitar, percussion, Industrial
loops, robotic phrases, house drums and so much more, sample CD's are probably
the quickest way to ad new life to a track, remix or performance.
One of the most significant factors in the Voice Crystal sample
CD's being such an important tool for the user is the fact that the material
is all original and license free. This means that
you could make a hit record and profit millions and you would never have
to pay them a penny for the contribution they made. The only thing they ask
is for a gold or platinum copy of your hit recording to hang on their office
walls. With all the legalities with artists that utilize samples in their
music, how could one deny the value of music with no legal ties.
Who knows what the future holds for Eye & I Productions
in the multi-media industry. The computer public is demanding more realistic
and creative sounds every day. With this in mind Eye & I Productions
plans on making their computer products and sounds more affordable for the
end user. The music industry will continue to see an expanding Voice Crystal
product line. Eye & I Productions plans to release to the public the
most unique and relevant sound libraries possible.
Thanks for visiting us,
David Nano - Marketing President - 1996
