CEO | Engineer So Ichiro

Born in Tokyo in 1974, Ichiro took leave midway during his law degree at Meiji University to study abroad in the city of Toronto, Canada. He then went on to form a band and experienced his first major debut with them, which naturally led to a deep understanding of both music and performing. The experience and knowledge gained from this allowed him to specialize as a sound engineer.

After his band split up, he dedicated himself to a full-time career as a musical craftsman. With a focus on recording, mixing and mastering, Ichiro has worked on the production of over 6,000 musical tracks from various fields including: movie soundtracks, videogames, animation, commercials and the albums of many artists from various musical genres.


He is also no stranger to live music, having taken charge of sound engineering for events within his native Japan such as the Hachiko Plaza Main Stage event of the Shibuya Art Festival, live music performances in front of the Japanese Imperial Household and American pianist Cecil Taylor’s concerts in Japan. Outside of Japan, he has experience running the mainstage of the “Japan Expo” in Paris, France, as well as other live events in Switzerland and Portugal.

Alongside all of this, he has been involved in managing several prestigious recording studios centred in Tokyo, Japan. From advice on equipment selection, to wiring, to studio layout, he plays an active role in studios such as: Studio Dede, epta312studio, Cavako Studio and Studio Bongo Mango. Furthermore in 2012 he established his own PREMIER MASTERING Studio in the Hayama area of Kanagawa prefecture to coincide with the founding of PREMIER ENGINEERING Inc.

PREMIER SOUND FACTORY®

With quality and realism as our main concepts, we have produced a virtual instrument sound library series, that is uncompromising in its pursuit of perfect sound. In 2000 work began on the RHODES Premier Series, which slowly developed into the PREMIER SOUND FACTORY® brand in 2012. At present, over 20 products are available to the public.

The PREMIER series has been described as having a “fat, organic and analogue style sound.” Highly reputed piano tuners “The Rhodes Service Berlin” team publicly reviewed and awarded first place to “Mark1 Stage Premier 96k”, one of the products in the series, in a recent YouTube video.  It was tested and compared with the products of 20 international competitor companies. Our latest release, “Drum Tree®” was recently unveiled at both NAMM 2017 and Frankfurt Musik Messe 2017. It has been described as the “best” and “most powerful” drumming software both domestically and overseas.


When it comes to live recording, there can be several issues and constraints. Musicians, staff, studio rental, equipment, editing, time and ultimately money. These are some of the complications that using music software can help to resolve. However, it is vital to choose a high-quality sound library to have the correct outcome for your music. 


Our belief is that if the artist gets to use the optimum sounds from the start, they can invest more of their energy into creativity. Rather than something fashionable, we want to create something that stands the test of time, a universal sound library that meets the uppermost professional needs. Originating from these deep-set beliefs, Engineer Ichiro, active for the last 20 years in music production, has become aware of what is missing from virtual instrument sound libraries on the market today, and more importantly what is necessary in a high-end music track. When this knowledge is combined with his experience in both analogue and digital recording, the result is a truly unique and professional series of sound libraries.

Shifting focus away from having the highest specs, Engineer Ichiro has always consistently devoted himself to the philosophy of achieving the most organic and purest sound itself, that resonates with the user, and it is this enthusiasm as well as his self-developed industry techniques and secrets that are imbued into every recording.

The Merits of PREMIER SOUND FACTORY®



• Delivered raw sounds in 96kHz/24bit
• Specialized in recording the maximum sound potential of each instrument as it is
• All post processing is removed without exception to provide a richer listening experience
• Abandoning all preconceptions, full use is made of the natural unevenness of the instruments and no mechanical rearranging is implemented

• In a nutshell, the entire sound of the instrument is faithfully and respectfully preserved as is, particularly the driving forceful sounds that often are not considered important

Considering the aforementioned qualities, this truly is a series of virtual instruments that easily meets and surpasses the standards of any professional.
http://www.premiersoundfactory.com

PREMIER SOUND FACTORY: Product Timeline

PREMIER Engineering Inc.