Fishman: The Continuing Evolution

fishman-new-hq.jpgPoised on the eve of the company's 30th Anniversary, Fishman continues to innovate while operating at maximum efficiency from its elegant new facility in Andover, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.

Andover, an upscale bedroom community with historic Revolutionary sites and the renowned Philips Academy preparatory school, provides an ideal sylvan setting for the building facing the woods on most sides.

The facility itself is 34,000 square feet, with 5,000 square feet of additional space available on the first floor and 40,000 on the second floor of the building. When Fishman moved in late last year, “overall, the facility layout was designed to improve communication and efficiency within and between departments, centralizing resources and making the best use of every available space,” says Jason Cambra, Fishman's Chief Operating Officer.

In an attempt to focus resources, simplify and speed up internal communication, “Sales & Marketing are in the same area and have much easier access to both departments' resources. The nearby executive offices are all in one hall for closer proximity to department heads,” Cambra adds.

Since Larry Fishman founded the company and set up his first shop in the basement of his home on Grove Street in Medford, Mass., the company has continued to design and engineer its products on site. Fishman has modern laboratory facilities for both hardware and software, along with a large engineering lab for R&D.

The company's sophisticated recording studio is used for a variety of purposes, most significantly recording sound images for the company's prize-winning Aura Acoustic Imaging technology. Current gear includes a Digidesign ProTools HD console with 192 Interface, a Millennia HV-3D High Voltage Mic Preamp, a Digidesign Command|8 Control Surface, and Genelec 1031A Monitors.

Larry Fishman and engineer Joe Barbieri also have a wealth of the world's finest microphones at their disposal, including Neumann U87 and M147, Soundelux E47 and AKG C-414B large diaphragm condensers; AKG C1000S, Schoeps CMC64G, DPA 4011 and Shure KSM 141 small diaphragm condensers; Shure SM57 and Beta 58 dynamic cardioids; a Groove Tube Velo-8 ribbon and an Earthworks QTC30 and Neumann KM84 small diaphragm condensers.

With a total of 55 employees working at peak efficiency, Fishman has three conference rooms: Green Street (the smaller room), which is named after the first commercial building Fishman occupied in the 1980's in Woburn, MA Fordham Road is named after the building in Wilmington, MA that Fishman occupied from 1993 to 2008.

Larry Fishman's personal lab, the central source point of innovative product ideas such as Aura Imaging, the Fishman SA220 performance system and the Loudbox acoustic amplifiers, is named Grove Street after his home in Medford, MA where the company first started in his basement in 1981.

The Fishman Artist Lounge is a centerpiece of the facility and a gathering place for ideas and music. Chris DeMaria, Fishman's Director of Marketing and Artist Relations added, “We wanted to create an informal place to have meetings, company events, and artist appearances.

“This room is more of a showcase of what Fishman is doing now – products, marketing, etc. – as opposed to just a museum of old products and memorabilia. We do have some of the company's numerous awards from the last 29 years, along with over a display backstage passes and signed photos from Fishman artists, including Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Beck, Alison Krauss, Tommy Emmanuel, Lenny Kravitz and The Black Crowes. On the Artist Lounge stage you can find the latest Fishman products and often a few “special projects,” DeMaria concludes.

For more information about Fishman, call 978.988.9199 or click to www.fishman.com.