Apogee – Note from Dirk Ulrich – NOT A DEAL

[LinkedMusicians]

NOTE: I thought this one would be of interest to our group, as Dirk is a very well-known and important figure in the audio plugin world. Granted, this is the WRONG forum for this topic, but as this is where 99.99% of you are focusing on at LM, I thought I’d put it here. After Black Friday, I’m going to spend more effort in building the other forums and OPEN MIC out.

Dear Apogee Family!

My name is Dirk Ulrich, and as of November 14th I am honored to be the new owner of Apogee which some of you may have seen in our previous email or on our social media channels.

Today I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself in a semi-formal way, and tell you a bit about myself and where I want to take the APOGEE team in the future, now that Betty & Bob have entrusted me with their lifetime achievement of the past 40 years. I am thankful for that amazing opportunity, and promise you – just as I have promised them that I am fully committed to Apogee’s legacy and reputation.

We will continue to develop and offer the best-sounding audio tools that we can create. And just like in the past, we won’t cut corners in the future, whether that’s hardware or software & plugins. In fact, we have new products & updates coming out starting January 2026.

Many of you may know me as the founder of both, PLUGIN ALLIANCE and BRAINWORX (both of which I sold in 2021), or more recently, as the new owner for California based tube-audio specialist MANLEY (www.manley.com). MANLEY & APOGEE have already begun working on mutual and hybrid products that will highlight the best of what both companies have to offer. Both companies are now part of our new www.rckfrc.com group, which I have funded privately. 100% no private equity or hedge-funds involved! Stay tuned.

Hardware and software development will take some time, and the team and I are committed to looking at every aspect of what makes Apogee desirable to you all, whether that’s updates and improvements for apps, plugins or drivers, or new and improved hardware and features. We kindly ask for your patience as ownership transition and internal process changes in a 40 year old company take more than just a few days. We appreciate your understanding and support.

Compared to the big challenges, there are a few other things, like small improvements on our website and in our email system, that we are already working on and that we can improve quickly. For example, since it just happens to be “the season” for plugin sales (and since I initially earned my wings in this industry as “the plugin guy”  ), we have decided to run our current and future plugin promotions in a more contemporary and streamlined way, effective this week.

Please make sure to check our upcoming emails in the next few days (starting tomorrow!), as we will send you some email-exclusive voucher codes through the end of the year. These promo codes will give you instant access to non-public, additional (!) discounts on our APOGEE and BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN plugins.

 

Lastly, I wanted to invite you to connect with me via social media, so here are my personal accounts in case you want to follow me in real-time and hear more about where RCKFRC, APOGEE, MANLEY and all of these ideas may be going. Please understand that I cannot answer every single private message on social media, but I do read every comment on my posts, and I am always happy to have a fun and respectful conversation about sound and technology.

As the pictures suggest, I am a sound & audio fan / freak first, not just a biz guy. I have earned a single Gold Record from back in the days when I still produced, mixed and mastered music for a living (so I can’t ever compete with Bob here  ), and I still master some releases here and there (see my Facebook & Instagram if interested). I wanted to mention it though just to show you that APOGEE is what we all believe will be in “good hands” and with a “PRODUCT is #1” approach, and a quality-driven mindset.

 

Happy mixing everybody, and I am very excited to hear from you in the future!

Dirk.

 

Dirk Ulrich

CEO & Owner APOGEE & MANLEY

CURATED BEST FREE LISTS: Kontakt Libraries, Sample Libraries, Virtual Synths, Effects
POWERSEARCH TOOLS: Synth Presets, Loops & Sound FX, Gear Reviews 
FREE TOOLS: Mixing Problem Solver, Songwriter's Toolbox, QuickGuides, Scale, Mode & Chord Finder
READING/VIEWING: Best Mags / Podcasts, Audio Production & Songwriter's Dictionaries

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[dsteinschneider]

Plugin Alliance was the first company I bought a plugin from – the bx_bassdude fender bassman VST, probably developed by Igor Nembrini. Everyday when I practice bass I use their Ampgeg B15N which I know Nembrini developed. I always enjoyed Dirk’s marketing shenanigans and am grateful for the freebies they’ve shared over the years.

• This reply was modified 4 months ago by dsteinschneider.

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[mustakatu]

Yep, Dirk’s PA casino was the best and the worst thing that happened to many of us

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[Author]

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