It all began in a small town in northern Italy. Not just any small town, but a town rich in heritage — a heritage of innovation. A town known as the sports car capital of the world, and also known for its exquisite cuisine and as the birthplace of Balsamic Vinegar. And the birthplace of one of the most innovative companies in the music industry - the town of Modena, Italy. Way back in 1996 — around the time electricity was discovered and cell phones were the size of your average 4-slot toaster — two Italian engineers got together to solve a problem in a recording studio. Could you get the sound of classic analog gear from a computer? One of them said (in Italian, of course) "Could we emulate electronic circuits using DSP algorithms and feed an audio signal through the computer and get the same sound?"