So you could basically mic an entire drumkit at once. The Firepod was the first recording interface with eight microphone preamps in 1U. What need was the FirePod supposed to meet? The FirePod was one of PreSonus’ first major products.

I love being part of a team whose mission is to help people make music. That’s the part of this job that never gets old. I’m in awe of the fact that people use our products to share and experience music together with each other. So PreSonus has been the perfect place for me. I’ve always been passionate about music and technology and I love people. Well, I guess since this year will be my 25th year of working at PreSonus, I’m definitely one of the blessed people that found something to do with their lives that has spanned pretty much my entire adulthood. How did this come to be? How has it helped you? People LOVE you and recognize you as the face of PreSonus. When Jim approached me about being a part of a startup company, it was a no-brainer for me. I remember him bringing in the prototype of the very first PreSonus product, the DCP-8, about a year before PreSonus started.

I did a recording session with him in the early ’90s and he used to come into the music store I worked at. He was one of our hometown guitar heroes and although he was a few years older than me, we went to the same high school and even took guitar lessons from the same guy. I knew Jim Odom from the local music scene. What about PreSonus made you want to work here at the time? I was finishing a Marketing degree at LSU at that time as well. In my early 20s, I was playing in two bands (Zaemon and Chris LeBlanc Band), running a recording studio and working in a music store called BeBop Music Shop. What were you doing before working at PreSonus? Well, I was the first guy in sales so I guess my title would have been “Rick Naqvi, Sales Guy.” Today my role is Senior Vice President of Global Sales. What was your job title when you started? What is your job title now? This coming October will be my 25th year at PreSonus. If you’ve met him, you love him (and you’re probably still hypnotized by the Rick Effect.) And if you haven’t met him, here’s your chance to get to know him better. Rick is as much of a staple to PreSonus as drag and drop is to Studio One. He loves his team, music, and his job! After spending a quarter-century serving the PreSonus family, he is the expert when it comes to selling PreSonus with passion and enthusiasm. If there’s one word to sum up the man, the myth, the legend, Rick Naqvi… it’s: WHABAM!

Presonus firepod