Dave Bristow was born in London in 1950 and began to study music at an early age. He graduated from university with a BSc in Pyschology but turned his musical talents full-time to keyboards and has worked both as a professional player and in the music business ever since.His relationship with Yamaha was formed in the late 1970's giving keyboard demonstrations in many countries at exhibitions and public concerts. Dave's consultancy with Yamaha grew ever closer during this time and in 1983, he played a key role voicing the well-known DX7 synthesizer and indeed most of Yamaha's FM synthesizers up to and including the SY99. He is internationally recognized as one of the important contributors to the development and voicing of FM synthesis and co-authored a text-book on the subject with Dr John Chowning called "FM Theory and Applications".
He moved to the United States in 1995 where he worked for a US Multi Media and Sampling company, gaining valuable experience with sampling and filter based synthesis systems, soundcards and desktop music. In 2002, he rejoined Yamaha as a consultant, focusing on the introduction and support of the MA PCM/FM hybrid audio chip series and the SMAF mobile devices format. Dave lives in Bainbridge Island, near Seattle in Washington and is a partner in KeyRingtones.com, the ringtone division of Keyfax NewMedia.
When asked about ringtones and SMAF, Dave said..."There is some evidence to suggest that ringtones are a new musical art form in their own right and we are looking at the birth of a great new and consistent opportunity in the music business. But whatever ringtones are, it is certainly great fun making music for the tiny audio space offered by the mobile handset - and Yamaha's SMAF format with the MA-3 chip offers a really powerful synthesis engine to drive it. It is well worth the effort to be a part of the growth of ringtones and also to fully understand the premier format and audio solution which is SMAF/MA."
