Yamaha Takes Over Steinberg Hardware Business

Hamamatsu, Japan ― Yamaha Corporation today announced that, as part of a group-wide restructuring of product development systems, it has taken over hardware business of Steinberg, its wholly owned subsidiary. Steinberg hardware products are being rebranded as Yamaha, while Steinberg will focus exclusively on software development and sales moving forward. The aim is to provide users with a refined, integrated product experience that brings software and hardware under one roof.

Steinberg joined the Yamaha Group in 2005, and the first hardware products jointly developed by Yamaha and Steinberg were launched in 2008. The MR816 audio interfaces and CC121 Cubase controller were extremely successful. Since joining, Steinberg has introduced many audio interfaces and controllers developed and manufactured by Yamaha, which have been embraced by users worldwide. Steinberg has consistently delivered reliable, high-quality solutions for professional studios to first-time creators, including the UR, UR-C and UR-RT series. With the launch of the ultra-portable IXO series in 2024, Steinberg-branded hardware reached a significant milestone ― one from which Yamaha will now carry the development and sales of hardware products forward.

With Steinberg focusing exclusively on software development and sales, the new structure will enable both companies to concentrate on their respective strengths ― Yamaha on the design, manufacturing and global distribution of high-quality hardware, and Steinberg on the creation of world-class music and audio software. This division of roles will ensure that each company can maximize its expertise and resources, while continuing to collaborate closely as part of the same group. For users, this translates into a more refined and seamlessly integrated product experience, where hardware and software are developed in unison to deliver reliability, creativity and ease of use.

Following the reorganization, the Steinberg-branded IXO12, IXO22, UR22C, and UR44C audio interfaces will be reintroduced under the Yamaha brand as the UR12MK3, UR22MK3, URX22C, and URX44C respectively. Other Steinberg-branded audio interfaces will gradually be phased out. In parallel, Steinberg will introduce a new software product for online creators, which is scheduled to be publicly unveiled at TwitchCon, taking place at the San Diego Convention Center in the U.S., October 17-19 this year. To ensure a smooth transition and to avoid inconveniencing customers, Yamaha and Steinberg will both continue to provide product support and drivers for the foreseeable future.

“Steinberg-branded hardware products have long been developed and manufactured by Yamaha,” said Takatsuna Maeda, senior general manager of Creator & Consumer Audio Division. “This brand transition marks a new stage in which both companies can focus on their strengths to deliver dependable, seamlessly connected solutions tailored to today’s creators.”

Steinberg is known all over the world for its music and audio software and hardware solutions. The company has been developing, manufacturing and selling innovative products for musicians and producers in the music, film, post-production and multimedia industries since 1984. Steinberg products are used by Grammy and Oscar award-winning composers, engineers and producers. The company also offers license management and copy protection systems to business customers.

• UR-MK3 Series
  https://www.yamaha.com/2/ur/
• URX-C Series
  https://www.yamaha.com/2/urx-c/