The Story of Omnitone and Augmented 7th Engineering
Tristan Gervais started Augmented 7th Engineering in 2020 because he was interested in creating music with modular synthesizers. Being a student at the time, he found the available options were not financially feasible. He decided to design some modules himself, and when he found himself with extra stock he decided to start Augmented 7th. Over the course of University, Tristan pursued various projects related to musical instruments including a ukubass, amplified cajon, and a keytar. He continued these efforts part time through university while in-school and doing work-terms. He took a break from Augmented 7th 2 years later to focus on other projects.
In those two years Tristan met Liz, and they hit it off and realized they wanted to continue Augmented 7th--but also to bring it to a new era. They decided to rename and rebrand to Omnitone, and had bigger visions for what Omnitone could be and the type of products and services they could provide. Omnitone is now Tristan and Liz's fulltime passion and is co-located in Calgary, AB, Canada and Kingston, ON, Canada.
Tristan Gervais
Tristan grew up in Kingston ON and graduated from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo ON with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tristan's peers attest he was born an engineer--he has designed and built many projects from scratch; a wing-shaped drone to a dock-toon (dock-pontoon boat). He is simply passionate and motivated to make cool things. Outside of the technical, Tristan has been a musician all his life, starting with piano, to guitar, to synthesizers and music production. He has created 3 instrumental albums, though he keeps them 'close to the vest'. He also loves to cook, sail, laugh, and chop wood.
Elizabeth (Liz) Drew
Liz grew up in Calgary, AB and was brought up by a musician and a pilot (who also own a marketing firm). Liz was interested in aviation and space from a young age and took her time to come around to music (though she loved to sing). She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Mechatronics Engineering. Liz worked primarily for aerospace companies as an electrical designer and has work currently in orbit. During university, she learned guitar which ignited a spark for writing her own music. Outside of this, she loves to paint, cook, and spend time with friends and family.