Universal Audio is a designer and importer of audio signal processing hardware and DSP software founded in 1958 by Bill Putnam. The current incarnation of the company was re-established in 1999 by brothers Bill Putnam, Jr. and Jim Putnam. Universal Audio merged with Kind of Loud Technologies to "...reproduce classic analog recording equipment designed by their father and his colleagues," and "...research and design new recording tools in the spirit of vintage analog technology." Universal Audio replicates modern versions of vintage UREI and Teletronix designs. Universal Audio also designs and imports DSP cards and audio plugins for music production on the UAD-2 platform. The company has won several TEC Award awards and a FutureMusic Platinum award. The founder's son, Bill Putnam Jr. is CEO.
History
Original Company
Universal Audio, Inc. was founded alongside the United Recording Corporation by Bill Putnam Sr. in 1958. Putnam’s intention was for UA to serve as United’s manufacturing arm with the company initially operating out of the United recording premises at 6050 Sunset Boulevard. During its first few years UA produced a number of tube-based audio processing, the most famous being the 610 preamplifier. In 1961, United acquired Studio Supply Co. and rebranded it as the Studio Electronics Corporation. The focus of SEC was the creation of fully-fledged studio systems built around the equipment produced by Universal Audio. In October, 1961, all manufacturing was moved to Western Recorders, a nearby company in which United had gained a majority stake. While Universal Audio as a company was eventually absorbed by Studio Electronics in December, 1965, the brand itself continued with individual products retaining the UA label. This merger also coincided with another relocation, this time to a 8,100 square foot premises at 11922 Valerio Street, North Hollywood. Studio Electronics gained two additional brands in 1967: Teletronix and Waveforms. The acquisition of Teletronix from Babcock allowed SEC to begin production of the popular LA-2A compressor. Waveforms on the other hand expanded the product catalog into the area of precision audio test instruments. In light of these acquisitions, and in the anticipation of more, SEC was rebranded as United Recording Electronics Industries. Products would continue to carry their own brand names alongside the UREI badge until the mid-1970s, at which point the Universal Audio label was removed from Revision H of the 1176 compressor. As part of Putnam's sale of United, UREI was acquired by JBL in 1984. JBL released a number of products, primarily equalizers, with the UREI label.
Revival
In 1999, Universal Audio was reestablished by Bill and Jim Putnam, the sons of Bill Putnam, Sr. A software-based sister company, Kind of Loud Technologies, was also co-founded by Bill Putnam, Jr. and Jonathan Abel, who had met at Stanford through the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. This new Universal Audio offered virtual emulations of audio equipment from a range of manufacturers, including products from the original UA and Teletronix. UA introduced its line of Apollo audio interfaces in 2012. These interfaces offered onboard DSP that allowed signals to be monitored in realtime through UA plugins. Subsequent models of Apollo also incorporated a technology called Unison, which improved the authenticity of preamp emulations by matching both the impedance of the original hardware as well as its gain level "sweet spots". At Winter NAMM 2020, UA announced that it would expand its Console software into a fully-featured DAW called LUNA. The software will be freely available to all owners of Thunderbolt Apollo interfaces.
