These were my father’s words when he founded the legendary Universal Recording Corp. in Chicago. The enduring quality of his recordings, studios and technical innovations are the reason industry veterans consider him the father of modern recording. But he was also my father.
Welcome to the new Universal Audio. Founded by my brother Jim and I, Universal Audio is dedicated to authentic reproductions of vintage analog equipment and innovative digital recreations of landmark technology.
Having grown up in the music industry, we naturally assumed that’s where we would remain. Jim, a touring musician and recording engineer, and our older brother Scott, a busy studio designer in Southern California, were the first to follow in my father’s path. I took a more circuitous direction, working in a number of engineering companies before undertaking my doctorate in Electrical Engineering at Stanford. It was there that I became closely involved in the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), specializing in signal processing.
However, the event that led us to start (or reinvent) Universal Audio was more serendipitous. Our father, Bill Sr., passed away in 1989. When the time came to sell the family home, Jim and I were faced with the Herculean task of cleaning out his workshop and storage areas. At first, we enjoyed sorting out all the old test equipment, boxes of parts and bits and pieces of consoles and half-cannibalized 1176s. But struggling to decide what to do with all of this history and well, junk was wearing us out. Just as we were about to close the door on the project and retire to a cold beer, Jim came across our dad’s old design notebook. We spent the evening poring over his notes, realizing that this was the map to every technical problem he’d ever solved. That’s when the lights came on and we decided that to bring back Universal Audio and its products were our destiny.
Jim and I struggled with what to call our company and products. It was important to us that this endeavor be a tribute to our father, as it would not have been possible without him. A little investigating revealed - much to our surprise - that his original company name, Universal Audio, as well as the correct product names were available for use. After all, what could be more suited to authentic, classic reproductions than the original names?
Universal Audio will continue to produce both authentic reproductions of classic analog audio equipment as well as accurate digital replicas of vintage gear. Stay tuned for more product announcements, availability and more Universal Audio history.
