UA Universe
By Marsha Vdovin and Joseph Lemmer
WebZine Winner
This month's winning WebZine subscriber is Bernhard Drax, who chose a UAD-1e Expert PAK! The Expert PAK is so popular right now that we're temporarily out of stock at the factory, so, we'll publish Bernhard's picture next month. For now, here's his web site. Bernhard is doing some amazing work with his UAD system already, so look out for him in a future UA Universe.
You too could win your choice of UAD-1 Ultra PAK, UAD-1e Expert PAK, or UAD-Xpander Xpert. All you have to do is sign up for the WebZine mailing list. Your email address won't be shared. but you might win a UAD!
Press • Artist • Engineer • Producer Gossip . . .
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| Jeff Saltzman's wrist |
We Salute You
Jeff Saltzman, partially pictured above, was recently named UA's Biggest Fan. While many feel they deserve this title, Jeff's commitment is undeniable. That's a real tattoo, we have witnesses. The story goes, he brought one of his 1176's to a tattoo artist in New York's Greenwich Village. At first, they chased him out as they thought he wanted to sell it. Jeff Saltzman, we salute you!
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| Chris Colatos from Ex’pression College for the Digital Arts |
Ex’pression Installs 18 UAD-1 Systems
This month we heard from Chris Colatos, Director of MIDI and Game Audio Courses at Ex’pression College for the Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA, which has 18 UAD-1s installed. “The UAD plug-ins are not only some of the best sounding plug-ins on the market, but hold their own when compared against the originals they emulate. I've been so pleased with the UAD plug-ins that I haven't used their hardware counterparts since I installed them. The 1176 sounds great on just about everything and is an extremely faithful recreation of the original. No cables to patch, no diagrams, no maintenance costs, and a fraction of the price of the original. The Plate reverb is another favorite of mine. I've been on the hunt for a good reverb plug-in for some time now and have tried just about everything, but nothing ever caught my attention. Nothing on the market can compete with this reverb, period. The digital tools we have available to us today are amazing and UAD has been ahead of the game for some time now. With plug-ins that sound better than anything else out there, I highly recommend going with UAD.” Thanks, Chris!
"The processing power is of great benefit to any studio. A very cost-effective solution to adding more plug-ins to your DAW."--Lionel Jarvis, Music Director for Nelly Furtado
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Nelly Furtado Runs on UA
Lionel Jarvis took time out from touring with Nelly Furtado, with whom he is music director, to show us his UA rig. “I’ve been using Universal Audio products for a few years now and find they are irreplaceable in my studio. The crisp clean pres are very versatile. I’m using the 2-610 tube pre amp mainly for vocals; the warmth is exactly what I need. On instruments such as snare’s and guitars I use the 2108 dual mic pre (solid state). When I push it hard the natural saturation creates a great sound. UA also makes great UAD cards that help you stay away from using your CPU power. The processing power is of great benefit to any studio. A very cost-effective solution to adding more plug-ins to your DAW. On my most recent Nelly Furtado release (Loose--The Concert), I’ve used the Pultec EQP-1A EQ plug-in for smooth bottom end, and the LA-2A, LA-3A and 1176 for the UA classic compressor sound. I can’t forget the DreamVerb for its flexibility and the Fairchild 670 that allows you to get the great Fairchild sound at a fraction of the original price!”
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UNA Hits the Charts
Richard Larson and Jennifer Cook from the band UNA stopped by to see us at NAMM. You may remember them for their Samba-inspired song "Blue Dress," which won our Playback in October 2006. They recently placed on Mediaguide unsigned radio charts as the Top Debut with their album One, which was recorded with the UA 2-610. Congrats to Richard and Jennifer, and keep making that great music.
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| Remix Technology Editor Markkus Rovito, UA VP Marketing Mike Barnes, UA Marcom Manager Joseph Lemmer and EM Editor Gino Robair |
UA Wins Editor’s Choice Awards From Remix and EM
UA's Neve 1073 software emulation won the Remix magazine 5th Annual Technology Awards for the Single Plug-In, and the UA DCS Remote Preamp won the EM 2008 Editor’s Choice award for best Channel Strip/Preamp. Mike Barnes and Joseph Lemmer accepted the awards from the respective magazine’s editors at a champagne reception at NAMM.
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| The 2008 MIPA for Recording/FX/Hardware goes to the UAD-Xpander |
UAD-Xpander brings a MIPA home from Frankfurt
Universal Audio VP of Marketing Mike Barnes was delighted to accept UA’s first MIPA (Musikmesse International Press Award) for the UAD-Xpander. Editors of 107 magazines from 25 different countries vote on this most coveted audio industry award, calling the UAD-Xpander the best Recording/FX/Hardware of 2008, over some very respectable competition.
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| Fulfillment Specialist J.D. Keiser celebrates with Product Manager Will Shanks in front of two stacks of LA-610 Signature Edition boxes, ready to ship. | Fulfillment Specialists J.D. Keiser and Michael Collins carefully boxing LA-610 Signature Edition units with their magic purple gloves. |
LA-610 Signature Edition Ships
To the 500 folks with deposits on the LA-610 Signature Edition, rejoice! They have been steadily rolling out the door since early March, thanks to Director Frank Luft and his star manufacturing team!
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UAD-Xpander Price Reduction
We recently improved the prices on Xpander Xpress and Xpander Xpert. Considering a UAD$500 (Xpress) and UAD$1000 (Xpert) voucher for the Powered Plug-Ins of your choice is included, the value is amazing! See your dealer for details.
Guitar Hero Game Infringes Gibson Patent, Suit Alleges
Gibson Guitar has told Activision its wildly popular Guitar Hero video games infringe one of Gibson's patents, a claim that Activision has asked a U.S. court to find invalid, according to court documents.--CNET
Increase in Crime Rate Linked to iPod Popularity
Could the temptation to steal iPods be so strong that they're behind an increase in the crime rate? Researchers at a public policy institute say yes.--siliconvalley.com
R.E.M. to Debut Album Online--for Free
Forget the traditional radio premiere: R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate, is set to debut on the social networking application iLike. The roll-out is the first of its kind for a major act, and will allow fans to stream and share Accelerate in its entirety beginning March 24, a week ahead of the album's April 1 U.S. release date.--billboard.com
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