Volume 3, Number 4, June 2005
[UA Universe] [Ask the Doctors] [Digital Minds] [Analog Obsession]
[Support Report] [The Channel] [Plug-In Power] [Analog Ears] [Featured Promotion]
[Graphic-Rich WebZine]
[Back Issues] [UA Home]
- Featured Employee: Joe Bryan
- Upcoming Events ...
- Artist • Engineer • Producer Gossip ...
- Tech Talk ...
- News and Schmooze ...
- Word on the Street ...
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Joe and his sons jam to John Cage's "Silence."
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What was it you found on Bill's desk?
I finally found the hiring requisitions for the people to replace me.
Most people wouldn't be too happy about that...
Yeah, it could "harsh your mellow," as they say here in Santa Cruz [ed: it's a difficult-to-translate phrase meaning "make you less mellow"], but I was really happy because it meant I could start working on cool new things.
I know that in your past lives, you've worked on some cool things at Ensoniq and had a long stint at Korg. What led you to UA?
It all started when I was electrocuted under my mom's piano as a toddler...
Right. Maybe we could fast forward a bit.
Okay, well, I'm still trying to re-create that sound without frying something, and UA seemed like a good place to see about that.
How the heck did the UAD-1 platform come about? Did you present the idea to UA?
After the original Korg OAsys project (the original keyboard version that debuted back in the early '90s) came to an end, I left to join a start-up in Silicon Valley called Chromatic Research to work on fast DSPs that were actually affordable. When Chromatic was shot out of the water by their much larger competitors, I licensed the technology and started a company called Hyperactive Audio Systems in 1998 to develop a high-performance DSP platform for pro audio applications.
“The synthesizers I’ve helped develop all had lots of dynamic modulation and effects capabilities, and since I’m a guitarist and bass player, I like bringing that kind of control to real instruments.”
My business partner, Avery Wang, and I shopped the idea around to several very well-established audio companies, and we were roundly informed that what we had done was 1) impossible, or 2) not worth doing.
Fortunately, Bill Putnam and Jonathan Abel saw the potential and had the huevos to go with the idea. With UA's product heritage and Kind of Loud's algorithm experience, we knew we had something, and the UAD-1 was born.
Did you have any idea it would become as successful as it has?
Yes, but I was on some pretty strong medication at the time. Thankfully, everyone who's bought a UAD-1 has convinced everyone else, so I've been able to cut back on my meds.
Seriously though, I don't take sides on the native-vs.-DSP, Mac-vs.-Windows, or analog-vs.-digital debates. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and the best system uses the appropriate elements to produce the results you want. The main problem with DSP was that there weren't a lot of chips powerful enough and cheap enough to run lots of good algos, and native software is too easy to steal, so there was no incentive to write better algos. The UAD-1 changed all that.
What's your favorite UAD-1 plug-in?
That's a no-brainer: the Dual-Cascaded Phase Inverter, especially the "double-pi" preset. It's amazingly transparent.
You're not supposed to talk about plug-ins that haven't been released yet.
Oh. Then I'd have to say it's the TremModEcho, that's something I always wanted to have, and it's really deep. You can get some pretty interesting sounds out of it. The other modulation effects in Nigel are some of my other favorites.
I like sounds that constantly change and evolve, and I tend to doze off if something's really sterile. The synthesizers I've helped develop all had lots of dynamic modulation and effects capabilities, and since I'm a guitarist and bass player, I like bringing that kind of control to real instruments.
Is UA ever going to make a synthesizer?
What's a sympathizer? Is it like a neurotic, overly possessive groupie?
Let's talk about the 2192, one of your pet projects. It has really made some great inroads into the audio community. How do you rate it in terms of success?
We haven't sold as many as I'd like, but people who have one always say it's great. Rich Williams and I did what we set out to do, and it's created a new category of product for UA. We get a lot of our sales by referrals from other satisfied customers, and I think some people are hiding their 2192s so no one else finds out about their secret weapon. I think part of the problem is it's only one rack space, so it's easy to hide.
Read any good books lately?
I like understanding the foundations of things, and recently finished a pair of books that shine a particularly bright light on the roots of the current rise of religious fanaticism.
Heavy duty. How's the hybrid working out? [Joe and his wife, Petra recently purchased a Toyota Prius-ed.]
The Prius is great. It's cool that I only spend about twenty dollars-a-month on gas, but the best part is that the Prius is easy on the environment and cuts our dependence on a limited resource.
Joe Bryan was interviewed for Sound on Sound U.S. in February 2005 ("Universal Solutions--Modeling Classic Hardware in Software," by Paul White.) The article gives more in-depth perspective on UA and the UAD-1 platform. Definitely worth checking out!
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Upcoming Events ...
REMIX Hotel - New York City, SAE Institute - June 3-5
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Alongside the latest UA gear, there will be a very special UAD-1 show promo deal for Remix Hotel visitors, so if you're in the New York area and thinking about getting a UAD-1, you should definitely stop by the UA booth and ask about the promo.
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CCRMA Summer Lectures 2005
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All lectures will be located on Stanford Campus and are open to the public. For registration or more information, visit the CCRMA Website or write to CCRMA: 660 Lomita Court, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Or call 650-723-4971 x320.
UA to Be Title Sponsor at 2005 Tape Op Conference
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There will be an exhibitor area, panels, workshops and concert series, and of course, a great chance to "hang" in a social context with many of the leading lights in the industry--manufacturers, designers, producers and engineers. If you want to take your audio knowledge, recording skills or industry networking up a notch, the Tape Op Conference is a fantastic way to do it in an informal, friendly environment.
2005 Governors Awards - Recording Academy
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Press • Artist • Engineer • Producer Gossip ...
Sven Vath's Cocoon Club
While at MusikMesse in Germany we dropped in for a visit to Sven Vath's amazing new Cocoon Club and Silk Restaurant with our Swiss Distributor and press friends from Pro Sound News. cocoonclub.net
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Left to right: Dave Robinson (editor, PSN Europe), Mike Barnes ( UA director of marketing ), very tall and gender-agnostic Silk hostess, Sam Patel ( PSN advertising manager)
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And the Artie Fufkin Customer Service Award goes to...Universal Audio!
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“Kick my ass…I’m not askin’! I’m tellin’!”
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If you were one of the hardware customers affected, please accept our deepest, most sincere apologies. We have not forgotten you or deliberately evaded you!
All of our customer support e-mail addresses are once again being correctly captured and routed, and we aim to respond to all messages within 24 to 48 hours! If you have outstanding issues that need to be resolved, please feel free to email any of the email address below or call 1-866-UAD-1176.
| Contact Email Addresses | |
| hardwaresupport@uaudio.com | All analog products, 2192 |
| pcsupport@uaudio.com | UAD & TDM support for PC |
| macsupport@uaudio.com | UAD & TDM support for Mac |
| info@uaudio.com | general inquiries |
| weborders@uaudio.com | for specific online store issues |
| info@fxpansion.com | VST to RTAS Adapter |
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Taming the Tiger
UA is in the final testing phase for software update version 3.9, which will include support for Mac OSX Tiger, and the fully functional 14-day demo of the new Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble. The CE-1 authorization will be available through the UA online store at my.uaudio.com for $99. Version 3.9 will be released before the end of Q2 in June.
As we have stated in the UAD FAQ, version 3.8 software for UAD-1 is not OSX Tiger-compatible, so we advise all Mac customers who wish to continue using their UAD-1 to wait for 3.9. Also, as a precaution, Mac users should make a backup of their current Jaguar or Panther system on an external drive so they can easily revert. OSX Tiger includes many low-level changes, and when you are changing multiple applications and drivers for your DAW, it may take time to restabilize your system.
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Casey Schultheis
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Finally, we'd like to issue an early word of warning to our current Mac OS9 users. Although, 3.9 will include continued support for Mac OS9, we plan to phase out OS9 support this year and focus entirely on OSX. Every new major Mac OSX update means some potential change in development tools and extra testing procedures, and legacy OS support becomes more and more inconvenient for a dwindling number of users. With the introduction of V. 3.9 and OSX Tiger, now is a good time to start thinking about making the move from OS9 to OSX!
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UA is rapidly expanding and hiring ! We have a number of new positions at our HQ in California in engineering, manufacturing and marketing. If you have a passion for audio excellence and UA gear, and think you have what it takes, we want to hear from you !
Check out the detailed job descriptions here on our website.
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Word On The Street ...
There's nothing better for us than turning a disgruntled customer into a passionate supporter. We do genuinely care about customer opinions, and we monitor market trends, email feedback and forum chatter.
We've been working hard for several months on progressively improving product information and providing audio and video demos for all our products via online streaming, downloads and a complete UA DVD, which will be in-box with all our analog products going forward. The anticipation for the launch of this useful information was high enough that some customers began to get a little antsy. Well, the online "Demo's & Tips" were launched in May, complete with cross-referenced links to important articles on the products and the reviews sections, updated to reflect the latest independent magazine reviews of our products.
We certainly hope this will provide you with a valuable resource, whether you're a potential new customer trying to make a purchasing decision or a UA devotee who wants to get to know the gear better!
"just got finished checking out most of the 16/44 .wav demos. I was quite impressed with the Precision Limiter demos and the ease, to which you could improve the sound dynamics, on a wide variety of program material (Rock, Electronic & Jazz)."
--Billy Buck, Chrismilne UAD-1 forum
" ... just a note to say how much we like the new online Demos on your site, excellent sounds, exceedingly useful sales and reference tool and also a particularly well thought out and executed example of this type of facility-- brilliant stuff!! "
--Chas Levin, UK.