With the democratization of the music recording business over the past 25 years, there’s been a move from expensive professional recording studios to smaller home and bedroom studios. UA’s products have filled that niche, delivering sonic quality that was arguably only available when using large recording consoles, tape machines and racks of fancy esoteric gear.
“The passion our customers have for their creative tools makes music technology such a unique industry,” says Putnam Jr. “You need to understand musicians to thrill and delight them. At UA, we’re obsessed with the nuances of audio. We go to great lengths that few others can or will because we know this may be the thing that inspires a musician or engineer to create something unique.”...
Bill Putnam Sr. was a famed engineer and producer for artists including Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and dozens more. He was also a natural entrepreneur who started multiple audio product companies during his long career. The equipment these companies built remains widely used decades after their introduction, including the LA-2A and 1176 audio compressors and the 610 tube recording console.
Growing up around his father’s entrepreneurial spirit and technical know-how fueled Putnam Jr's passion for electronics from an early age. But it wasn't a direct path toward refounding Universal Audio. Initially, his appreciation for music took a backseat to his dreams of becoming an electrical engineer until he took a break from college to travel around the country following the Grateful Dead....