Universal Audio

Universal Audio was a development company and manufacturer of recording, mixing and audio signal processing hardware for use in professional recording studios, live sound systems and in broadcasting. Universal Audio was responsible for many innovations in recording and live sound industry, including the development of modern mixing consoles, the equalizer per channel ( EQ) or effect connections ( also called send / aux buses ) belong. The company name was founded in the 1950s by Bill Putnam in Chicago (Illinois ) as a development and production department of "Universal Studio ", his recording studio operation. As Putnam moved to Hollywood in 1957, the company was renamed UREI and contained a Division name Teletronix.

History

Illinois

Bill Putnam Sr. founded in 1946 in Evanston (Illinois ) with the intention to build the Universal Recording Corporation under contract production for other record companies commercial music recordings. The development and manufacturing side was offered in parallel by Puntams second company, Universal Audio. 1947 Putnam moved his company to Chicago, Illinois, where he recorded the first successful song with artificially produced Hall effect in a men's room: Peg o ' My Heart by The Harmonicats. The piece was sold 1.4 million times and gave the Universal Recording Corp. a huge boost in new orders.

However, Universal Recording Putnam served as a test platform for the development of experimental studio techniques. The studios were the place was used in the first, the tape - repeat function in a shot, the place with the first separate recording booth, the first recording with multiple overdubs on a single voice, the first 8 -track recording trials and the first experiments with half -speed disc mastering.

1949 received the Universal Recording a patent for the so-called " Double Feature ", a method for pressing two songs on each side of a 10 -inch record. This technology was developed by Cook Records in New York and officially licensed to Universal Records.

Chicago blues labels such as Vee -Jay, Mercury and Chess Records were lack of own recording studios to Universal Studio to record their hits. Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Chuck Berry took on songs. On the part of the Jazz came Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole. Bill Putnam was Duke Ellington's favorite technician.

In 1955 Universal Studio momentum. The studio was the most advanced and largest independent agency of the United States. Well-known producers and engineers as Nelson Riddle, Mitch Miller and Quincy Jones came for their big band and orchestral recordings in the studio. Bruce Swedien began working at Universal Studio.

Hollywood

United Recording Corp..

Putnam's customers suggested that he set up a recording studio on the West Coast, which he realized in 1957. He sold his stake in Universal Studio and launched under the name of United Recording Corporation in Hollywood, California, to build new studios within an already existing structure. In 1958, the Studio B has been completed, which was equipped with two Hall chambers. The establishment grew to three recording studios, three mastering rooms, a mixing studio and a mixdown room and a small recording medium production facility. All studios were booked around the clock, busy with TV and film music and film music and pop music recordings. Hanna -Barbera used the studios for votes for The Flinstones take.

United Western

Western Records, a competing studio just a block away, was acquired in 1961 by Bill Putnam. Both facilities combined their names to United Western Recording ( UWR ). The business went on, thanks to artists such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Johnny Mercer, Ray Charles and The Mamas and the Papas, who received all their hits there. The studio is still under the name East West Studios in 6000 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood ( California ) in operation. The original studio design has been mostly unchanged.

UREI and Teletronix

Regardless of the events operated Universal Audio Studio upstairs of the first Hollywood - building under the new name of United Recording Electronics Industries ( UREI ) on. The production and development company acquired the patents for the electro-optical LA -2A Leveling Amplifier stereo. UREI also acquired National Intertel, which then was to Teletronix Division. For this acquisition arose from the technology that was used in 1968 for the development of the 1176LN Peak Limiter and 1108 FET preamplifier.

Other popular UREI products were, for example, the LA -4 Electro-optic compressor and limiter, the UREI LA -3A Teletronix Electro Optical Leveling Amplifier and the UREI Equalizer for 500 Series. 1976 UREI outsourced its manufacturing and the service center to Sun Valley (California ) from.

Edward M. Long by E. M. Long Associates in Oakland (California ) collaborated with UREI to 1977 to develop the 813er Studio Monitor Series.

1985 Putnam sold the studios and the production department and left the industry. JBL UREI bought the name and all service contracts and published in 1986 the " JBL UREI " product line with the 5547A Graphic Equalizer. Putnam died in 1989.

2005 Soundcraft UREI 1620LE began a series -by- Soundcraft to publish products, with "LE " stand for " Limited Edition". The mixer was a renewal of the UREI1620, a 1980 clone of Rudy Bozaks DJ mixer classic CMA -10 - 2DL. Soundcraft equipped the new product line from its own website ( www.ureidj.com ).