Universal Audio has announced new partnerships with Harman Pro Group, to deliver a range of classic audio equipment plug-ins, Ampex Corporation, to develop magnetic tape emulations, and Dunlop, to deliver a range of unique and classic effects.

Harman Pro Group

Each company in the Harman Pro Group has a near-mythic status in the professional audio world - ranging from reverb (Lexicon), to compression and other processing (dbx), tape machines (Studer), and spring reverb (AKG). Under the terms of this agreement, Universal Audio will develop, market and sell plug-in emulations of select Lexicon, Studer, dbx, and AKG equipment for the UAD-2 Powered Plug-In Platform.

"We are delighted to be working with Universal Audio to bring these virtual legacy products to market," commented Michael MacDonald, Harman International, EVP of Marketing and Sales. "Our brands are like gold to us, and when it comes to faithfully reproducing the sound and character of these vintage devices, we knew that we needed to partner with the best - and that is UA. We have the utmost confidence in Universal Audio to not only deliver on the promise of these brands, but to provide customers with the 'best in class' support they expect."

"The Harman Pro Group is the parent company behind and array of legendary premium audio brands, and we are truly honored by this partnership," said Universal Audio President Matt Ward. "This is a great tribute to the care and detail that our DSP and user interface teams put into each and every UAD Powered Plug-In. We look forward to working with the talented folks at the Harman Pro Group to ensure every emulation detail is as faithful and accurate as possible to the original classic equipment."

Ampex Corporation

Ampex is famous in the professional audio world as innovators of magnetic tape and tape recorder technology - widely praised for its rich, almost magical sound quality. For the first time ever, Universal Audio's team of DSP engineers will exhaustively and faithfully model these complex devices and media, bringing accurate emulations of Ampex magnetic recording tape to the UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins platform.

"Ampex is not only the most recognizable maker of US-made tape machines; they really pioneered the concepts that gave way to modern multi-tracking and overdubbing," commented Universal Audio President Matt Ward. "But it's really the sound of these amazing machines, along with their well-guarded tape formulas, that birthed the golden-era of record production. The fact that these designs are still in use today is a testament to the Ampex brand's iconic status in the world of professional recording."

"Ampex is quite pleased to be returning to the professional audio market after many years away; and in such a unique fashion," stated Gordon Strickland, President and CEO of Ampex Corp. "It took a company like Universal Audio, who understood that the Ampex name could be made 'new' again for multiple generations of audio customers through the latest advancements in DSP technology. We are well aware of the value of the Ampex brand, and we protect it accordingly. Our discussions with UA convinced us that they would be a good partner and would create products that we could all be proud of."

"We've long known that Tape machines would be considered the 'holy grail' of audio plug-ins. This is something that our customers have been demanding for quite some time," confirmed UAD Plug-In Product Manager Will Shanks. "So we're taking great pains to ensure that our efforts will satisfy our most discriminating customers' expectations, not to mention our own. We're very excited to have both the Ampex Corporation and former Ampex engineers closely involved on the emulations of the classic devices and media we're targeting."

Dunlop

Dunlop is a leading manufacturer of guitar stompboxes and studio-oriented effects under the Dunlop and MXR brands. Under this partnership, Universal Audio will deliver a range of unique and classic effects to the ever-growing family of plug-ins available on the UAD-2 platform.

"Dunlop and MXR have innovated and defined classic effects sounds for decades," said Matt Ward, President of Universal Audio. "We hope to extend this reputation by painstakingly modeling authentic Dunlop and MXR effects for the UAD-2 platform. Guitarists and producers have embraced these effects for decades, so we're very happy about this partnership."

"Universal Audio and Dunlop Manufacturing both have a commitment to maintaining a tradition of true analog gear for musicians," commented Jimmy Dunlop, Vice President of Dunlop. "When it came time to create plug-ins of our classic electronics, we knew there was only one company to turn to. We know our customers will be pleased with the level of quality and performance that UA will be offering."