u-he

a-type · Post by **a-type** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:46 am

A quiet moment at the office has found me searching the KVR u-he forum archives for the correct pronounciation "u-he".

Way back in 2009 Urs wrote this:

Urs wrote:
bduffy wrote:I thought it was "you-hee"...
me too...

So it's actually "you hee"? I always assumed it was "you her".

But then again, seeing as U HE is just a shortened form of "Urs Heckmann", shouldn't it be "oo hair"? (I think that's how you pronounce "Urs", right? "Ooers"?)

Someone is just going to have to call up the u-he office and see how they answer the phone.

mgpqa1 · Post by **mgpqa1** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:02 am

a-type wrote:...Someone is just going to have to call up the u-he office and see how they answer the phone.

Or... just listen to how the man himself says it (jump to 5:26):

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:16 am

Urs
woos

szurcio · Post by **szurcio** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:21 am

mcnoone wrote:Urs
woos

What the Heck...?
...mann?

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:29 am

You're in luck, the YouTube english pronunciation guide tackled this for you:

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:29 am

szurcio wrote:
mcnoone wrote:Urs
woos
What the Heck...?
...mann?

That's how you say Urs in German, but its slightly off.
It's like "oo" then add the s.
It sounded like "woo" but now that I listen again, it's more like "oo"
So it's like oos

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:45 am

mcnoone wrote:
szurcio wrote:
mcnoone wrote:Urs
woos
What the Heck...?
...mann?
That's how you say Urs in German, but its slightly off.
It's like "oo" then add the s.
It sounded like "woo" but now that I listen again, it's more like "oo"
So it's like oos

edit:
The U-he name is associated with his name Urs, as was stated in a post here some years ago.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:46 am

I thought it had to do with Unicorn Helmets? Dang, I've been living a lie all these years.

a-type · Post by **a-type** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:29 am

Thanks for that video. Got it. Time to re-patch my brain to say "you hee" not "you her".

you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee

Krakatau · Post by **Krakatau** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 6:41 am

BTW how to pronounce : bmrzycki ?

paterpeter · Post by **paterpeter** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:15 am

a-type wrote:Thanks for that video. Got it. Time to re-patch my brain to say "you hee" not "you her".

you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee you hee

Or simply avoid using u-he altogether: "the company that made Zebra" is universally acknowledged.

TBH, u-he isn't really a killer company-name IMO*. It obviously lacks creativity - which is funny given the creativity that the instruments expose. No matter how I pronounce it (in German or English) the name doesn't really click.

So I thought, what would be a cool name for that company? The first name that came to my mind - while not the most creative in the world either - was "Audio Berlin", but a company by that name already exists. It sounds pretty solid, though.

What do you say would a killer company name for u-he be? NB: I'm not actually suggesting to rename u-he, I'm just curious what people come up with.

* No offense, Urs. I adore your work (and that of your colleagues, of course). Grüße vom ländlichen Münsterland ins Dicke B

a-type · Post by **a-type** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:53 am

Yeah, as much as I respect and idolise u-he and its products, I would have to agree that the name doesn't really pack much punch, does it.

But then again, neither do "Google" or "Twitter".. and look how popular they have become despite their bizarre names. When you pass that critical point, your products take the spotlight and your company and product names just become abstract handles. So in this regard, "u-he" is perfectly fine. As you said, anyone who knows anything about soft synths these days will recognise "Zebra" anyway.. so "u-he" doesn't really need impact on its own.

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:54 am

Well, back then I thought it wouldn't be a much worse name than E-mu Systems

Nevertheless, as long as I'm technically a simple one-person-business-with-employees I think I need to stick to my name. Should we however upgrade to a Ltd./GmbH, then I might feel inclined to pop a more catchy name over it.

Urs

a-type · Post by **a-type** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 8:00 am

But just to humour the idea of renaming u-he, how about these?

U-Modular Berlin
URSH Sound (even harder to decipher than u-he!)
Heckmann Audio
The Best Friggin Softsynths You'll Ever Know Berlin (conveniently shortenable to TBFSYEK Berlin.. rolls off the tongue)

Esgalachoir · Post by **Esgalachoir** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 8:10 am

a-type wrote: The Best Friggin Softsynths You'll Ever Know Berlin (conveniently shortenable to TBFSYEK Berlin.. rolls off the tongue)

The acronym sounds like a head-on collision of Japanese and Russian...

I've always pronounced "U-he" as "You-Aich-Ee"...as if it were an acronym.(It practically is an acronym.)
But I like the way U-he looks as a logo and in text.

u-he

KVR Audio

How to pronounce "u-he"