UAD2 plug-ins for Dunlop, Lexicon, Studer, dbx, AKG and Manley
| Posted in Music Technology
Universal Audio has announced a partnership with Dunlop – manufacturer of some of the world’s best loved stomp boxes and effects processors – with a plan to create plug-ins based on Dunlop and MXR products. The plug-ins will be designed for the Universal Audio UAD-2 platform.
California based manufacturer Dunlop has enjoyed a long history of designing and manufacturing pedal effects including the iconic Crybaby wah. Within the new partnership, announced today at the 2010 NAMM show along with a host of further partnerships, Universal Audio is planning to develop “a range of unique and classic effects”, though no specific details have been released yet on what players should expect.
However, Jim Dunlop himself is sounding more than excited at the prospect of the pairing, explaining that both companies have “a commitment to maintaining a tradition of true analogue gear for musicians. 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”.
Matt Ward, President of Universal Audio, has also added his own note of assurance, explaining that the developer will “painstakingly model authentic Dunlop and MXR effects for the UAD2″.
Further Universal Audio news from NAMM includes the announcement that Manley Labs Massive Passive EQ plug-ins are due for imminent release in the first quarter of this year.
Again developed for the UAD-2 platform, the plug-ins are based on one of the most exclusive hardware EQs in the pro-audio industry – the two-channel, four-band Manley Massive Passive EQ. The hardware version has been described by UAD Powered Plug-Ins Product Manager Will Shanks as “the ultimate in mastering grade EQs – it sounds warm without ever being dull; it stays precise while remaining highly musical”. Many professional engineers would agree, hence the groundswell of interest in the new plug-in
Elsewhere, the Harman Pro Group – owner of brands including Soundcraft, AKG, Lexicon, DBX and Studer – has added itself to the ranks of Universal Audio partners, having signed a licensing agreement to allow UA to “develop, market and sell plug-in emulations of select Lexicon, Studer, dbx, and AKG equipment”.
As with Dunlop, no details have yet been revealed as to which products will be emulated, but the developer is taking the agreement very seriously indeed, with Matt Ward declaring that the company is “honoured” at the agreement and the pedigree of audio innovation that it opens up to the developer.
Finally, Ampex Corporation, the US manufacturer of magnetic tape and tape recorder technology for professional recording studios, will also soon be getting the Universal Audio treatment, offering UAD-2 users the chance to emulate classic tape sounds.
About Barney Jameson
A contributor, editor and in some cases creator of more music and pro audio magazines than he cares to remember, Barney Jameson is a veteran of writing about gear, and a pretty keen singer songwriter to boot.
Having started his musical education reading old copies of the Melody Maker while riding the tube to University in the mid-nineties, Barney once sang in a band called Sugarstone, troubling record company chequebooks not quite enough to make it a career option. Instead, he achieved his goal of starting a music magazine of his own when he founded Playmusic in the early noughties. Later on, having exploited VIP access to as many festivals as possible, he wrote about the pro audio industry throughout Europe and the Middle East, travelling to far-flung destinations such as Dubai, Doha and Muscat (nice mountains).
As the latest addition to the DV247 team, Barney has big plans. But when he’s not plotting online domination of the musical instrument world, he keeps himself busy writing songs on a battered old acoustic guitar and playing them to audiences in his home town.
Tags: akg, Ampex, Crybaby wah, dbx, Dunlop, Lexicon, Manley Massive Passive EQ, Studer, UAD2