UA launches Blue Stripe Sessions: new series celebrating the people, ideas, and craftsmanship shaping music. First episode features Santa Cruz Guitar Company owner Richard Hoover reflecting on 50 years of building world-class acoustic guitars - plus a chance to win one. SCOTTS VALLEY, CA - October 19, 2026 - Universal Audio, Inc. (UA), a worldwide leader in audio production tools, is proud to announce Blue Stripe Sessions, a new series hosted by CEO Bill Putnam Jr. that brings together artists and innovators to explore music, creativity, and craftsmanship. Named after the iconic 1176 "Blue Stripe" compressor created by Bill Putnam Sr., the series connects UA's analog heritage with the people and ideas shaping music today. The first Blue Stripe Session features Richard Hoover, owner and master luthier of Santa Cruz Guitar Company, in conversation with Bill Putnam Jr. about what it takes to build something that lasts. The episode celebrates the shared roots of two Santa Cruz companies that have each spent decades building tools musicians love. Enter to win a Santa Cruz Guitar and full UA recording setup. UA and Santa Cruz Guitar Company have teamed up for a giveaway celebrating both the series launch and SCGC's 50th anniversary. One grand-prize winner will receive: The celebration continues with UA sponsoring Santa Cruz Guitar Company's 50th Anniversary event and making a donation to Barrios Unidos, a Santa Cruz-based organization supporting youth and families in the community. The Blue Stripe Session with Richard Hoover is available now on UA's blog. About Santa Cruz Guitar Company Santa Cruz Guitar Company (SCGC) is a custom acoustic guitar builder celebrating 50 years of craftsmanship, innovation, and community. Founded in 1976 by master luthier Richard Hoover and his original partners, SCGC combines traditional violin-making techniques with acoustic innovation to create heirloom-quality instruments tailored to each player's musical voice. Every guitar is individually hand-voiced and tap-tuned, using carefully selected woods sourced through reclamation and responsible harvesting. Based in Santa Cruz, California, the company is dedicated to sharing knowledge, supporting its community, and building instruments that inspire creativity for generations. About Universal Audio Inc. Universal Audio (UA) is a pioneer in audio and music production tools, with a rich 60-year history of craftsmanship and innovation. UA today enables millions of audio and music creators worldwide, with industry-standard Apollo and Volt recording interfaces, UAD plug-ins, UAFX pedals, advanced audio machine learning, LUNA recording suite, and UA Custom Shop hardware. UA is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, with passionate employees worldwide - united by its goal of "Inspiring Sound for Generations." (C) 2026 Universal Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, pricing, and availability are subject to change without notice. The "Universal Audio" name, UA "diamond" logo, "Apollo," "Apollo Twin," "UAD," "Powered Plug-Ins," and "LUNA Recording System" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Universal Audio Inc.

Universal Audio's Empirical Labs FATSO goes native. Published 14/10/26 Tape simulator plug-in gains native version Universal Audio's recreation of the Empirical Labs FATSO has just become the latest of the company's plug-ins to join their native line-up. Previously reserved for users of Apollo interfaces or UAD's hardware accelerator systems, Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is now available as a native plug-in for all Windows and macOS users. Developed in collaboration with Dave Derr, the founder of Empirical Labs and designer of the hardware FATSO, the plug-in faithful recreates the tape-style saturation and compression of the physical unit, and introduces a handful of features that aren't present in the original design. Key features. The Only Authentic FATSO Plug-in: Get the same tape and saturation processing heard on recordings by AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and more. * Two Plug-ins: Access iconic tones with FATSO Jr or get deeper compression control with the FATSO Sr * Four Compression Modes. Glue buses and mixes together with Buss, G.P., Tracking and Spank settings. * Warmth for Everything: Slam drums, make bass pop on small speakers or warm up a vocal instantly . * Beyond the Hardware. Enjoy features like side-chain filtering, variable transformer saturation and deeper compression parameters. Compatibility. Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is supported on PCs running Windows 10 or above, and Macs running macOS 11 and higher. VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available. Pricing & availability. UAD Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is available now, and is being offered at an introductory price of $79 until 31 December 2026, when it will increase to its full cost of $149. Owners of the Apollo DSP version can upgrade for $2.99. The plug-in is also included in the company's UAD Spark subscription plan.

Now native: UA releases Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator plug-ins. October 13, 2026 SCOTTS VALLEY, CA - October 13, 2026 - Universal Audio Inc. (UA), a worldwide leader in audio production tools, is proud to announce the native release of UAD Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator plug-ins for macOS and Windows. Developed in collaboration with Empirical Labs founder and FATSO designer Dave Derr, the UAD Empirical Labs FATSO delivers the only authentic plug-in emulations of the original FATSO analog hardware, combining tape-style saturation and compression in one essential plug-in. From adding warmth and subtle harmonic color to vocals, to slamming drums with thick saturation, FATSO brings the sounds used on recordings spanning artists from Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt to AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden to any DAW.* The UAD Empirical Labs FATSO brings the signature FATSO Jr and FATSO Sr tape simulation and compression effects to any DAW. An authentic emulation of the original hardware, FATSO combines multiple compression and saturation modes for adding anything from subtle analog color to total sonic destruction. Key Benefits: * The Only Authentic FATSO. Get the same tape and saturation processing heard on recordings by AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and more * Two Plug-Ins. Access iconic tones with FATSO Jr or get deeper compression control with the FATSO Sr * Four Compression Modes. Glue buses and mixes together with Buss, G.P., Tracking, and Spank settings * Warmth for Everything. Slam drums, make bass pop on small speakers, or warm up a vocal instantly * Beyond the Hardware. Enjoy features like sidechain filtering, variable transformer saturation, and deeper compression parameters. Pricing, Bundles, and Upgrades The UAD Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is available now for an introductory price of $79 USD (regularly $149 USD) through December 31, 2026. Current owners of the Apollo DSP version of FATSO can upgrade to the native version for $2.99 USD. UAD Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is also now included in UAD Spark Studio, a music production subscription to UA's full native plug-in library. *Use of artist names does not constitute official endorsement of UAD plug-ins.