Preserving Musical History with UAD A-Type

In this edition, Julian & Ashea are joined by Will Shanks and James Santiago of Universal Audio, where they discuss UA’s impact on bringing hardware magic to the digital age.

About Our Guests:

Will Shanks: Senior Product Designer / Professional Plugins

James Santiago: Senior Product Designer / Guitar Products

Talking Points:

• The Secret History of the A-Type Processor • A-Type processor, and how UA pushed it even further with modern circuit mods and expanded creative features. • A-Type as historic preservation tool of a particular era of recorded music • Analogue Vs Digital Vs Analogue Emulation with additional features. • UA’s impact on bringing hardware magic to the digital age

About A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer

For modern music producers, the name “A-Type” conjures images of analog recording studios and ancient equipment used for workhorse tasks like noise reduction and tape transfers to digital. But such associations don’t tell the whole story. The legacy of the Dolby A-Type noise reduction system* isn’t just about preservation — it is also a story of transformation. What began as a groundbreaking noise reduction circuit in the golden age of magnetic tape quietly shaped the sound of some of the most iconic records of all time as a creative effect. Now, reimagined as a modern tool for music producers and engineers working in DAWs, the UAD A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer plug-in brings this forgotten “studio secret” back into the spotlight.

A-Type Blog - https://www.uaudio.com/blogs/ua/making-of-uad-a-type

Finds of the week:

Each week our guests share something they have found, (usually audio related but it doesn´t have to be; it can be anything from audio software to movies or even a jar of pickle):

Julian: Surrounded by Sound: Ray Dolby and the Art of Noise Reduction

Ashea: https://wiredmasters.co.uk/ (Tape Baking Story)

Will: Amazon Pants

James:Installation of tone makers in Times Square Max Neuhas -