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Post by johneppstein on Feb 2, 2023 17:13:02 GMT -6
Why am I not surprised by this? My suspicion - Dave's standards are simply too high for the UA bean counters. Remember that they got their commercial "weight" by family ties and that UA does not now make the definitive versions of ANY of their famous pieces - and their prices are generally on the high side. I'm not a financial supporter, but I must admit that they haven't rested on their laurels -- I'd be surprised if >15% of their profits come from their hardware classics/reissues. Software has a much better ratio of return on investment. How they manage to con people into believing they're a hardware company is beyond me.
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Post by johneppstein on Feb 2, 2023 17:18:03 GMT -6
I’ll give you a very simple non audio example of why you keep the person who runs the place around for a while, a number of years ago the building I lived in was sold at auction, 15min later the new owner gave my good friend and building manager her walking papers and asked for company laptop. Great except one thing he never asked for any of the passwords! She wasn’t happy no real severance had a new job in less than an hour and he had no way of unlocking any of the software. Ha-Ha!!!
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Post by chessparov on Feb 2, 2023 17:45:45 GMT -6
You know why Apple stopped the planned production of the new iCar?
Couldn't install Windows. Chris
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2023 18:10:31 GMT -6
^ Best one yet..
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Feb 2, 2023 18:22:32 GMT -6
You know why Apple stopped the planned production of the new iCar? Couldn't install Windows. Chris I heard they got sued by Icarly!
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Post by Quint on Feb 2, 2023 18:47:21 GMT -6
If he had quit, I'd agree on the whole corporate culture thing. But he was let go. So UA made that decision. If acquiring Bock was part of UA's long term strategy, I would have thought keeping David around was part of that strategy, no? UA is run by a bunch of idiots. Well, I don't know that I would take it that far. They certainly have done some things in the past that have personally pissed me off, and they also, from time to time, make a move that is confusing or just plain old frustrating as hell. I'd say this Bock situation falls somewhere in the middle of one or more of these type of characterizations. That said, UA has also done a lot of things I like, the UAD, Apollo, Luna thing being a big part of that. I think they've really tried to recreate certain workflows, which maybe some don't like, but I happen to like a whole lot. Sure, UA can be frustrating sometimes. Maybe they can even be called stubborn or slow. But I wouldn't call them idiots. They're doing a whole lot right, and certainly way more right than wrong.
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Post by phantom on Feb 2, 2023 20:29:30 GMT -6
UA is doing too many things, and I really fear the company will start to feel bloated and sluggish.
Rebranding Bock mics and rebranding Chinese mics for the dynamics always felt unnecessary imo.
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Post by drumsound on Feb 2, 2023 20:59:54 GMT -6
The re introduction of hardware was strategic, it sells software. Can’t afford a 1176LN here is a plugin buy the guys who built the 1176! I never understood why a decent self respecting gearpimp with a high school education would push UA, so I sell the gear and you get to sell all the additional plugins? Umm see those little plugins are the long term $$$$. Know why Waves is still around? Because while they do sell direct a dealer can push it and sell it! I believe that model has changed and retailers can now sell plugins as well. I'll look into that, but I bet you're right.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Feb 2, 2023 21:16:42 GMT -6
I believe that model has changed and retailers can now sell plugins as well. I'll look into that, but I bet you're right. Only listings for UA plugins I can find on the 5 biggest dealers I can think of on line are for packages with an interface.
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Post by Quint on Feb 2, 2023 21:26:29 GMT -6
UA is doing too many things, and I really fear the company will start to feel bloated and sluggish. Rebranding Bock mics and rebranding Chinese mics for the dynamics always felt unnecessary imo. Yeah, I generally can't disagree with that. I know they're trying to go after what they perceive to be low hanging fruit, but I wish they would just focus on pro audio. But then maybe the lines between pro audio, home recording, and musicians are so blurred these days that it doesn't really matter. I suppose that, with so many things being digital these days, the R&D goes into the software and conversion once, and then it's not really that much more effort or money to port software and conversion to any number of different products aimed at pro audio, home recording, or musicians.
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Post by OtisGreying on Feb 2, 2023 22:59:50 GMT -6
Seems confusing, buy the Bock brand - not a necessarily hugely famous microphone brand although definitely known amongst those who purchase microphones to be of the highest quality, then fire the main designer/creator and assume your credibility with the taking over the brand wont be completely shot? When the target audience interested in the Bock brand would surely notice something like that happening? UA seems to be spreading themselves far too thin to make good decisions
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Post by seawell on Feb 2, 2023 23:54:16 GMT -6
The real winners of this whole ordeal are current owners of Soundelux / Bock mics. I'd say the price just got a significant bump.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 3, 2023 0:42:22 GMT -6
David leaving is one thing, whether the quality of the mikes ua was creating under his tenure is negatively affected we don’t know as they are not available, yet. Time will tell, they had their initial splash and things looked promising. Wonder how, if supply chain issues affected their release, quality, price point, etc.? Perhaps price point climbed sharply and UA brass hit pause?
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 3, 2023 0:48:28 GMT -6
Hmm ua bock Google links find missing pages: that’s not good.
Here’s a review of what was marketed, were theyvall simply repurposed Bocks in new outer materials ?
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 3, 2023 0:52:01 GMT -6
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Post by thehightenor on Feb 3, 2023 3:11:37 GMT -6
UA is doing too many things, and I really fear the company will start to feel bloated and sluggish. Rebranding Bock mics and rebranding Chinese mics for the dynamics always felt unnecessary imo. I remember buying a UAD-1 card when it first came out and the concept and plug-ins were revolutionary. That LA2A sounded so good compared to Logics stock plug-ins. I’ve since gone on to invest heavily in the UAD-2 system and plug-ins. I think their software is absolutely superb. Especially their FX (reverb and delays) The new Motown plug-ins are brilliant the chamber and EQ are, for me really stunning plug-ins. Great company as far as I’m concerned.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 3, 2023 3:27:16 GMT -6
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Post by chipbuttie on Feb 3, 2023 8:47:23 GMT -6
IMO the only thing UA are really good at is marketing. Like how they managed to convince a lot of people that they are the same company that made the original la2a and 1176. They’re no different to other companies making clones except they are legally allowed to put “teletronix” on the faceplate.
I’ve always wanted a Bock 251 so the UA/ Bock was the first UA product I was actually considering buying but without David there to oversee component choice and QC there’s no way I would buy one. I just don’t like the way this company operates.
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Post by Quint on Feb 3, 2023 8:54:34 GMT -6
Hmm ua bock Google links find missing pages: that’s not good. Here’s a review of what was marketed, were theyvall simply repurposed Bocks in new outer materials ? God damn. I can't listen to that guy in that video talk for longer than about 30 second...
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 3, 2023 8:55:25 GMT -6
Same !
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Post by chessparov on Feb 3, 2023 9:29:46 GMT -6
FWIW Mark the video narrator, who uses "MYN" as a forum handle...
Is a very nice guy, with a terrific VO voice. Does lots of "Character Voices", as you could sense here.
I totally understand though, for the more serious audience like us (even me!), the preference for less of an attempted/humorous type "commercial tone".
He did make the good point, that maybe early on, they waited a bit... While the remaining Bock U187/167/251 dealer stock got sold off.
I still have to wonder where best to send my U195, if/when it needs servicing. I was lucky enough to have Mr. B himself and right hand repairman "Sergio" personally inspect mine, when I received it. Chris
P.S. With an 87, particularly an AI... I would have done virtually the same EQing, to get it to the U195's voicing. Interesting that the Tube-ish FAT switch, has been usually preferred by listeners of my vocal clips.
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Post by keymod on Feb 3, 2023 10:04:28 GMT -6
We have an early Soundelux U99 that is a very nice piece.
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Post by chessparov on Feb 3, 2023 10:18:56 GMT -6
Yep. I'm confident anything that Bock oversaw, sounds exceptional. They rarely come up, but I'm especially curious also about the U95's and the 49 styles they used to have. For those I'd be a little more concerned on long term servicing too. My lean is towards Beesneez/FLEA/Heiserman then. Neumann is out of my budget range. Chris
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Post by noob on Feb 3, 2023 13:36:31 GMT -6
IMO the only thing UA are really good at is marketing. Like how they managed to convince a lot of people that they are the same company that made the original la2a and 1176. They’re no different to other companies making clones except they are legally allowed to put “teletronix” on the faceplate. I’ve always wanted a Bock 251 so the UA/ Bock was the first UA product I was actually considering buying but without David there to oversee component choice and QC there’s no way I would buy one. I just don’t like the way this company operates. What's wrong with the way they operate? I love everything they make tbh, the plugins, my apollo x8p, and also I am a huge fan of Luna. Let's be honest here, none of us know what happened with Bock. My first impression is it's a contract dispute, maybe he wanted more royalties than they could afford, after they had bought his technology. Maybe he was being more controlling over the project than he needed to be? I don't really know, neither does anyone here, so I'm not gonna sit back and judge the situation. I really have no idea. I'll still support UA, I really love the quality of their stuff. I don't think they are a company that only cares about marketing. I think their product quality is excellent.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Feb 3, 2023 13:40:43 GMT -6
Mr. Bock had enough time there to oversee production of the new mics. If UAD simply sticks to those standards, there's no reason to think they will sound worse because the designer has left the company.
That said, it's quite common for the main person in a company to stay on after a buyout with a new company for a year or two and then leave. It's up to UA to maintain quality, but it wouldn't be a surprise if quality diminished.
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