Travis Fodor is a guitarist, sound designer, and is currently working on the cutting of Virtual Reality. And UE is with him all the way. Travis takes his Ultimate Ears Reference monitors on stage, to the studio and intp whatever kind of virtual world he’s building. As he says…
"I know the UE’s are going to bring the clarity I want from my apartment to the venue....moving forward, custom UE’s are the only move for me."
Do you use your UE’s when you are doing sound design ? How about when you are playing guitar?
Totally. What’s great about the Reference Monitor is that I know I’m going to get a great representation of the sounds I’m working on. Whether it’s designing sounds for games, or cutting background effects, or even premixing dialogue for a 5.1 mix. I know that more of the work is done through the reference monitor than any other in-ear on the market. It’s really great to premix a film on my UE RMs, drop the mix onto a soundstage, and not having to completely redesign the entire soundscape.
As for guitar, I definitely do. Translating sounds from my studio setup to a live scenario couldn’t be easier with my in ears. It’s also great to note that I’ve literally used the reference pair for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for several weeks in past year. Not to mention a handful of flights between asia, australia, and the middle east. Comfort is huge for me, and moving forward, custom UE’s are the only move for me.
You use a Axe Fx right? Does your UE IEMs help with designing effects?
I do. The Fractal is really great. I’ve worked with some decent near field monitors, or over ear cans to try to create some great sounds out of the Fractal. I always keep coming back to the UE Reference Monitor. When designing a guitar patch, it’s really important to nail the soundstage, and nail how each effect “talks” to the next. I always start on my RM's before running my patch into a PA. I know the UE’s are going to bring the clarity I want from my apartment to the venue.
Do you think that using UE has helped your live performance?
Totally. Being a full time student, full time sound designer, and a gigging musician is hard work. Anything that I can go without thinking about makes a huge difference. It’s a relief knowing that the great tone I have in my head is translating to the audience out in the house.
wing that the great tone I have in my head is translating to the audience out in the house
