Gear With a Detailed Difference.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2018. Industry veterans Chad Kelly and Cave Daughdrill can't take any more "pretend" reissues. Chad had a dream for quite a while to give the world quality versions of "reissue" gear, after seeing countless people buy affordable, but ultimately disappointing equipment sold as quality reissues.
Chad Kelly has been in the audio industry for over two decades, working with some of the largest and smallest manufacturers of pro audio equipment — all while also building boutique quality audio equipment in his free time. Whatever gear his employers were releasing, he would still often be approached and asked to make the "Chad Kelly version" of the equipment.
Though he was very happy with his own creations, it was not these builds at all that drove him to co-found United — it was the growing plethora of cheaper "knockoffs."
"They look a bit like the originals, but internally they often have less in common with the original designs," says Chad Kelly. "There were plenty of high-dollar recreations that were excellent, but many of the more affordable versions tended to be poor — yet they were the ones that were really selling well. We knew that we could do better — to give people something closer to the real McCoy... 'Buyer's Remorse' is a real thing and something we think about a lot — so are first impressions, and this drives our obsession over details and QC. Our goal is to absolutely amaze people with the level of quality that they are getting for their money — not to merely be 'good enough.' We are trying to build gear that lasts a career, and that people will not grow tired of using."
This became the driving spirit of United: deliver the real classics at a far greater value, with fewer compromises, and present them as affordably as possible.
John 'Cave' Daughdrill has also worked in the pro audio industry for over two decades, serving as a creative director, graphic designer, art director, industrial designer, illustrator, and copywriter for a number of successful audio brands — both big and small. Cave had the privilege to work with one of the most legendary directors in the audio industry. Not content with working on the visions of others, with United, Cave saw the opportunity to have a hand in conceptualizing and defining the products he would work with, in addition to helping shape the trajectory of the company and define its image and message. This, paired with his obsession with music gear, rounds out United's mission — from concept, to records.
