The 1176 Compressor was created in 1966 by Bill Putnam Sr., founder of Universal Audio. The initial units were released in 1967 by UREI, which he'd sell later on and be rebuilt by his sons Bill jr. and Jim Putnam, who re-issued the 1176LN as UA's first product in 1999. Putnam crafted the first 1176 recently after the field-effect transistors (FET) were invented replacing vacuum tubes in his designs. He redesigned the 175 and 176 Vari-Mu compressors and created the first 1176.