Gravis UltraSound
Title
Gravis UltraSound
Subject
hardware: sound card
Description
Historical Context
(by Z. Stachniak)
In the final two decades of the twentieth century, the personal computer industry experienced rapid technological advances that included, among other innovations, the development of high-performance input devices (such as game controllers) as well as sound and video cards. Array Technology Inc. (ATI, founded in 1985), Creative Technology (1981), Logitech International (1981), Matrox Graphics (1976), and NVIDIA (1993) are examples of leading manufacturers of such products.
In Canada, several companies—besides ATI and Matrox—successfully designed and manufactured input devices and add-on cards for personal computers. One such company was Gravis Computer Peripherals Inc. (Gravis), founded in 1982 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1985, the company was renamed International Gravis Computer Technology Inc., and following its amalgamation with Abaton Resources Ltd. in 1987, it adopted the name Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. In 1997, Gravis was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group, which incorporated the Gravis brand of entertainment gamepads and joysticks into its product line.
The "Company Background" published on Gravis' ftp site in 1997, described the company's origins this way
Gravis originated in 1979 from the passion for computer games shared by two childhood friends, Grant Russell and Dennis Scott-Jackson. They soon found that joysticks and paddles on the market did not provide a real arcade feel or precision, and they typically broke down within weeks of intensive game use. This started them on the quest to build a better joystick.
Between 1985 and 1997, Gravis designed and manufactured several award-winning joysticks and gamepads for desktop computers produced by companies such as Amiga, Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy. Its first product, the Gravis Analog Joystick, introduced in 1985, quickly became a popular choice among computer gamers. The Gravis PC GamePad, released in 1991, was equally successful and was adopted by numerous electronic entertainment companies, including Nintendo and Sega. Similar success followed with the Firebird programmable game controller, introduced in 1996.
By 1996, the number of retail outlets carrying Gravis products exceeded 11,000 worldwide, making the company one of the world’s largest suppliers of computer joysticks and gamepads, according to reports such as those published by PC Data.
Gravis UltraSound
In 1992, the company entered the computer sound card market with the introduction of the UltraSound, a 16-bit, 32-voice card that delivered CD-quality sound for IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers. The board was powered by the Gravis GF1 chip, with the underlying technology licensed and later acquired from Forte Technologies. Gravis also licensed Recording Session for Windows from Midisoft Corporation, a music authoring application, which was bundled with the UltraSound card. This bundle enabled users to conveniently compose, record, play, and edit MIDI music on personal computers. Introducing the Gravis UltraSound product, Grant Russell, Advanced Gravis president, commented that "A large percentage of our sound card customers are Windows users anxious to experiment with music composition and MIDI. These customers are going to find our CD-quality sound and Midisoft's revolutionary software hard to beat, especially at the price."
The UltraSound was built around wavetable synthesis technology. Unlike FM synthesis, which generates approximate, chip-produced sounds, wavetable synthesis uses a library of original instrument samples to create audio, playing it back in real time. This technology was particularly well-suited for music-oriented games and applications that required a MIDI sound module.
Gravis UltraSound cards became especially popular within the demoscene, BBS-based underground art, and tracker music communities of the 1990s, which the company actively supported through event sponsorships and product donations. However, despite this strong support and the successful collaboration with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) on the development of the next-generation sound chip—the AMD InterWave, announced in April 1995—sales of Gravis sound card products remained below expectations and were declining. Ultimately, fierce competition from companies such as Creative Technology (the manufacturer of the SoundBlaster family of sound cards), combined with technical and marketing challenges, forced the company to withdraw from the sound card market.
Other Gravis sound products included:
Museun holdings
(by Z. Stachniak)
In the final two decades of the twentieth century, the personal computer industry experienced rapid technological advances that included, among other innovations, the development of high-performance input devices (such as game controllers) as well as sound and video cards. Array Technology Inc. (ATI, founded in 1985), Creative Technology (1981), Logitech International (1981), Matrox Graphics (1976), and NVIDIA (1993) are examples of leading manufacturers of such products.
In Canada, several companies—besides ATI and Matrox—successfully designed and manufactured input devices and add-on cards for personal computers. One such company was Gravis Computer Peripherals Inc. (Gravis), founded in 1982 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1985, the company was renamed International Gravis Computer Technology Inc., and following its amalgamation with Abaton Resources Ltd. in 1987, it adopted the name Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. In 1997, Gravis was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group, which incorporated the Gravis brand of entertainment gamepads and joysticks into its product line.
The "Company Background" published on Gravis' ftp site in 1997, described the company's origins this way
Gravis originated in 1979 from the passion for computer games shared by two childhood friends, Grant Russell and Dennis Scott-Jackson. They soon found that joysticks and paddles on the market did not provide a real arcade feel or precision, and they typically broke down within weeks of intensive game use. This started them on the quest to build a better joystick.
Between 1985 and 1997, Gravis designed and manufactured several award-winning joysticks and gamepads for desktop computers produced by companies such as Amiga, Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy. Its first product, the Gravis Analog Joystick, introduced in 1985, quickly became a popular choice among computer gamers. The Gravis PC GamePad, released in 1991, was equally successful and was adopted by numerous electronic entertainment companies, including Nintendo and Sega. Similar success followed with the Firebird programmable game controller, introduced in 1996.
By 1996, the number of retail outlets carrying Gravis products exceeded 11,000 worldwide, making the company one of the world’s largest suppliers of computer joysticks and gamepads, according to reports such as those published by PC Data.
Gravis UltraSound
In 1992, the company entered the computer sound card market with the introduction of the UltraSound, a 16-bit, 32-voice card that delivered CD-quality sound for IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers. The board was powered by the Gravis GF1 chip, with the underlying technology licensed and later acquired from Forte Technologies. Gravis also licensed Recording Session for Windows from Midisoft Corporation, a music authoring application, which was bundled with the UltraSound card. This bundle enabled users to conveniently compose, record, play, and edit MIDI music on personal computers. Introducing the Gravis UltraSound product, Grant Russell, Advanced Gravis president, commented that "A large percentage of our sound card customers are Windows users anxious to experiment with music composition and MIDI. These customers are going to find our CD-quality sound and Midisoft's revolutionary software hard to beat, especially at the price."
The UltraSound was built around wavetable synthesis technology. Unlike FM synthesis, which generates approximate, chip-produced sounds, wavetable synthesis uses a library of original instrument samples to create audio, playing it back in real time. This technology was particularly well-suited for music-oriented games and applications that required a MIDI sound module.
Gravis UltraSound cards became especially popular within the demoscene, BBS-based underground art, and tracker music communities of the 1990s, which the company actively supported through event sponsorships and product donations. However, despite this strong support and the successful collaboration with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) on the development of the next-generation sound chip—the AMD InterWave, announced in April 1995—sales of Gravis sound card products remained below expectations and were declining. Ultimately, fierce competition from companies such as Creative Technology (the manufacturer of the SoundBlaster family of sound cards), combined with technical and marketing challenges, forced the company to withdraw from the sound card market.
Other Gravis sound products included:
- the UltraSound Max, an advanced UltraSound product featuring 16-bit recording and built-in CD-ROM interfaces (1994);
- the UltraSound ACE low cost wavetable upgrade sound card for owners of earlier FM-based sound cards (1995);
- the UltraSound Plug & Play card (1995);
- the UltraSound Plug & Play Pro card (1995).
Museun holdings
- UltraSound card, rev. 2.2., serial number K5830,
- UltraSound software, v2.06a (6 3.5" floppy diskettes).
Creator
Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.
Coverage
1992-95, world wide
Online Submission
No
Files
Citation
Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. , “Gravis UltraSound,” York University Computer Museum Canada, accessed January 11, 2026, https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/items/show/13.