UAD plugins thread

[Machinated]

OK, so we all know about the limited DSP, clever marketing etc. Let's keep this thread about the plugins.

Which plugins do you guys like best?

I'm going to grab the API vision and hopefully neve 1073 when they're next on sale. the massive passive has blown me away too so ill have to grab that at some point.

I'm using the EMT140 on every mix at the moment, there isn't really any other plugin alternative that can compete IMO.

 

[Matt-Steele]

OK, so we all know about the limited DSP, clever marketing etc. Let's keep this thread about the plugins.

Which plugins do you guys like best?

I'm going to grab the API vision and hopefully neve 1073 when they're next on sale. the massive passive has blown me away too so ill have to grab that at some point.

I'm using the EMT140 on every mix at the moment, there isn't really any other plugin alternative that can compete IMO.

I own the Neve, the API and the 140 along with a TON of other UAD plugs (I'm an addict). The Neve is in my opinion the the best emulation on the market especially when coupled with an Apollo using the unison technology, but be warned, it's a HUGE HOG!!! I only use it while tracking and record it into my DAW. The API also sounds incredible yet it's much more practical and a lot easier on CPU. The Neve is just totally ridiculous on the CPU usage!

In my opinion, if you love saturation, do not overlook the UAD tape simulations. In my opinion, nothing else even comes close. I have both of them and they are the best sounding tape simulations I've ever heard and incredibly versatile. They are expensive but they are the real deal.

In general, test everything out yourself and let your ears be the judge. Just try to take advantage of the UAD sales and coupons. Your wallet will thank you!

 

[Machinated]

I got the studer included for free when I bought it along with a few others. it's certainly cool, and a nice change from slates VTM which I love too.

I have a coupon that expires tomorrow and I have no idea what to throw it at. I only want to spend it on a plugin that's on sale. I've kind of narrowed it down to the pultec or fairchild. what would you pick out of the 2?

 

[Melodeath]

I am seriously considering this new Apollo 8p they announced (and selling one of my current 8 preamp interfaces), and getting a Retina iMac. As is it currently, I have no UAD experience, but I've been forever-envious of the platform.

Honestly not sure what plugs I would get. For 1176 and Neve EQ I have Slate VMR, so I don't really "need" the UAD versions. I'd probably get the API Vision, but only when it's on sale. The MXR Flanger looks fantastic, as well, but kind of expensive for what it is, even when on sale. RMX16 and Lexicon 224 seem great.

Machinated, have you used/heard the VNXT EMT nebula? I've heard extreme praise for it, in particular inc omparison to the UAD 140, and it looks like it's only $24, although I guess you also need Nebula 3 Pro, which is a bit more money

 

[Machinated]

I used nebula years ago on windows and it was a frightening experience, no way am I considering that clunky experimental bollocks for serious work, no matter how good it sounds. for what it may have in sound, it completely lacks in functionality and reliability. fine for messing around with but not fit for proper use IMO.

the uad are plugs are on the whole fantastic but there are native plugins on the same level. being able to track through them with no latency and on a high buffer really is awesome. I got my (old) Apollo recently and I'm really happy with it.

the plugins do seem expensive but it's just UA's marketing - there's always sales, offers and vouchers/coupons they stick in your account so no one ever pays full price unless they're stuck. it's just a psychological thing so you think you're getting a great deal. they're smart but it just comes with the teritory, it's what keeps them in business so fair play to them.

I've held off the uad 1176's as I have a million on my computer already, as well as their old legacy version. I'm really waiting for the slate subscription to get VMR and tbh the ones I already have are fine for me. they may or may not sound exact but they'd other do the job or they don't.

I'm sure I'll grab the lexicon 224xl at some point but it's ground that Valhalla vintage covers extremely well. the RMX16 seems fantastic, I'll have to grab that at some point. I've heard really good things about the ocean way plugin too.

 

[Frost Mutant]

I bought a Uad2 duo card which came with a nice pile of plugins and am experimenting with it all now. I like the pultec even though it´s the legacy one
and the 4k bus compressor pops in every mix
I was at first really impressed with the dreamverb, then after a while I started to have problems finding the settings and sound I´m looking for. Any of you guys have a comment about the dreamverb?

I just realized too the potential of the EMT-140, will be cool to experiment with it! loved it instantly on drums, any other suggestions where to try it?

One more question, do You guys know if I can record using uad plugins, say neve legacy, the way in running on my uad duo card? Or can that only be done using apollo?

Thanks!

 

[Machinated]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE

if you can look past the music, this is a good example of what a real 140 sounds like. they're typically awesome on vocals and drums but you can through anything at it and it should sound good. make good use of the filters and possibly roll off some top.

I think to track through plugins you need an apollo. I haven't tried the 4k bus comp but I demo'd their SSL channel strip just to compare to what I already have and didn't really rate it. duende for me.

 

[Frost Mutant]

Yeah, wow that 140 definitely sounds absolutely sensational. To me it sounds like it's
almost a member of the band as it makes half of the magic in that track Have to really practice using the plugin to benefit it fully.

Ok so I'll just envy apollo owners then I guess hah!

One of my favourite plugins I forgot to meantion is the Dimension D. That is totally incredible imo and using it on vocals and leads feels like cheating..

Something in particular in massive passive that makes it interesting? Well I'll check it out
on youtube..

I was totally dreaming of the uad tape simulators but my duo card is quite weak and didn't have the money atm so ended up buying vcc for now..

 

[Machinated]

The massive passive really is incredible for boosting. the band interaction is kind of strange as its a passive eq - try a low end boost and feel the weight it adds. Even running signal through it beefs things up quite a bit. It's a CPU hog but the sound is awesome.

The studer's cool, it's a more obvious effect than VTM (I think the a800 is slightly less clean than the a827?). I'm using a mix of slate and studer. haven't tried the ampex yet.

 

[Frost Mutant]

Ok sounds cool. I've mostly used graphical eq's like the basic tools in pro tools
and uad's cambridge, I guess the difference between those and these modelling
parametric stuff is not very clear to me, but I see it would be wise to find out.
I remember realizing something similar you said about the weight in low end
when I first tried the meequalizer in pro tools. Don't know how good it is, but it is different
from the graphical ones for sure. Well I've used that pultec for boosting high mid's
and seemed to choose that over the gambridge for that. Maybe there are same kind of
differences in graphical eq's too so maybe it's bad categorizing comparing those like that, I dunno.
Guess you got me a bit curious about that stuff! Never thought about it that much..

 

[Melodeath]

I used nebula years ago on windows and it was a frightening experience, no way am I considering that clunky experimental bollocks for serious work, no matter how good it sounds. for what it may have in sound, it completely lacks in functionality and reliability. fine for messing around with but not fit for proper use IMO.

the uad are plugs are on the whole fantastic but there are native plugins on the same level. being able to track through them with no latency and on a high buffer really is awesome. I got my (old) Apollo recently and I'm really happy with it.

the plugins do seem expensive but it's just UA's marketing - there's always sales, offers and vouchers/coupons they stick in your account so no one ever pays full price unless they're stuck. it's just a psychological thing so you think you're getting a great deal. they're smart but it just comes with the teritory, it's what keeps them in business so fair play to them.

I've held off the uad 1176's as I have a million on my computer already, as well as their old legacy version. I'm really waiting for the slate subscription to get VMR and tbh the ones I already have are fine for me. they may or may not sound exact but they'd other do the job or they don't.

I'm sure I'll grab the lexicon 224xl at some point but it's ground that Valhalla vintage covers extremely well. the RMX16 seems fantastic, I'll have to grab that at some point. I've heard really good things about the ocean way plugin too.

Good point about Valhalla. I have Valhalla Room, which I use for everything, but never tried Vintage Verb. Do you think you could get EMT 140-esque sounds out of the the Vintage Verb? The Fleet Foxes track sounds great, but to me it doesnt sound like a particularly unique verb sound, but I've never tried matching it with anything.

 

[Machinated]

Good point about Valhalla. I have Valhalla Room, which I use for everything, but never tried Vintage Verb. Do you think you could get EMT 140-esque sounds out of the the Vintage Verb? The Fleet Foxes track sounds great, but to me it doesnt sound like a particularly unique verb sound, but I've never tried matching it with anything.

valhalla room and vintage are both brilliant but they are a really different sound to a physical plate. The plate algorithms in vintage are really good but they're emulating lexicons plate algorithms rather than an actual physical plate.

where vintage really shines is in the long modulated tails. I'm really fussy on verbs so I wouldn't say it's possible to get the 140 sound with vintage. I love with the 140 how you can really pick the words out in the tail. it also has a knack of always bedding into a mix.

I actually checked that song out initially based on a post on gearslutz from valhalla's coder basically saying he'd love to try and do a take on that sound at some point. it's a very familiar sound, sure, but it sounds just like you'd expect a 140 to sound.

 

[Matt-Steele]

I am seriously considering this new Apollo 8p they announced (and selling one of my current 8 preamp interfaces), and getting a Retina iMac.

When console 2.0 came out, i had a serious decision to make. I ended up ditching firewire and my pc for thunderbolt 2 and a 5k retina Imac. I was tortured making the decision, but now I'm happy I did. My Apollo is now flawless on the mac and i've actually been enjoying the mac experience. Everything just works flawlessly where before I always was struggling with getting something to work correctly. I still am a PC guy for everything else. If you don't already have an Apollo, now is a great time to get in on the new ones! But only seriously consider Apollo if you're a mac user only.

 

[Matt-Steele]

The studer's cool, it's a more obvious effect than VTM (I think the a800 is slightly less clean than the a827?). I'm using a mix of slate and studer. haven't tried the ampex yet.

That's how I would describe the uad vs slate as well. slate's vtm is very subtle where the uads, you can seriously fatten up a mix with saturation. You just cant even come close to the type of saturation the uad plugs bring to the table with slates vtm. Slates vtm is cool, but the studer and ampex are awesome and much more versatile.

 

[Melodeath]

When console 2.0 came out, i had a serious decision to make. I ended up ditching firewire and my pc for thunderbolt 2 and a 5k retina Imac. I was tortured making the decision, but now I'm happy I did. My Apollo is now flawless on the mac and i've actually been enjoying the mac experience. Everything just works flawlessly where before I always was struggling with getting something to work correctly. I still am a PC guy for everything else. If you don't already have an Apollo, now is a great time to get in on the new ones! But only seriously consider Apollo if you're a mac user only.

That sounds awesome. I was always intrigued by the original Apollo, but never pulled the trigger. Now that the new ones are coming out with improvements, and there's one with 8 pres, it's even more tempting.

I am currently a mac user, but my 2010 MBP is feeling pretty dated right now, and I've been considering the Retina iMac since it was announced. I've considered switching back to PC to save money, but these new Apollos are mac-only (and so are some of the other thunderbolt interfaces I'm considering, like the Apogee Ensemble). Just the $3k pricetag is pretty daunting.

Do you have the upgraded CPU and/or GPU? Do you ever hear the fan? Have you ever noticed any throttling from heat during mixing?

So you use the Retina for audio, and PC for everything else?

Thanks

 

[Ihsahn1981]

For me the ye olde UAD LA-3A is real cool.
Use it alot on drums and guitars.

The 4k plugins I also use quite a bit.

 

[Matt-Steele]

That sounds awesome. I was always intrigued by the original Apollo, but never pulled the trigger. Now that the new ones are coming out with improvements, and there's one with 8 pres, it's even more tempting.

I am currently a mac user, but my 2010 MBP is feeling pretty dated right now, and I've been considering the Retina iMac since it was announced. I've considered switching back to PC to save money, but these new Apollos are mac-only (and so are some of the other thunderbolt interfaces I'm considering, like the Apogee Ensemble). Just the $3k pricetag is pretty daunting.

Do you have the upgraded CPU and/or GPU? Do you ever hear the fan? Have you ever noticed any throttling from heat during mixing?

So you use the Retina for audio, and PC for everything else?

Thanks

My IMac has the I5 processor and AMD gpu. I've maxed the ram out. I've never heard a fan run on the machine yet and i run sessions with virtual instruments and lots of plug ins. i usually am not mixing huge number of tracks though. I haven't run into any issues at all yet.

The 5K IMac actually is one of just a few Macs that are 100% supported by uad with Thunderbolt 2 connectivity. That is the primary reason I chose the 5k IMac. I really could care less about the huge resolution display. But I have to admit, after using it for the few months I've had it, it really is beautiful. also, the uad console 2.0 is designed to take full advantage of the 5K retina display. It is beautiful. Now i hope Cubase up their game too!

I'm actually a 3D designer. I do recording and mixing as a hobby. So for my graphic work, I use a 24 core hp workstation beast at work. at home, i built my baby with an I7 5960X octo core and Nvidia GTX 980 sli rig. My other machine I used to have the Apollo connected to for recording is an I7 4770K quad core with an Nvidia 780TI gpu. I run Samsung Evo 850s in the PCs. I'm typing to you now on a Microsoft surface pro 3 with I7 processor. This machine/tablet alone was $2,300.00. So yeah, I do everything else still on PC.

 

[cobhc]

My IMac has the I5 processor and AMD gpu. I've maxed the ram out. I've never heard a fan run on the machine yet and i run sessions with virtual instruments and lots of plug ins. i usually am not mixing huge number of tracks though. I haven't run into any issues at all yet.

The 5K IMac actually is one of just a few Macs that are 100% supported by uad with Thunderbolt 2 connectivity. That is the primary reason I chose the 5k IMac. I really could care less about the huge resolution display. But I have to admit, after using it for the few months I've had it, it really is beautiful. also, the uad console 2.0 is designed to take full advantage of the 5K retina display. It is beautiful. Now i hope Cubase up their game too!

I'm actually a 3D designer. I do recording and mixing as a hobby. So for my graphic work, I use a 24 core hp workstation beast at work. at home, i built my baby with an I7 5960X octo core and Nvidia GTX 980 sli rig. My other machine I used to have the Apollo connected to for recording is an I7 4770K quad core with an Nvidia 780TI gpu. I run Samsung Evo 850s in the PCs. I'm typing to you now on a Microsoft surface pro 3 with I7 processor. This machine/tablet alone was $2,300.00. So yeah, I do everything else still on PC.

Bastard...that is all