UAD-1 are the models REALLY any good?

[stevetgn]

I'm a big analogue hardware freak... I can't believe I'm contemplating plugins !

I've got some mixes to do and I don't yet have enough API, SSL, EQs & comps to do the job as I would like to.
I have a chance of getting a UAD-1 card inc every plugin brand new very cheap, so I'm thinking, use my massive passive, API550/560s SSLs etc for primary tracks (kick, snare, bass, lead vox, main guitars etc) and then use the UAD-1 for "none-primary" tracks.

So the question is, as far as plugs go how good are they? Would I be better with a focusrite liquid mix (which I can also get cheap)?

and oh... please don't tell anyone I'm considering plugs

[jeremy.c.]

I think you would be hard pressed for the $$$ to find a better solution. The favorites are (for you analog freaks) Pultec-Pro, Fairchild, Plate 140 (amazing!) and the Cambridge EQ for the surgical eqing. You'll also probably enjoy having a bank of 1176LNs and LA2As without having to shell out $100,000... I don't have the Neve stuff, but if the hype is to be believed they are also nothing short of amazing.
Of course it's not the "real" thing, but what the heck, your secret is safe with us...

[Jax]

Yeah, I'd say the models are more than good enough for your "non-primary" tracks. You might even be surprised to find yourself using them on your best tracks. I think they are that good, and I've owned and used several high end outboard pieces.

Overall though, they won't replace the sonic quality and vibe of good outboard. I hope no one tries to make this into yet another plug-ins vs. outboard thread. That would miss the point of what stevetgn is asking.

If you get some UAD cards and plugs, I'd say don't boost the Cambridge, just cut. To my ears, it doesn't boost in a euphonic way at all. The Neve stuff is magical (meaning it almost always sounds good), especially the 1073 and 33609. The Pultec and 1176 are the other must-haves. Haven't tried the newest stuff yet (LA-3 and 88RS) but it seems to be well-liked overall.

Hi onb.

[mltamisin]

To me, the UAD-1 has the best compressors out there when it comes to plugins. The 1176 in the UAD-1 smokes Bomb Factory's 1176. I miss my UAD-1.

[not_so_new]

I have both one foot firmly rooted in the analog world and the other in digital, the UAD stuff is some of the best you can get of the latter.

The Tritone Digital stuff is some pretty serious software as well, between the UAD "Neve" EQ's and Hydratone I am pretty happy with my digital EQ selection.

The way you are thinking of using the software is how I use mine but, as olivia_nb said, don't be surprised that some of these tools show up on more important tracks as well...yeah they are pretty darn good.

[Jax]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

The way you are thinking of using the software is how I use mine but, as olivia_nb said, don't be surprised that some of these tools show up on more important tracks as well...

Actually, I said that, but I'd bet onb feels the same way.

[jeremy.c.]

Originally Posted by Jax

Actually, I said that, but I'd bet onb feels the same way.

dang, I wanted credit...
I do! I do!

[seagleson]

Roughly how many plugs could you run off 1 card? I would be really interested but I only have 1 pcie slot left and it would be a tease! Haha.

[stevetgn]

Originally Posted by olivia_nb

The favorites are (for you analog freaks)...

lol. Dude its not a disease, its something I'm proud of!

Thanks for the reply.

[crypticglobe]

Originally Posted by seagleson

Roughly how many plugs could you run off 1 card? I would be really interested but I only have 1 pcie slot left and it would be a tease! Haha.

You can run about 8 of the average plugs (like 1176, or LA-2A). Cambridge... maybe double that if I remember correctly. 1073... maybe 2 or 3?? 1073Le probably almost double that. Fairchild probably 6... etc.

So... as you can see, different plugs require different amounts of CPU. So it's difficult to say how many total plug-ins you could get because what choice of plug-ins is totally random. Hope that helps though.

Having had a PT HD-1 system here for a while with some really great TDM plug-in's... and the UAD-1 plugs runing side by side (thanks to the RTAS wrapper), and just about every plug known to man on my Nuendo rig... I still say that UA has the ONLY plug-in's that can really fool you into thinking you are listening to the real thing. They are THAT good!

The only thing that comes close to me is the URS stuff (the new strip is REALLY cool!!!) and the Waves SSL and API bundles. (And BTW, I can hear NO difference between the RTAS, VST, and TDM versions... had them all running on the same computer here).

UAD-1 stuff is still king to my ears though.

Oh... and don't worry about the PCI slot situation so much. I have a pretty unlimited supply of 7 space 32bit original Avid Magmas that work GREAT for UAD-1's. Turn 1 PCI slot into 7.... I sell em for $550.00.

Trust me... you will want 3 or 4 cards.


Hope this helps...

[stevetgn]

Originally Posted by Jax

I hope no one tries to make this into yet another plug-ins vs. outboard thread. That would miss the point of what stevetgn is asking.

No, lets not get in to that argument (because is hardware IS better...nooo stop..sorry)

I'm just looking for UAD-1 feedback.

Any liquid mix vs UAD comments?

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by Jax

Actually, I said that, but I'd bet onb feels the same way.

Sorry dude... my bad...

[s.d.finley]

I'll throw in...

I dig Plate 140, awesome verb!

I like the '73 eq more than the '81. For me, its just easier to get the sound Im hearing with the '73. YMMV

The Neve, Fairchild, '76, '2A and '3A are all spanking compressors!! Between all those, I find some use for at least one everytime!

Dont forget about the 88rs channelstrip, very usefull and low dsp usage too!

Space echo is killer, sans hum and tape noise! The other basic mod delays are useful too.

I have an PTHD rig, and the UAD plugs are usually my goto plugs for important voices.

[warhead]

The compressor / limiters are excellent, the Pultec PRO EQ is amazing as well. I've been too lazy to load up the Neve stuff...and I get this stuff free! I gotta make the time.

The Cambridge EQ is quite nice, very similar in appearance to the Sonnox EQ (although the Sony sonically speaking thus far seems to be a more gentle EQ with a slightly smoother sound).

War

[stevetgn]

Cheers guys.

So you all pretty much seem to be giving the UAD-1 a thumbs up, but does it get anywhere where near the hardware or does it just sound nice in its own way?

[Jax]

I'd have to say yes, they do sound "like" the hardware... but you can probably hear the difference.

Find a used card for @ $250, or about $400-450 with a few of the basic must haves (1176, LA2A, Pultec) and see if you think so. They are very easy to re-sell if it doesn't work out.

[Brad McGowan]

UAD is about 80% of the processing I use when mixing and 95% of the EQ. On every mix I use:

1081
Precision EQ
LA2A or 1176

I think they are the best plugins you can buy. When I test out hardware (yes hardware) I compare it to UAD stuff as a benchmark. If the hardware sounds better, feels better, is easier to use, and is as cost effective, then it stays. As soon as UA gives me a versatile compressor that's not based on a vintage unit then I'll feel like I have a complete set of ITB tools.

Brad

[chrispick]

Originally Posted by stevetgn

So you all pretty much seem to be giving the UAD-1 a thumbs up, but does it get anywhere where near the hardware or does it just sound nice in its own way?

I would say the UAD-1 gets very near to the hardware I've heard (1176 and Roland Space Echo particularly).

Now, take that with a grain of salt, as I'm a composer/musician, not a proper mix engineer. However, I own a few hardware pieces and find myself around some of the real stuff with some frequency.

Mostly though, most of the UAD-1 emulations just sound really good. My favorites lately: The two listed above, Plate140, LA3A and both Neve EQ sims.

[FossilTooth]

They are about as good as plugs get at the moment.

As a recent shootout proved, unlike hardware, they do not really saturate and sound a little smoother and more glassy/glossy and tame than the hardware they emulate. However, quite a few GSer's apprently prefer that, and said so in the shootout. To each their own.

I don't know if they don' saturate like hardware because it's more user-friendly and idiot proof that way, or because no programmer can find a way to make that sound good at the moment.

Rest assured, if you're in the market for plugs, it's hard to go wrong with the UAD.

[Glenn Bucci]

Though the UAD plug ins are good, they still don't touch a candle to a real LA2 A or 1176. High end Hardware just adds a biggness and clarity no plug ins can't yet replicate. I found this also to be true when I was reviewing the Langevin Mini Massive EQ and comparing it very closely with all my Waves and UAD EQ's.

[FULL-DUPLEX]

Originally Posted by warhead

The compressor / limiters are excellent, the Pultec PRO EQ is amazing as well. I've been too lazy to load up the Neve stuff...and I get this stuff free! I gotta make the time.

War

War you should check out the new Neve channelstrip! Very hot... Smokes the Waves SSL!

[minus-sounds.com]

Originally Posted by stevetgn

... Any liquid mix vs UAD comments?

Yeah. I am interested too. Any comment?

[bexarametric]

UAD1 plugins are amazing. They are a great substitute. I use them everyday.

[Brad McGowan]

Originally Posted by Glenn Bucci

Though the UAD plug ins are good, they still don't touch a candle to a real LA2 A or 1176. High end Hardware just adds a biggness and clarity no plug ins can't yet replicate. I found this also to be true when I was reviewing the Langevin Mini Massive EQ and comparing it very closely with all my Waves and UAD EQ's.

I must say that I respect this opinion, but I really don't agree with it. In my own hybrid analog/digital setup I sometimes find that plugins actually sound bigger and have more clarity because they don't subject audio to ADDA conversion, and more importantly many feet of cable, which can cloud the audio and change the tonality. Running audio through 30 feet of Mogami, a handful of Neutrik connectors, and a patchbay doesn't give me the same sound out that I put in. This is something I can duplicate every time.

And to address FossilTooth's comment about programmers not being able to model the saturation accurately... I don't think it has anything to do with creating a cleaner sounding plugin to make things idiot proof. I think it has more to do with the algorithms being very processor intensive to adequately model the non-linearities and trade-offs being made so that people will actually buy the hardware. Who wants to buy a DSP card that will only run one instance of a plugin if it's only 3% better? Most people would rather run 10 instances. Engineering is all about compromises. At a certain point you reach diminishing returns.

Brad

[BLueROom]

I have the entire collection and two cards ...I'd say they are worth every penny.

[lpkyer]

They're definitely useful for mixing. Nothing like mixing OTB but still, most of us run a project studio. If you wouldnt, there would be no reason for you to ask this question. Buy them. You'll need a 1176 (get the full version, youll want to use the 20:1 ratio and this is where the SE flaws) for snare, Pultec Pro for bassdrum, LA2A for bass and vocals. Plate 140. Neve 1073. And The Fairchild for Parallel compression. The new Neve 88 channel strip could be your first buy if you dont have the dough for all I named.

[baikonour]

the new plugs are amazing too (La3a and helios) are my go-to combo for bass.

As others said earlier they are the best sounding collection of plug-ins around

the roland serie is so great I' am hardly using my space echoes and vintage chorus anymore...

[Led]

I used the La3a for the first time this week on some gtrs because I ran out of hardware ones and it was pretty ferken good.

[stevetgn]

Thanks for all the comments.

It sounds like the UAD-1 will be more than good enough for none primary tracks and will at worst tide me over until I can afford more hardware API, 1176 & SSLs etc.

Cheers all

[theother]

Originally Posted by Glenn Bucci

Though the UAD plug ins are good, they still don't touch a candle to a real LA2 A or 1176. High end Hardware just adds a biggness and clarity no plug ins can't yet replicate. I found this also to be true when I was reviewing the Langevin Mini Massive EQ and comparing it very closely with all my Waves and UAD EQ's.

I agree. I have both a LA2 and 1176 and the UAD-1 can't touch them. A real 1176 just sounds way bigger.

The strange thing is, the UAD-1 and real Pultec I had, sounded absolutely the same on bass on a couple of tests I did.

The EMT plate is sensational. I haven't compared the Neve to the real thing yet.

If I had the money to buy the hardware I would just do that. If not I'd go with the UAD-1. Simple as that. Case closed.