UAD Users

[jaydeluca]

In my personal experience, I did not care much for the mastering EQ. I purchased their "mastering bundle" and that plugin does not get used.

Love the cambridge and pulteq though.

[Mike21]

Thanks Jaydeluca, from my research i found that not many people use their dedicated mastering EQs, and yeah i agree i love the cambridge and pultec also,

What about the compressors, i am liking the idea of multi band compressor however I'm wondering if it is worth also a buss compressor, although i haven't been putting buss compressors on my mix at the moment (mainly because my mastering engineer doesn't want them on the mix), i do like the idea of 'glueing' the mix together with one, but then i don't know whether it is worth the multi band compressor on top of this,

Was hoping a mastering engineer or somebody with experience with these could help, you tried them?

Cheers mate

Mike

[jaydeluca]

for a mix buss compressor/limiter, I would actually recommend the Slate FG-X. I own both the UAD plugs and the fg-x and the fg-x kicks the crap out of the UADs

-just my personal 2 cents

[ForgottenG]

The Precision Maximizer and the Massive passive are an excellent combination. That was part of my go to chain for mastering for quite a while. I enjoy the tone of the Precision Maximizer over the Waves L1' and L2's. Just my opinion. I have not tried the slate stuff.

[kevbrowne]

I find most of the uad plugs not suitable for mastering,but the ones I use are
Buss compressor,Fairchild,brainworx eq,precision limiter.
The brainworx is the most important piece in the chain

[neilwilkes]

The UAD platform has perhaps the largest, heaviest gorilla there is - the MMP.
You get 2 versions, the regular & the mastering version for the price of one plugin.
Awesome.
Also, the Precision Mastering EQ certainly is very usable too - it reminds me of the Sontec with a hint of Avalon.

[Sino]

Guys I'll use this thread to get some info..
I'm also tempted to buy UAD-2, PCi version.

Consider that I have HDX on my MacPro...
QUAD it's too much money for me... I can buy SOLO or an used/ebay DUO.

What's the difference? I can't figure it out from UA website.. How many instances of Plugs can I run with SOLO or DUO?
Can I use plugs in "Native" mode (using CPU power if I run out on PCI card)?

[Clonkified]

UAD-2 Instance Chart

You cannot run the plugins natively.

[Sino]

Thanks.

Too bad you can't run natively..
And that chart is done at 44.1.. considering I normally work @96...
It will be a hard choice.

[kreeper_6]

Originally Posted by Sino

And that chart is done at 44.1.. considering I normally work @96...
It will be a hard choice.

Most UAD plugins upsample so you won't see any difference in usage all the way up to 196k.

[Sino]

Originally Posted by kreeper_6

Most UAD plugins upsample so you won't see any difference in usage all the way up to 196k.

Thanks for this man

[Mike21]

Thanks a lot for the replies, some useful advice here, going to test some demos out i just didn't want to do the whole

'Oh yeah this is amazing' just because when i put it on it +2db and sounds better, end up spending hundreds on plug ins then never use them again (i'm sure we have all been there?)

I have mixed a track today with the demo of the buss compressor, find it very nice actually. i may keep that and not buy the multiband for now, i figure the multiband is quite specialized and i might only buy it when i feel the need for it

Thanks again

Mike

[E.rOk.stA]

Originally Posted by jaydeluca

for a mix buss compressor/limiter, I would actually recommend the Slate FG-X. I own both the UAD plugs and the fg-x and the fg-x kicks the crap out of the UADs

-just my personal 2 cents

This. Just demo it.

[Mr. Wilson]

I like and use the Buss Comp (aux buss to rec) Multi Band Comp and Massive Passive with or without a limiter of some sort on the main Record Buss...I'm a fan of the Massey L2007 simple and effective after the complexities of the UAD stuff.

[scoobs1971]

Precision EQ, Precision Bus Compressor, Precision Limiter and sometimes Precision Maximizer are always on my master bus.
I've tried the Slate FxG, but there was nothing I couldn't do with the UADs.

[Syncamorea]

I use a variety of compressors when mastering, including the Neve 33609, the Fairchild, the Fatso, etc., and usually the Precision Limiter. On the EQ side, the Massive Passive is seductive, no doubt about it, but some mixes really love the Studer and its mojo can be enough to cause me to avoid using an EQ while mastering. The Cambridge often handles the little touch-up jobs very well, whereas the Massive Passive has the ability to bring on the groove in a big way.

[krheatman]

For mastering I have used the Cambridge,Multiband,Maximizer and Limiter for years.Get the Multiband for sure,not that the buss compressor is not good,you can treat certain bands with compression or expansion that way and really bring things out in a mix.Now I use the MP on every master also.For an M/S eq I use DDMF.That is something I would like to see UAD add is some stereo tools and an m/s eq,maybe they figure there are enough out there.I can tell the difference in their plugins though,and they just sound better for some reason.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[The Listener]

Whatever you choose - the first choice and the best you can make with UAD-2 is to get yourself Massive Passive EQ.

I like Neve 33609 (loudness and fatness), SSL buss compressor (when you need punch, tightness and a different than EQ cleaning of low end)

But for compression and also another take on a real sweet mastering EQ you should look at Sonoris plug ins: Products - Sonoris Audio Engineering.

But I wouldn't want to be without my UAD Massive Passive.

Cambridge (but I would prefer Sonoris mastering EQ here, wouldn't buy UAD Cambridge if I didn't already have it included with one of my previously owned UAD-1 cards) can be much useful for cleaning up stuff... but Massive Passive does the very musical tone sculpturing that will make you instantly go "whoa". But be sure to not over-use it and bypass button is still the most important feature of them all in any plug-in.

And don't forget to get the Ampex tape machine. Haven't dabbled into Studer yet - but some like it for electronic and fattening things up. But that Ampex is almost essential for some real fun in ITB DIY mastering.

I don't care much for the Precision series actually, but that is just subjective. I use the Ozone limiter.

Apart from UAD, if you want to really enjoy ITB mastering - get Nebula and some good tube saturation, tape & console emulation 3rd party programs.

They also have great EQs for Nebula, but I prefer flexibility of UAD Massive Passive and similar... but when you want just some special low end or high end boost you can get some great stuff for Nebula... AlexB Neve console mix buss (full & clean version) lives on my main buss - it just makes things sound slightly more "proper". Just don't forget to gain stage as in the analog world - they are "exact replicas".

[grooveminister]

Originally Posted by Sino

And that chart is done at 44.1.. considering I normally work @96...
It will be a hard choice.

Originally Posted by kreeper_6

Most UAD plugins upsample so you won't see any difference in usage all the way up to 196k.

Upsampling UAD-plugins are:
-All Neve plugs (1073, 1081, 31102, 33609) except for the RS-88 and SE-versions
-All EQs (Harrison, Helios, Manley, Neve, Precision EQ, Pulteq/-Pro, SSL-E, Trident) except for BX_digital, Cambridge, Oxford & RS-88
-All tape-emulations: Ampex, Studer & FATSO Jr./Sr.
-Reverb: EMT 250 & Lexicon 224
-Comps: 1176 Limiter Collection, FATSO, Neve 33609, Precision Multiband, SSL-E
-Tools & FX: Little Labs IBP, Moog Filter, MXR Flanger Doubler

Most of the plugs that I´m typically using multiple instances of, are oversampling plugins.

Above oversampling plugins are said to be running @ 192 kHz internally.
Theoretically they should even use less power on systems that run 192 kHz natively because the up- and downsampling is not applied.

Can anyone confirm this?

[Liam Judah]

I'm currently doing all of my mastering work in the box, but as business dictates will slowly add and integrate tools outside the box. Emphasis on the word slowly. Actually researching my first OTB purchase.

ITB I've been using a combination of UAD and Native. In UAD land the Massive Passive and Ampex ATR-102 are absolute musts. Love what they do when I use them. I say "when" because the more I learn, and better I've become at mastering - I've found that every track doesn't need everything. Depending on what the mix looks like - a lot of times less is more.

In terms of Native I really dig the Fabfilter stuff. Especially their limiter. While I like to have a variety of tools to work with, it has all but replaced the other things I was using previously.

I'm still hopeful UAD will add the Manley Variable Mu to its line-up.

[Kcatthedog]

+1 for ampex and massive passive and neve buss compression. You can go along way with the ampex and massive passive !!

Here is a reference to a very good mastering class. I have no affiliation just share it fyi: the comments are from joe gilder from homestudiorecording

When it comes to mastering, every answer brings up three more questions. That's why I pay attention to anything and everything Ian Shepherd does.

He's a 15+ year veteran mastering engineer.
E
And he's reopening his Home Mastering Masterclass. Here's the link to check it out
The Home Mastering Masterclass - by Ian Shepherd

Kcat

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by Liam Judah

I'm currently doing all of my mastering work in the box, but as business dictates will slowly add and integrate tools outside the box. Emphasis on the word slowly. Actually researching my first OTB purchase.

ITB I've been using a combination of UAD and Native. In UAD land the Massive Passive and Ampex ATR-102 are absolute musts. Love what they do when I use them. I say "when" because the more I learn, and better I've become at mastering - I've found that every track doesn't need everything. Depending on what the mix looks like - a lot of times less is more.

In terms of Native I really dig the Fabfilter stuff. Especially their limiter. While I like to have a variety of tools to work with, it has all but replaced the other things I was using previously.

I'm still hopeful UAD will add the Manley Variable Mu to its line-up.

I love the visual the Fabfilter L gives you,easy to tell when you are just hitting the peaks.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[Matt Hepworth]

The Precision MultiBand is a really cool beast. I like that it's a really clean EQ, as well.

Like another posted above, I wasn't sold on the Precision EQ, but I've come to like its hands-off sound on certain things.

If you had the PMB and the Massive Passive, I think you'd be set.

Someone else mentioned Slate FGX. It's great for rock. Not as nice for really clean material. I use it a lot, though, but it's not the same beast and is no EQ.

There's also a forum in my signature you may be interested in. ;-)

[Macaroni]

I recently mastered an album for a good friend using almost all UAD plugins.

This was the chain...

Manley MP Mastering version
Multiband Comp - I love this plugin
EL Fatso SR
SPL Vitalizer on a few tracks - used subtly
Imelda Stereo processing
Precision Limiter

You can hear samples of the tracks here...

Doug Robinson | Love All Ways | CD Baby Music Store