New UAD EQ Rocks!!!

robdarling · 21st January 2005

Wow. This thing is amazing. I don't know what it is based on, but I've never used a plug that is so solid-sounding and smooth. The lows can really wallop and punch. And the highs are smoother than than, well, my wife would be upset if I said that. This is. Fantastic work, UA.

later,

r.

Mabuse · 21st January 2005

And actually it doesn't really matter what it is based on... it's just great.
Comparison to other EQ's is quite impressive.
It has a kind of smoothness and depth that is quite uncommon in Plugs.
If they get the announced Chorusses (i haven't heard one single good Chorus plugIn) as good as this...

guru007 · 21st January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by robdarling
Wow. This thing is amazing. I don't know what it is based on, but I've never used a plug that is so solid-sounding and smooth. The lows can really wallop and punch. And the highs are smoother than than, well, my wife would be upset if I said that. This is. Fantastic work, UA.

later,

r.

Rob,

Are you using this on program material? Just wondering how it might fare on individual tracks as well.

TIA,
guru007

robdarling · 21st January 2005

It sounds AMAZING on single tracks- that's actually primarily what I threw at it. It is a broad-strokes device, so I've found myself combining it with the Cambridge sometimes to give it a little more point. But this is one smooth puppy. You will definitely want more UAD cards with this one.

matucha · 21st January 2005

and what about that non-precision .5dB steps, don't bother you?

Mabuse · 21st January 2005

Quite honestly-no not really.
On the one hand it is nice to have the choice, but the real-world Mastering EQ's are (most of the time) stepped as well.
But in that case there's a technical reason for it...which makes it a lttle bit annoying for the PlugIn nevertheless (it probably wouldn't have been necessary).
The good thing is that this plug sounds good enough to have maybe (for example) .1 dB too much boost in the HF.

MASSIVE Master · 22nd January 2005

That was about my only biotch with the thing... 1/4dB steps would've been nice - at least for the first few dB...

Mabuse · 22nd January 2005

It's especially annoying when you're automating the Gain (i do that quite often...) on the Master.

BrianBrian · 22nd January 2005

I'm with Massive about the quarter-decible deal. This EQ is so nice and audible with even .5dB gain changes. I love this thing so far, but I need to save my money for another secret EQ I have been eyeing, and the Roland effects. The PEQ is just amazing when coupled with the PultecPro on kicks, bass...well I guess anything. I am really considering a third card now. Man the top end of this thing is so sweet and natural though and extends to 27Khz... I might have to look into some get-rich-quick scams!thumbsup

robdarling · 22nd January 2005

You can't change a model of a stepped piece of equipment. And if it has .5db steps, it has .5db steps. Virtual is virtual until it is a model.

It's amazing to me that given what is one of the best eq's I've ever heard in the digital domain, that most of the energy people put out is negative. Some folks just can't have it good, I suppose.

duaneadam · 22nd January 2005

I agree it's pretty good but it failed may standard blindfold test which is to set the plugin to zero EQ and then engage it and bypass it and see if you can tell if its on without looking. I hear a very slight diffusion of anything panned down the middle when its on and I can pick it our every time. Again I think its quite good but still a hair shy of being a mastering quality EQ.

Kyle Ashley · 22nd January 2005

BrianBrian....is the secret EQ the HydraTone?

BrianBrian · 23rd January 2005

Robdarling....I'm not bringing any negative energy whatsoever. I love the new EQ, but is it so wrong to just wish it had one small extra feature? And yes they could change the model, they said they only modelled the filters, which I believe they took from the Prism Masalec EQ.

Kyle: yea, you got it.

MASSIVE Master · 23rd January 2005

They (UAD) were quite open to saying that they used a collection of EQ's to "build" the new PEQ.

That's why I'm even more surprised that they didn't make this minor modification.

Also not negative, though. Just wishful thinking.

KBOY · 23rd January 2005

Using this thing last night I now understand why this would be desirable. I don't really need repeatability on a daw. I save my presets. If not the settings are saved by the song.

But it does sound pretty.

Kelly

Kestral · 23rd January 2005

So how does it compare to the GML EQ in Pro Tools HD? (That my favorite EQ plugin and pretty much the only one I use now)

EngineEars · 24th January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by robdarling
Wow. This thing is amazing. I don't know what it is based on, but I've never used a plug that is so solid-sounding and smooth.

I think it is based on the Prism Sound Maselec MEA-2 personally.

matucha · 24th January 2005

yep, frequencies and gain detents are just the same as maselec... I've been searching why the gain steps are so coarse and found this similarity.

bdunard · 24th January 2005

Brianbrian,

I have never heard of the hydratone eq. Where can I see this at on the web? I did a google search and could not find a thing.

guru007 · 24th January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by bdunard
Brianbrian,

I have never heard of the hydratone eq. Where can I see this at on the web? I did a google search and could not find a thing.

I think it's at Tritonedigital.com

HTH,

guru007

bdunard · 24th January 2005

O.K. found it. Looks like it is only for Mac.

BrianBrian · 24th January 2005

PC versions are on the way for all their plugins. Pluggo just was released for Windows which is what they are using to create the VST/AU/RTAS stuff. It should be really soon now, and I can't wait.

Magnus · 26th January 2005

Just tried the UAD-1 Precision EQ.

This thing is kickass! Really open, smooth HF. Actually, all bands are very open and smooth, so I guess what I'm saying is that it's open and smooth sounding

(Sorry, it's been a long day)

This EQ is excellent IMO and works really well on both individual tracks as well as the stereo bus. Well worth the money.

/Magnus

GPl · 27th January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Magnus
Just tried the UAD-1 Precision EQ.

This thing is kickass! Really open, smooth HF. Actually, all bands are very open and smooth, so I guess what I'm saying is that it's open and smooth sounding

(Sorry, it's been a long day)

This EQ is excellent IMO and works really well on both individual tracks as well as the stereo bus. Well worth the money.

/Magnus

Well worth the money especially if you have 2 or more cards....got a $50 certificate to use against the purchase.
Not bad.

418 · 27th January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by duaneadam
I agree it's pretty good but it failed may standard blindfold test which is to set the plugin to zero EQ and then engage it and bypass it and see if you can tell if its on without looking. I hear a very slight diffusion of anything panned down the middle when its on and I can pick it our every time. Again I think its quite good but still a hair shy of being a mastering quality EQ.

I'm not totally sure that most of the hi end analog eq's would pass your test, either...

Not saying that the difference that you hear in the PEQ is desireable, but many pieces impart their own color to material even at zero settings.

guru007 · 27th January 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by GPl
Well worth the money especially if you have 2 or more cards....got a $50 certificate to use against the purchase.
Not bad.

Have you noticed how resource intensive it is compared to the pultec pro or cambridge?

TIA,
guru007

BrianBrian · 27th January 2005

It uses about the same resources as the PultecPro.

matucha · 28th January 2005

...and it is worth it... sounds great IMO

bdunard · 28th January 2005

I don't have any of their eq's yet and for some reason my demo won't work since I changed motherboards. Which eq out of the three (pul pro, cambridge, or new one) would you suggest buying first and why?

BrianBrian · 28th January 2005

The PultecPro is the cheapest, is incredibly smooth, has excellent silky top-end and a very fat bottom, and has a very nice color overall. It will color the sound in a nice way even with no gain on the filters. It is mostly useful for making broad adjustments and will be of no help for removing resonances or doing any precise filtering. It sounds great on kick, bass, guitars, and vocals. It uses a considerable amoung of DSP resources if you only have 1 card.

Slightly more versatile and more expensive is the Cambridge, which sounds pretty good. The high-shelf sounds good but overall I think the EQ could benefit a lot from upsampling (it sounds excellent at 96Khz). The strongest points are definately the low DSP hit and the unparalleled selection of high and low-pass filters. The filters are what I mostly use this plugin for.

The Precision EQ is the most expensive, and uses the same amount of DSP power as the PultecPro. It is incredibly "solid" sounding, and has a very open top end (which extends up to 27Khz). It has only 4 bands and the boosts and cuts are limited to 8dB, making it less useful for mixing than mastering or fine-tuning. It works great after the Pultec, but that combo takes up a lot of DSP.

I can't decide for you, but hopefully this will help you reach a decision.

21st January 2005	#1
robdarling Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Richland, WA Posts: 791 Thread Starter	New UAD EQ Rocks!!! Wow. This thing is amazing. I don't know what it is based on, but I've never used a plug that is so solid-sounding and smooth. The lows can really wallop and punch. And the highs are smoother than than, well, my wife would be upset if I said that. This is. Fantastic work, UA. later, r.

22nd January 2005	#7
MASSIVE Master Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicago (Schaumburg / Hoffman Est.) IL Posts: 2,632	That was about my only biotch with the thing... 1/4dB steps would've been nice - at least for the first few dB... __________________ John Scrip - Massive Mastering, LLC - www.massivemastering.com Spoon-feed a newb some answer and he'll mix for a day - Get him to think about it and figure it out for himself and he'll mix for a lifetime --- JS

22nd January 2005	#9
BrianBrian Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: CA Bay Area Posts: 200	I'm with Massive about the quarter-decible deal. This EQ is so nice and audible with even .5dB gain changes. I love this thing so far, but I need to save my money for another secret EQ I have been eyeing, and the Roland effects. The PEQ is just amazing when coupled with the PultecPro on kicks, bass...well I guess anything. I am really considering a third card now. Man the top end of this thing is so sweet and natural though and extends to 27Khz... I might have to look into some get-rich-quick scams!thumbsup __________________ -Brian

24th January 2005	#18
matucha Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 2,900	yep, frequencies and gain detents are just the same as maselec... I've been searching why the gain steps are so coarse and found this similarity. __________________ Matous Godik www.soundcloud.com/zka4t

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

21st January 2005	#2
Mabuse Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Brussels Posts: 8	And actually it doesn't really matter what it is based on... it's just great. Comparison to other EQ's is quite impressive. It has a kind of smoothness and depth that is quite uncommon in Plugs. If they get the announced Chorusses (i haven't heard one single good Chorus plugIn) as good as this...

22nd January 2005	#11
duaneadam Gear maniac Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Silicon Valley CA Posts: 248	I agree it's pretty good but it failed may standard blindfold test which is to set the plugin to zero EQ and then engage it and bypass it and see if you can tell if its on without looking. I hear a very slight diffusion of anything panned down the middle when its on and I can pick it our every time. Again I think its quite good but still a hair shy of being a mastering quality EQ.

22nd January 2005	#12
Kyle Ashley Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Tampa Bay/Cape Fear NC Posts: 1,029	BrianBrian....is the secret EQ the HydraTone?

23rd January 2005	#13
BrianBrian Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: CA Bay Area Posts: 200	Robdarling....I'm not bringing any negative energy whatsoever. I love the new EQ, but is it so wrong to just wish it had one small extra feature? And yes they could change the model, they said they only modelled the filters, which I believe they took from the Prism Masalec EQ. Kyle: yea, you got it.

23rd January 2005	#15
KBOY Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: philadelphia Posts: 929	Using this thing last night I now understand why this would be desirable. I don't really need repeatability on a daw. I save my presets. If not the settings are saved by the song. But it does sound pretty. Kelly

23rd January 2005	#16
Kestral Lives for gear Join Date: May 2004 Location: The Lost Moon of Poosh Posts: 1,733	So how does it compare to the GML EQ in Pro Tools HD? (That my favorite EQ plugin and pretty much the only one I use now)

24th January 2005	#19
bdunard Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: nashville Posts: 724	Brianbrian, I have never heard of the hydratone eq. Where can I see this at on the web? I did a google search and could not find a thing.

26th January 2005	#23
Magnus Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 365	Just tried the UAD-1 Precision EQ. This thing is kickass! Really open, smooth HF. Actually, all bands are very open and smooth, so I guess what I'm saying is that it's open and smooth sounding (Sorry, it's been a long day) This EQ is excellent IMO and works really well on both individual tracks as well as the stereo bus. Well worth the money. /Magnus

27th January 2005	#27
BrianBrian Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: CA Bay Area Posts: 200	It uses about the same resources as the PultecPro.

28th January 2005	#28
matucha Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 2,900	...and it is worth it... sounds great IMO

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
1178 rocks	goldphinga	So much gear, so little time!	6	12th June 2006 07:58 AM
My dad rocks!	Jason Poulin	High end	13	26th April 2006 04:31 AM
NI gaugear ROCKS!!	cebolao	Music computers	1	23rd December 2005 12:28 AM
MYTEK ROCKS !!!!	kevinc	So much gear, so little time!	7	8th March 2004 05:53 PM