The Las Vegas Under/Over is now at page 124. The smart money backs the over!

 

My actural environment with Nebula and those digital monsters is the best i could get for my taste. But i use Analog Emus from other brands for a zero latency for my insert channels, because Nebula will f*k things up on that task. I don't miss analog. Imagine missing UAD lol

 

I remember using four second-hand CRT monitors for 10 years, pushing them to their limits until they were practically gasping for their last breath.

 

I still had the XVX McDSP everything bundle in use until I finally felt comfortable getting rid of the Access plugin and using VirusHC editor instead to update to a MacOS that is not having the 32bit plugins anymore. They were like one of those eye chart tests, but what sealed the deal getting rid of McDSP anyway; I was using the Revolver plugin and it started making some loud wailing sound that was singing indeed. Like a fire truck siren singing at about 120dB. Like Fabfilter Pro-L2 at 2AM.

(insert 2nd person writing warning here).

The whole thing about UAD is like an exercise in abnormal psychology sometimes on here; once the iLok discussion is out of the way. It's certainly odd to me, that many people who concern themselves with system performance so much get so bogged down by iLok. Personally, I think it is more like a digital c*blocker to despise separating you from the things you want to run. But that layer of materialism is nothing specific to UAD. Next we have the problem with those who have all the money they need to buy any plugins they want, but they still end up using tons of UAD. And Waves. They probably just don't know any better and don't make music "as good as me". Uh-huh.

Next we have the Acustica comparison. Other than the fact that UA has never relied almost entirely on gigantic Impulse Responses xcept for Ocean Way Studios, Capitol Chambers, AKG BX 20 Spring Reverb, Friedman Buxom Betty, Ampeg SVT Suite, Marshall Plexi....and everyone knows that is what they are using. Has UA ever hijacked the name of something you do not understand like say, "Volterra Kernels" to explain why their plugins were over $100+ each and only used up 4gb for a single channel strip plugin? The only true parts to this comparison are 1) price, 2) emulation plugin overall sound. R2R's own release proved that approach was effectively BS, and also gave an out to create new plugins to sell to the elitists who now won't use any of the old plugins because other people have access to them now.

We also have my favorite approach to the UA materialism puzzle. If I don't have them, it's because there is something wrong with them and that problem isn't related to me not having them. Maybe saying how "they aren't good enough for me will pressure a release team into cracking them and giving them to me for free". When that doesn't pan out, we switch to " I already know they aren't good enough for me, so I never wanted them anyway". Upon their release, it is confirmed "they aren't good enough for what I need anyway"; because they do not ship with experience, dedication to learning what I am doing, talent, good hearing and monitoring environment. Whatever it was you expected to be included with the plugin that didn't show up with it. All these high hopes, but the mixes still suck.

It's a joke. If someone told you they would replace every stock plugin in your DAW with something of higher quality without using up a lot more resources; you would tell them no, right? This is why I don't believe you about any of it. If you believe the marketing about any magic plugins, it's the same thing as thinking Plugin Doctor somehow adds some additional parameters to all your plugins to fix what you find. Neither of those options exist.

My bet on why they never give them to you is because you would figure out you are just chasing perfection. Instead of downloading every plugin you can get your hands on hoping for the "magic plugins", you'll download way less stuff and well, it's pretty obvious whose interests that is not in.

 

You have OBVIOUSLY never used a real 1178 or LA2A or a real EMT plate, etc... Pulsar? Better than UAD? pfft... get real. And arturia makes nothing IMO that is worthy of even grabbing for free...(except for maybe the pigments synth).

Sure there are "workable" solutions other than UAD stuff. However since those "workable" solutions are most always assuredly NOT like the hardware counter parts they are supposed to be emulating it requires, for those of us who have used the real hardware, interpolation. You cannot count on turning a threshold knob on a Pulsar 1178, for example, and expect it to even half-ass act like a real 1178, so there is interpolating that needs to be done on the part of the user. FFS, UA (back when they were a stand up company) BUILT the hardware that most of the dev's of these "alternative" solutions fail miserably to emulate. Stands to reason UA would be the ones who emulate their own hardware the best in the digital realm.

 

When you see someone in a plugin marketing picture, if the plugin they are schilling is so "identical"; why do they always still have the hardware version around to compare it with? Electricity is like water in an analog signal chain. Emulating it is like emulating the plumbing and the water. These people believe the marketing and are using plugins that are basically physics miracles. The actual miracle happened when someone at Steinberg figured out instead of selling hardware, they could sell us expensive computer files. It's like selling air, or pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Comparing plugins to hardware is just a waste of time. In that scenario, everyone has an agenda.

 

No one cares about marketing, or I certainly don't. What I care about is the sound of whatever hardware/software I end up playing with and using in a given digital audio project. You need audio compression on a track you reach for a compression plugin. Didn't use to be that way. You had your finite rack of gear, you picked the tool of choice out of the stack, and patched it down. With the way most things are developed these days in the digital realm there is really no account given to the sound of any single digital tool until it comes to the marketing.

It's a known quantity that in this day/age IT IS mathematically possible to emulate hardware circuits via software. Some do this way better than others, while some don't even bother with any of it and simply use pre-pooched code and stitch it together like a piece of clothing. What it comes out sounding like is every other thing being sold in an already saturated market of redundancy and mediocrity. To some it's a waste of time looking for the best emulation of a particular piece of analog hardware they have used time and time again. To others it's a matter of work flow and having to spend time learning how this or that plugin will sound when incorporated into a project.

There are many who have sold off much of the analog gear they once owned due to space and heat dis requirements in smaller studio areas that do not provide for much else other than the digital stuff everyone uses now. And yes, there are better and worse emulations of this iconic hardware ALL of which are marketed to be the end all be all of sonic purity compared to the hardware. Less than 0.5% of any of it even comes close to any of the hype. I choose to seek out and surround myself with the best emulations of that gear as possible because for me it makes things that much easier. This is the way it is for me. Could care less about the rest. If it helps me get my work done faster with the extra learning curve factored out of the equation, then I'm there with bells on.

 

Last edited: Nov 4, 2025 at 10:04 PM

huhhh now you judging me, how do you know i never worked on real gears, you wouldn't imagine on what i worked on across Europe and many other countries and this is not the point anyway, i worked on the real thing and own UAD stuff but i don't worship brands , i like Pulsar or whatever ! that's my opinion in this free world and trying to give alternative for others who may not be able to buy UAD and rely on sister site to download stuff, it is like you saying that if you don't have UAD you wasting time ?? is that it ??? i don't like UAD (at least before when i couldn't load 5 instances of the same plugins on my UAD Satellite) but you're defending them like you work for them, i in the other hand are encouraging other to carry on not thinking that their music sucks without your beloved UAD.

 

@saccamano , I've always looked at various versions of software emulated synths, for example; as a chance to have 2 separate synth plugins that AREN'T identical to one another. Maybe even the more differences, the better. Otherwise, why keep two? Especially with Korg, Arturia, and any others that are somewhat resources hogging. If I cannot hear the difference between the two inside a mix; one is gone.

Marketing plays a factor into everything people decide to do with their money. Money is what 90% of this stuff all comes down to anyway.

Comparing characteristics of emulations is apples and apples. Hardware vs software never will be. Explain to me this. I fire up UA's Moog emulation, plug one in directly to my interface to bypass my console completely. Levels matched identical in DAW session. Take a wild guess which one you would pick in about 10 seconds. The line inputs of the interface are not colored at all. The preamp inputs on the front of the interface are, but barely enough you'd use them for some kind of saturation anything beyond an extremely subtle effect, again when levels matched. Why does one developer who creates a nearly perfect emulation version, go on to record all the content for expansions, wavetables, etc from the original unit?

It's pointless to compare using a hardware LA2 with a plugin, you already said that yourself. If you are not in the market for one, you may as well compare the 10 different emulations you have and pick a couple to really learn inside and out. There is no substitute for repetition and duplication. That's one of the main reasons why mastering use case units always have stepped controls. Repeatable results, where you are now moving stuff in 0.25 dB adjustments. Not firing up various plugins where only random results can ever be expected.

People will often say they like some plugin which is actually hyped in various ranges, not level match them, and then say the hyped one is a "better plugin". For the same reason that when someone finally starts using some room correction software, they get upset that their monitors have been lying to them the whole time.

 

I don't worship brands at all - can't stand that shit at all. Especially with a POS corporation like UA is now. Since I used the UAD hardware dependent plugins on the UAD-1, I was very impressed with how well (above all the other shit on the market) those software plugins of specific iconic hardwares actually felt/sounded compared to the real hardware. Then the UAD-1 shit the bed because of how UA handled it. Swore an oath they would NEVER get dime-one from me ever again. BUT, if certain uad native plugins happened to fall off the warez tree one would not be looking the gift horse in the mouth.. Other than that I am relegated to using the same stuff everyone else uses in a more trial and error based effort.

 

Last edited: Nov 4, 2025 at 10:41 PM

I really hope that UAD gets released. Not because I need it, but I think we will have less weird and more profound discussions here. And less begging and more silence. And future gong threads wouldn't be actually UAD threads with a different name.

 

VCV Rack 2 Pro would be a nice gong.

 

It will be great to get back to talking about Soundtoys and Sonnox.

 

Sheeeeit...What a bunch of b.s.. Yeah like you wont be the first MF'r there waiting to lap up every drop of that release, if it actually ever happened, right along with everyone else... the air up on that high horse of yours getting a bit thin maybe?

 

Are you drunk? Why are you so hostile?

I'm just a performer and songwriter. I'm here for the instrument plugins. Mixing isn't my expertise, I couldn't care less about plugins for mixing. I just want that UAD gets released because the disscussions under every new gong thread gets on my nerves. And it would be much better to discuss the quality of UAD when everyone has them via R2R or other Group.

And I think you will be drooling much more than me over new gong releases. I'm happy with my tools, but you seem kinda unhappy .-.

 

At least those complaining about the piano now have a chance to buy more useful expansions instead. For $469.00, get the most complete collection, the Chinese Orchestra FE plus BianZhong Bundle which offers nearly all of their main software instruments in one package.

Seems like $149.00 for UA Signature 2 bundle of 63 plugins was not such a bad deal after all.

 

I think you can download that for free on the kong website and it's working with R2R qiung engine (or whatever it's called).

 

So guys i'm sick of UAD let's get back to the topic which is 2025 gong, i find it entertaining to talk about what may comes next, because up until now i'm really satisfied with Pianoteq 9 and the latest Omnisphere from R2R, my friend who is a Pianist got his mind blown by the Ivory 3 series and with these latest extra gems the party is already on fire, so what do you think comes next despite R2RSYSTEM not fully ready yet ?