https://www.pluginboutique.com/prod...pressor-Bundle?nosto=manufacturerpage-nosto-1

I thought about buying uad plugins this offer is Not Bad.

How is your Experience with uad plugins?

Are they rellay that good or is it only hype.

 

They surely sound different than alternatives (in a good way), but nothing mindblowing imo. The biggest downside is that unless you have an ilok dongle, you'll need to be online all the time or the plugins will stop working, which is bad if you don't have a stable connection.

 

Hi,
i really like their 1176 rev A and AE, to me they sound the best emulations out there.
but that's not the case with every plugin they make.

 

I have seen so many threads on UAD lately for some reason.

The funniest part is I decided to check them out and read and ask people I have known with major studios. It's not for everyone I guess.

I ended up buying their pro-pack on special for $199 until end of June.
Worth it just for the Avalon and Manley preamp which I now use on almost every project. Don't get me wrong, the 1176, Fairchild, Pultec and the rest that come with it like the Tectronic, DBX etc etc etc are great too. It's funny because I tend to find things out for myself. The authentication people are moaning about is only a once per session, and it's no big deal.

The Avalon is in a league of its own. That's my opinion and Acustica do not even get close to it.

https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/plug-in-bundles/uad-studio-edition.html

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 19, 2024

Their Distressor emulation is by far my favorite.

ALSO. Their API 2500 Bus Compressor is outstanding. Both are native

 

I blind test many UAD plugins. And all UAD lovers should too.
All i heard is clarity losses and transient smearing.
If UAD was not locked to expensive hardware all this years (native from day one)
i'm sure there will no such thing as "i want to try UAD maybe this is THE shit".

They are generic and crazy overrated.
You can replace them with many HQ DSP processing (plugins) that you already have.
TDR Kotelnikov - the only compressor you really need.
TDR Nova - the only EQ you really need.

 

i had SPARK for a while it was good but i tried it on a special for 1 dollar a month but after that didn't use it enough to warrant the monthly subscription

 

The Distressor from Empirical Labs is better.
The Pultec's and Capitol Chambers are great.
1176's , DBX, LA3A and Api 2500 you don't need them if you have Waves.
Avalon (different model) from Kazrog it's better.
Studer A800 don't need it if you have IK Tapes.
The API Vision strip as good as Pulsar's Api Eq.
Hitsvill EQ from NoiseAsh is better, Galaxy tape echo from Arturia too.
The Sound city Reverb and the Capitol Mastering Comp are not so useful and very difficult to use.
Massive Passive and Mu Comp from Pulsar are better.

 

Can you define what you mean by "better"?

Like, do you mean better in that you've compared them (in person) to the hardware versions, and found the actual emulations to be better?

Or do you mean better in that those are the ones that have a sound/vibe that you personally, subjectively prefer?




To OP: I use UAD (both DSP and Native) and have done for years, but kinda no more or less than plugins from a bunch of over developers too.

The UAD Unison preamps are really great (and are kinda the one thing that pretty much ensures ongoing hardware sales).

I also use the UA176 & 175B a lot, the Distressor, A800, ATR-102, 1176's and LA2/A's. Oh, and the API560 is a very cool - sometimes really tiny nudges of a couple of the sliders can help something sit the way you want it. The Massive Passive is great when you need it's v specific sound.

We're absolutely spoilt for choice with really amazing plugins from loads of companies now, so like don't feel you're missing out on some magical 'hidden secret' if you don't invest in UAD.

If you wanna add a few extra options to your tools, then UAD are defo worth checking out, cos they do have some really great stuff (especially if you'd get use out of the real-time tracking abilities of the Unison preamps).

 

Last edited: Jun 19, 2024

The second one. If you compare it with the specific alternatives you 'll understand what I mean.

 

i've used UAD for years because I've had the apollo twin since the first version of it. They've all sounded great for the spurts of time that ive used them. During a stretch i used the Century Tube Channel Strip a lot and found it to be really great. The sound/tone and overall presence i could get with a vocal using that as the unison was really good. I used the neve pres and helios a lot at one point as well. thought both were really good. I've found myself mainly using the studer and the ampex tape emus for warmth/saturation and the LA2A and 1176s(both sound fantastic) on vocals and drums now as actual go-tos in every session and they all sound great and i actually think the Ampex is amazing. when I A/B a record with it on the mixbux on and off, its like the record just goes completely lifeless. I did love the unison tech for as long as i used it but when i upgraded my vocal chain to a 737 -> distressor, i never went back to it apart from tracking guitars(which does sound great). I think the plugins are very well made and you'll be hardpressed to actually find anything bad or overtly negative with them. You'll find some pretty good sales on them over time and when combined with the hardware + DSP(even tho native is their thing now), i just think its a good get.

 

I mean, I've used most of the alternatives you mentioned, and found neither them nor the UAD versions lacking - I'd happily use any of them in a mix, depending on what the track called for, hence why I was asking for clarification

This is why I find "better" to be a tricky term to use in these discussions, because when the vast majority of people say something is "better", what they actually mean is "personally, I prefer this one" but that's not always how a reader will interpret it.

 

Yeah the Ampex has lived on my stereo buss for years, it's such a vibe.

Unison is so handy when you're working away from the studio - it's amazing to be able to just throw a Twin in a bag, and have a very convincing selection of top-tier pres to hand when you need to track something in a hotel room/rehearsal space/wherever.

The Helios is defo one of my faves for acoustic guitar in particular - the way you can make acoustics sit in dense arrangements with it is crazy - I've legit never found anything else to replace it (apart from the real things haha!)

 

My only problem is the added 8ms doesn't matter which UADx VST3 I load all of them adds 8ms to the projects latency
Just imagine you add 5 UAD plugins on different channels 5x8...eeeh you end up with 40ms+ latency really annoying so they are only for a "mixing or mastering template or project" for live performance or jamming they are a huge pain

 

This is another benefit of using the dsp versions: There is a 'Live mode' button you can press to reduce latency, as the expense of increased dsp usage.

And ofc, with native (if you're running an interface, rather than just a Satelliite) you have the option of loading plugins into Unison/Console slots for near-zero latency.

 

i got the ampex on a crazy sale($14) last year during the same summer sale they are having now decided on it after watching this

.


its been on the mixbus literally every session since and when i start a new song, it goes on immediately. I overlooked the helios for a while bc its just so easy to when you have it, the 610s, neves, etc etc. i actually tried it on a kick and it worked incredibly well and ever since then i've just tried all of the tools that i was kind of ignoring. if you have the Century Tube Channel strip, give it a look. Don't think it'll replace anything in your workflow but i was definitely surprised at how it took a Rode K2 and made it sound viable.



This lead vocal on the opening verse was that chain

 

I had the LA-2A for some time, i got it when they gave it for free, but honestly, never used that much. Then i became obssessed about Pultec´s, since watching a Glenn Fricker video where he explained how he used a hardware pultec clone to get his guitar tone (and it was a really good one), so i decided to try all the pultec vst´s i could find. I tried almost all of them, except for UAD´s and Acustica´s Purple, and until recently NoiseAsh and TubeTech were the ones that got the better results for me. In between i saw a video of this scottish guy (cant remember the name of his channel, also i was barely able to understand what he was saying...english not being my first lenguage, but im pretty good at it being from south america...but that guy was nuts), where he compared different plugins against a hardware pultec unit, said he couldnt hear noticeable differences between the UAD and the hardware. Truth or not, i had to get one, but the costs were outside my budget (in normal circumstances the price of the plugin is half of the minimal wage here, so its not a good idea if you want to eat steadily all the month xd), but about a mont ago it was for 39 dollars, a lot less expensive than usual, so i bought it. It works excellent, dont know if it really sounds that close to a hardware unit, since i dont have access to one, but the difference against all the other alternatives is very noticeable, also had to do all possible comparisons with PluginDoctor, and the thing does stuff that the others couldnt dream of, so, if i have to say something about UAD plugins, or about the Pultec at least, is that they are pretty good...the only con besides the usual price is the ilok thing, but i have a pretty stable connection, so til now im not having problems with it.

 

It is difficult to decide these days on which plugins any person should consider purchasing and in some cases, if any.

Having used Manley real hardware and the aphex compellor in time-sensitive scenarios, any vst which gets 90% of it right is worth considering.
There is no aphex vst at this point other than simulated exciters but no compellor. some say they have but they're not even close.
The Manly UAD plugins unlike other supposed Manley vst's actually fulfil the 90% digital emulations of their analog counterpart. If you've used Manley you'd know the difference.

I get that many would rather get them for free. I am a great believer that if you intend to use something all of the time it is better to own it in the long run. If you do not intend to use all of the time, fine, try before you buy in R2R's terminology.

 

i cann vouch for the distressor and say that the uad one is by far the closest to the actual hardware. i compared audios from both and the differences were minimal at best... alongside that, even empirical labs has said that the arousor is not meant to be a distressor emulation at all

 

I don't own any UAD plugin, I hate the company and I don't use its plugins in my productions... but I gotta say you're tripping here. I wonder how this "blind test" that you mentioned took place.