Hi all,

I'm starting a new topic about UAD plugs and their external hardware because I've a question. If I want their plugins I know I have to buy a dedicated hardware thingy, but what exactly? Apollo? Satellite? None of these? Also, when I buy the hardware, do I need to buy plugins too or are they included?

Thanks a lot to whoever will clarify this to me once forever since I've been knowing UAD vsts for a long time but this has never been really clear to me

 

Yes you need to buy hardware, the plugins use the dsp in the device to run, I own an Apollo twin, good starting point and now you can daisy chain devices via thunderbolt (however the apollo only runs only on mac with thunderbolt), you get some legacy plugins as standard and an offer mine was 3 plugins for $450 look out for their twice yearly sales where they are half price, great plugins and because I actually bought them i choose carefully and am learning them inside out. hope that helps.

 

I think this is what you need:

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/uad-2-buying-guide/

behold: the thunderbolt stuff is mac only.

 

Thanks a lot!! BTW I'm mac based, forgot to say! eheh

 

imho the uad stuff is overpriced and useless nowadays.

Back in those days where cpu power was rarely limited the external dsp cards from uad brought you extra power in your setup. the plugins were good too.

but now we have extremely powerful cpus (compare a 4790k vs anything good in 2005 !) so it's cheaper to buy a new cpu setup instead of uad.

the uad plugins are not top notch anymore. vst/au/aax plugins from e.g. plugin alliance are far better in most circumstances.


as I wrote before: uad is a waste of money imho. pure snakeoil nowadays

EDIT:
to second my opinion, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf7vn_aVTq4

 

buy an Apollo because it's the best audio hardware not for the plugs...

there are few plugs that are worth it. However, some of them like top compressors or tape recorders are the best in their category

don't get caught by the DSP number marketing as suggested above. DSP are really useless and literally work as a dongle. It's absolutely NOT cpu efficient as the UAD console itself (empty!!) burns 15% of recent cpu clock...

 

I strongly disagree with that opinion. Your link was based one a single plugin that could have been demoed before buying. I user many of their other plugins...and I have pleased with them...especially the Studer 800, API Vision, and Softube Amp. I have not found software to sound like those yet. Another important fact is that their hardware runs DSP instead of your PC. This is great for me because I already use a lot of plugins and effects for the production stage...and I want to maintain an midi-editable throughout the mix process. My mac is maxed out with upgrades, and I'm easily using 20 instrument plugins, plus their individual delays, reverbs, and other sound shaping fx. Using only UAD plugins for the mix stage is a blessing to my workflow because I can run a bunch of processes without sending my buffer over the edge.

 

Yes and no.

Yes, the entire system is overpriced and no extra power is needed nowadays.
No, the system is not useless.

I`m an user since UAD-1 cards and still in love
isn`t this useful enough ?

This guy is the partner of Boz Digital and has a marketing reason for making this video.

What system may be best for you depends on

1. just want to have the plugins for recording/mixing/mastering
then a PCI-e card may be enough

2. a mobile option is requested
then a Satellite (firewire) may work

3. an audio interface is good to have as well
then the rest of their offers becomes your choice

All systems are shipped with standard plugins or bundles
and can be used right out of the box.
You are not requested to purchase anything extra except you wish to do so
and the UAD store is your candy shop.

Now, the UAD systems are overpriced when purchased regularly
but there are many ways to save a good amount of money.

I.e. Hardware second hand, annual plugin sales and coupons.
My latest purchased plugin regularly at $299.- was about $29.-
at a precise moment of sales and coupons.

There is enough of yes and no to love it or to leave it.

 

Yeah, but their partnership have nothing to do with the test results . Partners or not, the test exposes VOG clearly enough. It's not going to make me buy BOZ stuff instead of UAD, but it helps people understand the marketing strategy based on blind faith. That's the only point i've got from the whole video.

Evo

 

The UAD plugins are excellent and some of them unparalleled (fatso, ampex, fairchild, varimu).
The need for the dsps is not there anymore. Think of the hardware as dongles.

 

Sometimes they have specials where some of there plugins are included with the hardware sale.

 

hey, audio lovers,

their unison technology is really useful, unique, too.

for the use of this functionality, one does need one of their apollo audio interfaces, also excellent.

on their site there are couple of pdf files to download, read those through if you want to decide what to buy.

never believe the hype, but also never believe the opposite opinions, try everything for youself in some big shop, only you are able to decide.

all the best...

 

I am torn about this myself because the price that you pay for Apollo and or the waves digigrid interfaces if you add a little more money you can buy a new beautiful mac that can easily run a lot of plugins by itself Plus the computer can be used for other things like video editing and photoshop yes I would Buy one if I had a lot of money if you're limited with a budget I would not I would buy a better computer instead

 

Hi Evo,
yes, you are absolutely right and I think we both agree on this part.

I just wanted to point out, a fence use to have two sides.

A business partner pretending to be a user enlightening other users smells funny to me.
No problem if he says
"I am a partner of company xy and we have discovered something remarkable.
Finally we decided to develope something native for free".
Thats a fair statement at both sides.

The other point I see is UAD made a clone of a hardware unit
and to say the clone is bogus needs a comparison between both.
Either the cloning failed or the hw unit is bogus as well.
If this would have been tested, then the result would be a fair statement at both sides.

Also, good or not, UAD feels entitled to release original brands
and pays a good amount of license fees.
This should also be mentioned when complaining about prices.

With the given 14 day trial per UAD plugin and some measurements
it`s a bit over the top to say buying VOG is blind faith.
Maybe if there is no way to demo everything.

So, while the video is pointing out something
it appears to be dishonest and demagogically abused.

My problem was to use a disreputable video
as a proof of saying UAD plugins are useless in general.

I hope I was fair with my observations and sorry for going OT a bit.

 

Ok in reference to the UAD product line, I hate the UI, they should have a way to make it feel more native to the computer rather than a separate UI/Mixer/Router.
Also be careful of Sweetwater reps, they don't know shit. When I bought my Apollo Twin they rep told me it would improve the performance of my other Audio Units. Which makes no sense and is not true.
He was specific in saying "The DSP Card will process my Audio Units as well" not true.

I am Univeral Audio Fan, I have a Twin and I can tell you that you are better off learning to mix before you buy this gear. Based on your questions you have some time to go.
No offense but I am saving you money. The fact is that UAD are overpriced but they are also awesome but if you don't know what your doing you should just use solutions you already have. If this doesn't truly pertain to you then I mean no offense. I would invest in banging monitors and if you are on a mac buy a Dangerous Audio Source so you can get the real quality. If you are seeking a solid Thunderbolt Interface solution I would go with the Apogee. Because all that product is is basically updated to use Thunderbolt and anyone who ones an Apogee Interface or Preamp will tell you the quality is where you want it.
BTW have you seen the price of a UAD plugin you are looking at $300+ ea.

 

the best way to buy UAD is to buy a used one with bought/installed plugins. it is cheaper.

 

Well, based on your actual question idk if you should be thinking about UAD plug-ins. If your not ready to dish at least $1000+ on plug-ins i dont really see the point in thinking UAD. That should answer your question, and if its still yes you wanna invest in UAD stuff you might wanna consider (fatso, ampex, fairchild, varimu) like our fellow fraifikmushi mentioned. You can also demo all their plug-ins for 15 days.

 

The UAD plugins are Top! (not the only ones) But once you tried/work there will not be turning back point. I own a Quad card with lots of plugins. I love it! If you think seriously (you'll need a lot of money), buy a package of plugins. Universal Audio offers great discounts on packages with their hardwares. You'll save a lot of cash.

 

I used UAD-1 (had two of them in the studio), then UAD-2, the quad + the ultimate package (the best UAD thing at that time), so I know the platform pretty well.

All I have to say is that I don't use it anymore. At all.

Since discovering Nebula, and later the superb Aqua plugins, UAD is collecting dust. At first the compressors were the weak point in Acustica's land but now that's not the case anymore, there are excellent compressors now even as Nebula libraries (Tim Petherick's more recent stuff), not to mention the plethora of incredible sounding eqs.

UAD simply can't compete. It's seriously underpowered and way overpriced. It used to be the opposite back in the days. The hardware was appealing and the plugins were competitively priced. Not anymore. Now for the cost of the whole thing you can build a killer computer and load it with Nebula and superb sounding libraries that cost like 20-30 bucks (???). And if you really need photorealistic plugins you can buy the Aqua stuff, because you still have money left that you didn't spend on UAD, and run a lot more of them on this monster of a computer that you could on that DSP card. I know what I'm talking about because this is exactly what I did.

And you still have plenty of nice sounding native plugins that can fill pretty much all your needs.

 

haha Thank you for your experienced comment. I was doubting about buying or not some UAD system, but finally it seems that it doesn't have a good relation price/quality.

What would be your choice for a good "analog" compressor but with less possible latency?

Do you use Nebula and Aqua on the same computer you do the rest, or do you use a separate computer as a DSP?

Do you Mix only? Or do you use it while composing , recording etc ?