Well it is often used as a stereo buss comp but I find it works better on more traditional acoustic or orchestral mixes as opposed to modern things like electronic, hip hop, etc. (I should have clarified that). It is really nice on something like a jazz trio sound.

The simple solution is to use the A800 and other channel plug-ins while mixing and then master through the 33609 and ATR-102 after mixing down.

It's widely considered to be fantastic on bass, drum buss, master buss, piano, and acoustic guitar. I've never found another compressor plug-in that can match its stability on the master buss, not even other UAD plug-ins, and it even beats most high-end hardware in this regard.

They're on sale for a couple more days.


While that's not the description I'd use, I'll agree that it's one of the best buss compressors you'll ever find for the master buss.

What do you mean by stability?

Even, constant, steady. The audio is literally stable, allowing maximizers to follow the 33609 with less artifacts than they have with other compressors.

This forum is truely amazing at times - why are you suggesting a plugin that is not available yet as an alternative to one of the most highly regarded plugins ever released???? Slate hasn't exactly got a good track record on release times and now Waves have dumped ilok, i can see some teddy's being thrown from prams very soon if the company has troubles and folds.

Fwiw, this same crap has been spouted since uad was introduced. Basically ua are months if not years ahead in many areas. It was about two years before any native 'competitors' were available to rival the 1176, Pultec, Fairchild etc and even now their emulations are still doing the job.

Uad stuff is quite expensive and the cards are maybe underpowered but you'll still be using them years after buying.

Sure you can run 100 say ik la2a's on a new i7, well i run what i need for a project and my 2 cards (uad-1 & a uad-2 solo) handle it just fine. I haven't got the power for all the new fatsos & tape emus tho and would recommend a duo as minimum.

Uad-2 is the right choice if you own(ed) "old" uad-1 plugin licenses. If not try native first and usually this should be satisfying.

Slate doesn't have a good track record on releases (though he now claims those issues are resolved now that they're on a new plugin framework), however, VCC is a stunning piece of software. If I knew the guy who made that plugin was making a tape sim (which he is), then I would hold off on buying a UAD card until I had a chance to demo the Slate Virutal Tape Machine. What's so hard to understand about that?

And Waves isn't going anywhere. The iLok folks might have a hard time staying afloat without Waves, but Waves will be just fine. They have a huge product line that's actively being expanded and updated, and dumping the iLok will only introduce new customers. They'll do just fine.



Talk about regurgitating crap...UA haven't been "years ahead" of the competition in years. They've got a few months ahead with their tape plugs if you're being generous (depends on how good you think Waves MPX is), but that's it. Aside from that, there are dozens of examples of native plugins that not only match their counterparts on the UAD, but also exceed them.



And how many years ago was that? It's a different world now. UA's "our plugins are years ahead of everyone else" advantage is long gone. In fact, now with things like the Brainworx and Sonnox plugins going to the UAD, UA is now doing DSP ports of native plugins. So in those cases, native was actually "years ahead" of the UAD if you want to get semantic about it.



I've had a UAD-1 for years, as well as a UAD-2 Duo. I use them almost exclusively for A800 at this point. The compressors, EQ's, and reverbs have mostly been replaced with generally superior native plugins. Every once in a while, I may use the EMT 140 or 250 when I want that specific sound, or bust out the FATSO, but honestly, that's rare nowadays. I've got a ton of money invested in UAD plugins that are now tied to my card forever (cause I can't resell them) and aren't getting used because 1) I don't have the DSP to run additional plugins once I throw the A800 on individual channels on a mix, and 2) because of #1, I went out and found native replacements that work just as well if not better.

Let's face it: the restrictions of the platform suck.



Exactly why the user should stay away from the UAD platform. So why are you telling him to jump aboard? Even you seem to agree it's underpowered, and it would be impossible to argue that it's not expensive. The initial cost of entry is insanely high for such underpowered cards, and the new top plugins seem to start at $300 each with the tape sims going for $350. Forget that...

I understand that. The entire reply was referring to the persons lack of budget. I don't think people with limited funds will enjoy the UAD experience. I also think the solo is a waste. That's my personal opinion YMMV.

I think the 33609 is in the top 3 or 4 plugs I own. So, I'm not arguing against how good it is. However, there are native alternatives that are in the ballpark for far less cash. There are even some that might be better for certain genres. My comments were strictly from a cash vs capability standpoint.

But, extend that ... a real 33609 will cost more than a SOLO.

A Solo can be fine as long as you plan how you want to use it. Say you only ever need 1 reverb per project and you run native EQ, you could do fine with a Solo. I am pretty certain 1x Lexicon 224 + 1x Ampex + 1x 33609 will be able to fit realtime on a Solo.

You really wanna spend $ 400 on a dsp card to be able to add as little as 3 (!) instances of plugins to a project!?


This ain't the 90's any longer

Depends of what the plugs bring to the table. A uad 2 solo is 400 usd but comes with la2a, 1176 and a bunch of other plugs. If this plugs are that great and can avoid me buying the waves cla classic comp bundle (300 usd), why not ? It's only 100 usd more for a bundle of plugs that won't consume any cpu. The neve 33609 ain't got any native counterpart and the uad tape simulations seems to be the greatest simulations ever. 400 (card) + 250 (33609) + 350 (tape sim) is a lot of money but maybe not that much compares to the real world physical pieces of gear... And in any situation, even with a real tape machine, you'll have to lay down your tracks one after another to benefit from the "tape machine effect"... To me, the only issue with uad is you must buy the card before trying the plugs...

Pair the right selection of UAD plugs with Nebula and the right selection of Native plugs and there is nothing you cannot accomplish ITB right now.

I agree the pricing of UAD-2 hardware is wrong, but the latest generation of their plugins are not average. They get alot closer to duplicating analog hardware than 5 years ago and certain UAD plugs still stand out over the improvements in native plugins. I know UAD is not as far ahead of the crowd as it was 10 years ago, but there is still a place for it.

Besides, these are the kind of FX that usually only require 1 instance in a conventional project anyway.

Lexicon 224
EMT 250
EMT 140
EL7 Fatso
Manley Massive Passive
Neve 33609
1176LN
Ampex ATR-102

[quote="Funkybot's Evil Twins ..[/quote]

The Studer has been out for nearly a year and the slate offering has just been announced. That might mean that studio 'a' gets the business that studio 'b' & 'c' didn't get because of better sound and cheaper costs....Might matter to some. Uad is still a platform to consider. It might make your demos stand out over the next man when they hit the A&R's inbox, waiting ain't always 'better'....

Ua will do it again with some plugins in the future. They always do.

I also agree that there are some extremely good native plugins. I use them too. Underpowered and expensive are two words to describe uad cards but they offerr very powerfull audio processors that are at times unique.

By recommending a uad card i'm merely suggesting to use native and dsp, not one or the other.