Native UAD Spark VST3 Plugins Out for PC+Mac (UAD Hardware Not Required to Purchase)

[Gosh]

Is it really only ilok 3 or is the ilok key 2 also supported?

[simmo75]

Don’t forget to make sure you really want the plugins, because they’re NFR ilok licenses

[abernathy]

And the organ is the best vst organ I've tried, not that I've tried a ton tbf.

Best virtual Hammond is still: AcousticSamples B-5 v3 by quite a margin. Requires UVI Workstation and iLok, but holy hell does it sound incredible. I'd put the UA next on the list, then the IK Hammond.

Wow, I think I agree here. I'd forgotten about the AcousticSamples B-5, which I own. Just went back to it and it does sound amazing. Thanks! I need to start a thread (or some threads) asking opinions about best versions of some instruments... and take a new dig through what I already own.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Yeah, the Acoustic Samples B5 was already excellent, but once it hit V3, it really went up a whole other level. I've got all the other big Hammonds and B5 V3 is just absolutely king of the hill IMO. Here's a hint: if you have the IK Fame reverb, throw it on after B5 and set it to the keys/organ position and blend the room/dry signals to taste. You'd swear you're listening to a recording of a real Hammond in a room.

For my money VTines and VReeds are also the best Wurli and Rhodes respectively and I own a Mark 1 and Wurli 200 (and a 120 - but that's a whole other thing).

[Scotty]

I generally agree that the Univesal Plugins have been superceded by their competition. There are some exceptions. I started to get off of UAD despite owning about 90 plugins , 6 UAD-2 cards and an interface. Without sidechain support , scaleable interfaces and other than compatibility updates they previously just releasef and forgot and relied on their world class marketing tactic to carry them. It is nice to have the Pultecs, Lexicon, LA2As and 1176s in native form and they'll get back into rotation now. There are probably another 10 plugins in the catalog that I own that I'd love to see in native form. The AKG spring, the Marshal Plexi, the Korg and Cooper delay, AMS digital Reverb, Moog Multi Mode Filter (Arturia's is pretty good) are at the top of the list.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

the Marshal Plexi

The Marshall Plexi was coded by Softube and is already available natively. Granted, you'd have to buy it again, but Softube frequently throws it on sale for $49.

[jamcat]

I’ve never liked the Softube amps. They always sounded oddly hollow to me. And why would anyone spend even $49 for a single artificial sounding Marshall amp model now, when you can download TONEX CS for free and get a couple Marshalls, a Mesa, an Orange, a Peavy, an Ampeg, and a bunch of Fenders? (That actually sound like real amps)

[VitaminD]

UA Connect just gives me a blank screen with a spinning circle.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

And why would anyone spend even $49 for a single artificial sounding Marshall amp model now, when you can download TONEX CS for free and get a couple Marshalls, a Mesa, an Orange, a Peavy, an Ampeg, and a bunch of Fenders? (That actually sound like real amps)

This is one of those rare instances where I completely agree with you. Waiting to see if pigs have sprouted wings and taken flight.

[VitaminD]

UA Connect just gives me a blank screen with a spinning circle.

An hour and a half later, I still have a blank screen and a spinning circle in UA Connect.

[simmo75]

UA Connect just gives me a blank screen with a spinning circle.

An hour and a half later, I still have a blank screen and a spinning circle in UA Connect.

wow! you have some patience... i would've force quit that 88 minutes ago.

[VitaminD]

Haha most of that the computer was on the side doing its thing while I was on a work conference call. I ended up rebooting the machine and then it started working. I think something in ilok needed a refresh.

[olepro]

I have no plugins showing in UA connect
Does anybody know if the Native plugins is available when I have the old UAD-1 card?

[Scotty]

I am open to the possiblity that a specific tonex capture might do it well or even better for a specific application but I wouldn't take it on face value that component modelling is inferior to AI machine modelling (Tonex) . A Tonex capture is said to be highly accurate at specific knob positions but one capture doesn't fully represent the amp nor does IK claim it will.

In the case of the Softube emulation they component modelled the amp across its FULL operational capabilities AND also added microphones and an actual physical space as well. This is something that Tonex doesn't do on its own and nor does it make that claim.

Even IK indicates that traditional component modelling and AI Machine modelling (Tonex) have reasons to coexist.

"While analog modeling simulates the behavior of the whole circuit of the amp - with all the knobs, switches, buttons and their interactions - AI machine modeling gives an ultra-realistic simulation of the rig with a Specific Knob Settings. "
- Peter_IK » Sat Sep 03, 2022 5:16 pm on the Amplitube Forum.

Both technologies have their place.
A tonex capture certainly doesn't relegate the Softube Plexi to the scrap heap.

And why would anyone spend even $49 for a single artificial sounding Marshall amp model now, when you can download TONEX CS for free and get a couple Marshalls, a Mesa, an Orange, a Peavy, an Ampeg, and a bunch of Fenders? (That actually sound like real amps)

This is one of those rare instances where I completely agree with you. Waiting to see if pigs have sprouted wings and taken flight.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

A single tonex capture certainly doesn't relegate the Softube Plexi to the scrap heap.

Nothing you said is wrong. In theory.

The Softube Plexi isn't great sounding IMO. It's good. Not excellent or exceptional in any way.

But...there are a LOT of incredible TONEX Plexi's that are excellent and exceptional IMO. Some of those captures come with TONEX, others are in the tone.net library captured by users. I can get a better Marshall Plexi with TONEX just by browsing a few presets than I can with the Softube Marshall Plexi. It's just like, "oh, yeah, that's the sound...Les Paul, roll off the neck tone a bit...hey, Clapton in Cream in 30 seconds or less". It's truly great stuff. I'm still over the moon with it.