I'm in the process of saving up for their card, and will probably spring for the full bundle, but I've also collected some great plugins from other manufacturers, and a mass of free ones I think are great. Once I have the UAD-1 Ultra, I plan on using both sets of plugins.
My question to anyone who has broad experience with plugins from UAD and the full round of respected plug makers (some of the ones I like are from Kjaerhus, TbT, Voxengo, Princeton Digital, Tritone, and Sonalksis) is this: if you have some of the best plugs out there from other makers and you get the UAD-1 Ultra Pak, are the UAD-1 effects, particularly the premium ones like Pultec Pro, Precision EQ, etc, so far ahead of anything else that your other plugs become obsolete (purely in terms of quality, not in terms of unique features since all plugs have differences).
I know this is purely subjective, but who owns a UAD-1 and feels they have marginal use for their other plugins due to the UAD-1's superiority?
Thanks for the advice,
Dave
Is UAD-1 light years ahead of anyone else's plugs?
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- KVRAF
- 1933 posts since 29 Apr, 2005 from Beyond all space, time, and dimension.
Here is my small version:
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
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- KVRAF
- 10815 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from UK
first off!
to the title of this thread the reply is yes
& yes thay will be your fave plugins
but you will mostly be using them on busses master outs or as the end effect
so IMO its a good top dog for your vst's to work for
PS get a project pack with it! you can have 3 extra project packs upgraded to ultra packs with your 1 ultra pack!!! (no need to buy them at the same time ither)
Subject
to the title of this thread the reply is yes
& yes thay will be your fave plugins
but you will mostly be using them on busses master outs or as the end effect
so IMO its a good top dog for your vst's to work for
PS get a project pack with it! you can have 3 extra project packs upgraded to ultra packs with your 1 ultra pack!!! (no need to buy them at the same time ither)
Subject
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Left Headphone Left Headphone https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=19118
- KVRian
- 945 posts since 30 Mar, 2004
If you don't know how to use the plugs correctly, your music will still sound like crap. I think it is possible to get good mix with free plugs, if you know what your are doing.
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- KVRian
- 954 posts since 15 Dec, 2000 from NY,NY,USA
Well,the La2a is probably the best comp plug out there,the Pultec and Precision EQ is not light years ahead of URS's native efforts,in fact some people like them better.While the Plate 140 is a wondeful emulation of the EMT plate hardware,the native Princeton Digital is a close runner up and I'd have to say TC's System 6000(VSS3 etc.)is light years ahead of UAD's efforts in the reverb dept.,the recently released Roland Chorus is nothing special and there are better native efforts,forget about the guitar EMU Nigel.What's left? Although UAD makes excellent plugins overall,I now only see them "ahead" in one plugin(La2a) and not by light years.
"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal." - Albert Einstein
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- KVRAF
- 2565 posts since 30 Mar, 2004 from Phoenix AZ USA
I absolutely love UAD and some of the plugs like the Plate 140 are "light years ahead" but there are other plugs that I use and prefer in some cases over the UAD plugs.
GAC-1
most of the time use this and not the UAD channel strip
GMO-1
I use it all the time and it's a compliment to the UAD chorus.
TRacks
OK I personally prefer Tracks over Fairchild (they both emulate the same hardware) I am sure most people will disagree with we though.. (got TRacks for free when purchased Amplitube and I am very used to it)
Amplitube
Nigel is the weakest plug in the UAD bundle and I think most people will agree about this one.
Other then that I always keep my mind open and use whatever tool is best for the job.
For example Classic Delay, being a free plug get's a lot of use.
GAC-1
most of the time use this and not the UAD channel strip
GMO-1
I use it all the time and it's a compliment to the UAD chorus.
TRacks
OK I personally prefer Tracks over Fairchild (they both emulate the same hardware) I am sure most people will disagree with we though.. (got TRacks for free when purchased Amplitube and I am very used to it)
Amplitube
Nigel is the weakest plug in the UAD bundle and I think most people will agree about this one.
Other then that I always keep my mind open and use whatever tool is best for the job.
For example Classic Delay, being a free plug get's a lot of use.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 1933 posts since 29 Apr, 2005 from Beyond all space, time, and dimension.
Thanks for the replies, this is very helpful.
It's interesting that the LA-2A is mentioned as the best plug. That one is still free with the $400 Project Pak, which also includes the basic Pultec. Can anyone tell me what is diminished about the 1176SE versus the 1176LN.
I'm not made of money so I'm actually debating about whether to go all the way up to the Ultra. The Studio Pak has most everything I would need. I like "character" all the way up to the final limiter, so I'd probably be more inclined to use the LA-2A over the Precision Limiter. The Plate 140 certainly looks tempting, but I'm more of a room and hall guy than a vintage mechanical 'verb sort of guy. Which leaves the Pultec Pro and the Precision EQ.
I guess I have to wonder if those two plugs alone are worth $300 to me.
It would be nice to have the extra mids on the Pultec. Anyone else have opinions about the Precision EQ? Much better than the Cambridge?
How's the CS-1?
Right now for EQ I use GEQ-7, GlissEQ, and NWEQ and comps are everything from TbT, GUP-1, GPP-1, Soniformer, Crunchessor, Mackie Final Mix (I shizzle you not---pretty good plug), and various freeware if the mood strikes me. My main 'verbs are Princeton and SIR.
It's interesting that the LA-2A is mentioned as the best plug. That one is still free with the $400 Project Pak, which also includes the basic Pultec. Can anyone tell me what is diminished about the 1176SE versus the 1176LN.
I'm not made of money so I'm actually debating about whether to go all the way up to the Ultra. The Studio Pak has most everything I would need. I like "character" all the way up to the final limiter, so I'd probably be more inclined to use the LA-2A over the Precision Limiter. The Plate 140 certainly looks tempting, but I'm more of a room and hall guy than a vintage mechanical 'verb sort of guy. Which leaves the Pultec Pro and the Precision EQ.
I guess I have to wonder if those two plugs alone are worth $300 to me.
It would be nice to have the extra mids on the Pultec. Anyone else have opinions about the Precision EQ? Much better than the Cambridge?
How's the CS-1?
Right now for EQ I use GEQ-7, GlissEQ, and NWEQ and comps are everything from TbT, GUP-1, GPP-1, Soniformer, Crunchessor, Mackie Final Mix (I shizzle you not---pretty good plug), and various freeware if the mood strikes me. My main 'verbs are Princeton and SIR.
Here is my small version:
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
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- KVRist
- 49 posts since 12 Jun, 2003
The one sad thing about DSP cards is that you cant demo the products without first jumping in. Im really happy with the compressors I got with the Project Pak (LA2A and 1176SE), and I like Pultec. But there are other good plugs out there that work equally well in certain situations. I especially like Hydratone and Valvetone, but learning when to use them for the best effect is taking some time. In fact I have come to a point where Im not buying any new plugs until Ive mastered the ones I have.
Plus Im reading up on the UAD plugs that I can still demo thru the Project Pak and am waiting for the mixdown stage of my first home recording project to put them to use. If I find any indispensable after that Ill pick up an Ultra or whatever.
At some point though I think Ill need to say enough is enough. Or win the lottery.
Plus Im reading up on the UAD plugs that I can still demo thru the Project Pak and am waiting for the mixdown stage of my first home recording project to put them to use. If I find any indispensable after that Ill pick up an Ultra or whatever.
At some point though I think Ill need to say enough is enough. Or win the lottery.
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- KVRer
- 11 posts since 29 Jul, 2005
I know that I'm new here and this is my first post but I'm drunk and just tryed unsucessfully, once again, to go to bed with my wife, so I'm going to let out all of my unused energy here . First off you need to look and see what these diferent plugs are supposed to be used for. the precision eq and the Precision limiter are for mastering. I don't own either of them because I don't master the songs I mix, however, I did demo them and they are better than, anything waves, urs, that I have heard, tritone, t-tracks, or so I have heard voxengo. They are not meant to be used on individual tracks but some people are happy with their results doing that.
The LA2A is a great compressor (it is not the best plug), but I wouldn't stop there. The Fairchild, although a little tough to get a grip on, is awsome. Go to the uad-1 forum and read up on how to use it. there are screws on the picture of the plug in that when cranked one way or another produce varing results. the 1176 is a great limiter. It has a very fast attack and is perfect for snare drums. I use it on voxs, gtr, and whatever. It is wonderful. Im not a big fan of the 1176SE because it does not sound as good as 1176 and I feel cheated whenever I throw it on a track.
the plate 140 is great. It is not like anything else. You will still use other reverbs, the princeton is nice, but this reverb will improve certain aspects of your mix. It has a way of gelling things together and at the same time it so lush. Just try it.
as far as the eq's go the pultec is different but at the same level as hydratone, which I don't yet own but have heard, and the urs stuff. The cambridge blows for adding frequencies, but is fine for cutting them.
Realverb and dream verb can be helpful but are not steller plugs, compared to the stuff mentioned above, and the rest are average or a bit better.
Is it worth your cash to buy this card? I made the jump and my mixes have improved not just to my ears, but everyone-from my few clients, to my bands, to my wife. three years ago a label spent 30,000 dollars for me to go into a studio with a major producer in a major studio. It took a year to make that money back and another to turn anykind of a substancial profit. this time around my albulm sounds better and I've already made back my costs for every piece of studio gear we have purchased ++$$. My mics and preamps did make the most difference, but the uad-1 card helped push my mixes over the edge, when waves, voxengo and others could not.
I'm not totally sucking up to the company. I think that the new chorus plug was a lame idea and I try not to use their channel strip or nigel, (which for weird stuff does work ok)--- I hope the info on my expierence helps--- I'm going to go pass out now. have fun.
The LA2A is a great compressor (it is not the best plug), but I wouldn't stop there. The Fairchild, although a little tough to get a grip on, is awsome. Go to the uad-1 forum and read up on how to use it. there are screws on the picture of the plug in that when cranked one way or another produce varing results. the 1176 is a great limiter. It has a very fast attack and is perfect for snare drums. I use it on voxs, gtr, and whatever. It is wonderful. Im not a big fan of the 1176SE because it does not sound as good as 1176 and I feel cheated whenever I throw it on a track.
the plate 140 is great. It is not like anything else. You will still use other reverbs, the princeton is nice, but this reverb will improve certain aspects of your mix. It has a way of gelling things together and at the same time it so lush. Just try it.
as far as the eq's go the pultec is different but at the same level as hydratone, which I don't yet own but have heard, and the urs stuff. The cambridge blows for adding frequencies, but is fine for cutting them.
Realverb and dream verb can be helpful but are not steller plugs, compared to the stuff mentioned above, and the rest are average or a bit better.
Is it worth your cash to buy this card? I made the jump and my mixes have improved not just to my ears, but everyone-from my few clients, to my bands, to my wife. three years ago a label spent 30,000 dollars for me to go into a studio with a major producer in a major studio. It took a year to make that money back and another to turn anykind of a substancial profit. this time around my albulm sounds better and I've already made back my costs for every piece of studio gear we have purchased ++$$. My mics and preamps did make the most difference, but the uad-1 card helped push my mixes over the edge, when waves, voxengo and others could not.
I'm not totally sucking up to the company. I think that the new chorus plug was a lame idea and I try not to use their channel strip or nigel, (which for weird stuff does work ok)--- I hope the info on my expierence helps--- I'm going to go pass out now. have fun.
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- KVRAF
- 2565 posts since 30 Mar, 2004 from Phoenix AZ USA
Whatever you do just remember this.Frippertronix wrote: The Plate 140 certainly looks tempting, but I'm more of a room and hall guy than a vintage mechanical 'verb sort of guy.
You will buy the Plate140 once you demo it.
Mark my words.
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- KVRer
- 5 posts since 27 Aug, 2004 from Los Angeles, CA, USA
- I use the 1176 the most. Its good for drums.
- The LA2a is good but there is only one control "peak reduction", and you have to carefully balance level and that to get the effect you want.
- The pultec is ok, but the controls are confusing, and you have to listen closely tot the changes since there is no graphic representation like most EQs. So I rarely use it. I really love Elemental Audio's EQuim - that is the awesome, quick and powerful.
- Nigel blows and I never use it. Its the worst distortion plug out there. So as it is, its pretty expensive for a compressor.
I think its a bit of disgrace that none of the controls are able to set tempo automatically (delays and phasers) like most modern plugs. So you have to get a calculator and figure out the speed for delays. There is no excuse for that.
I think UA, like Arturia, is stuck in retro-fetish land. I would like to see the best of old and new. For example, just because some hardware from the 1960's had some strange quirky design and lack of options doesn't mean the software has to emulate every last quirk. How about giving us the best of the old, but with more features, options, and controls that available before?
There is no multiband compressor - I suppose because there is no retro hardware thing they can emulate.
There are no softsynth instruments for the UA Card. Thats a big drawback compared to the others since softsynths are the main CPU hogs on my system. Also no convolution reverb, etc.
In 3 years, I don't think UA has ever had any kind of sale or incentive ...at least nothing that applies to me. If you buy the card and all the additional plugs you are over $1000. Maybe $1400. You can buy a whole computer for that!
One thing you should about the UAD card is that it can make your G5 not wake from sleep any more. this is a known issue and UAD's workaround is for you to buy a USB PCI card - which I did - and it still did not fix the problem.
On the positive side, they seem quite nice, and actually have good tech support that will answer questions. So that is graet.
- The LA2a is good but there is only one control "peak reduction", and you have to carefully balance level and that to get the effect you want.
- The pultec is ok, but the controls are confusing, and you have to listen closely tot the changes since there is no graphic representation like most EQs. So I rarely use it. I really love Elemental Audio's EQuim - that is the awesome, quick and powerful.
- Nigel blows and I never use it. Its the worst distortion plug out there. So as it is, its pretty expensive for a compressor.
I think its a bit of disgrace that none of the controls are able to set tempo automatically (delays and phasers) like most modern plugs. So you have to get a calculator and figure out the speed for delays. There is no excuse for that.
I think UA, like Arturia, is stuck in retro-fetish land. I would like to see the best of old and new. For example, just because some hardware from the 1960's had some strange quirky design and lack of options doesn't mean the software has to emulate every last quirk. How about giving us the best of the old, but with more features, options, and controls that available before?
There is no multiband compressor - I suppose because there is no retro hardware thing they can emulate.
There are no softsynth instruments for the UA Card. Thats a big drawback compared to the others since softsynths are the main CPU hogs on my system. Also no convolution reverb, etc.
In 3 years, I don't think UA has ever had any kind of sale or incentive ...at least nothing that applies to me. If you buy the card and all the additional plugs you are over $1000. Maybe $1400. You can buy a whole computer for that!
One thing you should about the UAD card is that it can make your G5 not wake from sleep any more. this is a known issue and UAD's workaround is for you to buy a USB PCI card - which I did - and it still did not fix the problem.
On the positive side, they seem quite nice, and actually have good tech support that will answer questions. So that is graet.
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- KVRian
- 951 posts since 11 Jan, 2004 from Netherlands
Just to be different - No!
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- Banned
- 22457 posts since 5 Sep, 2001
[DELETED]
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- KVRAF
- 2608 posts since 26 Aug, 2002 from here
im just waiting to hear what everyone thinks of the space echo - i might purchase then
I believe every thread should devolve into character attacks and witch-burning. It really helps the discussion.
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- KVRian
- 1023 posts since 14 Jan, 2004 from germany
no the plugins are not lightyears ahead - they just have this tiny bit which makes them sound so wonderful
i can't live without the Fairchild anymore - it's doing a great job on everything (i use it most times on drums and a with special setting for the master) (the sound is 1000 times better then Tracks)
the Plate is the best reverb for my taste
Pultec is just a great Eq (no the controls are not confusing - diffrent but very simple)
Precision Limiter is the best limiter and level-meter i know ( yes some other limiters are also great)
1176 wonderful soundcoloring (even usable for distortion)
the Chorus is best chorus i ever heard (but i don't use chorus so often)
cambridge eq is just helpful (esp the low and high cut options)
i like almost all of the other plugs too (even nigel is sometimes useful)
so go for the ultra pak - it' will be the best buy ever!
i can't live without the Fairchild anymore - it's doing a great job on everything (i use it most times on drums and a with special setting for the master) (the sound is 1000 times better then Tracks)
the Plate is the best reverb for my taste
Pultec is just a great Eq (no the controls are not confusing - diffrent but very simple)
Precision Limiter is the best limiter and level-meter i know ( yes some other limiters are also great)
1176 wonderful soundcoloring (even usable for distortion)
the Chorus is best chorus i ever heard (but i don't use chorus so often)
cambridge eq is just helpful (esp the low and high cut options)
i like almost all of the other plugs too (even nigel is sometimes useful)
so go for the ultra pak - it' will be the best buy ever!
