The UAD myth?

UAD had it’s time back before most of us had I7’s clocked at 3.9 gigs and above.

Ok, so some of the ua plugs might sound sweet…
Do you think that is because the obsolete chips on the pci card or do you think it is about the coding of the plugin?

There are nothing left today with the pc’s most of us are operating now that warrants a uad card or even a pro tools hd thingy.

My opinion. Kim Christiansen

Since I am a working musician I “can” accept something that gives me some samples of added latency when I record.
But I do not like it. And why accept it when you have PsP and Waves?

Kim

Wow, I never thought of that, but it makes sense when you put it that way.

I’m wondering why I never noticed any phasiness, maybe I will now that I’m looking for it?

OR … is the latency of a few samples irrelevant because the signal is being processed more than delayed … and so it’s different enough from the source that there aren’t any dysphonic interactions (wave cancellations/additions)?

Newbie thoughts, I know, but could someone shed some insight please?

Thanks!

The latency is compensated so phasing will not be introduced but the roundtrip will prevent low buffer sizes.
Most systems i worked with having UAD needed to be on 512 or even 1024 buffersize, while most native systems can run at 128, 64 or sometimes even 32.

Don’t know if we should talk about a myth here. In fact, UAD offers great plugins which are not the cheapest and need hardware that’s not so cheap either. The two obvious downsides are price and dsp limitations.

Might not be a good time to start with UAD, given the power in current cpu’s. From the time when low native power was an issue and I used UAD plugins almost exclusivly I know many of the plugs inside out - and that’s where any tool starts to make sense. Yes, the price tag may have encouraged me to explore the possibilites more than with onboard or cheap plugins. No matter - UAD is what it is/what you want to see in it. The plugins are superb. Many native plugins are as well (but they took a while longer to get there).

I’m a happy UAD user for 10+ years, still happy to have this toolbox available, though it may seem limited today. When you’re into it (= you’ve paid for the hardware already), it’s not even too expensive with a little patience (many sales/good offers, i.e. I got the latest Fairchild - which is great btw - for € 39…). I don’t buy anything anyway but there are still some goodies I haven’t found anywhere else (well, didn’t look too much for it…).

How true!

I start a project at 32 buffersize then move up to 64 as the project grows.
I am “lazy”, meaning that I want a “finished” mix in my ears when I record.
I think it makes me play better when I hear good, processed, lag free sound coming into my ears when I do my guitar stuff.

It is not the price that have deterred me from buying a UAD card or two, it is the 512 or even 1024 buffer settings you have to use to even get it working properly.

If one is purely a mixer, then the latency does not mean a thing, but for me as both a performing musician AND mixer latency (or more correctly; the lack of it) is VERY important

All the best, Kim

Absolutely correct… Maag EQ4 is a perfect example… that’s why I use Plugin Alliance Maag EQ4.

BUT!!!

Some… PEQ-A1, the Neve 31102, Neve 1073, Fairchild, Manley EQ, Ampex ATR-102. Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor

I mean these are incredible sounding plugins. A bit pricey, but definitely nice sound. The depth to them, nice movement. There are differences in the PEQ-A1 (Waves) and UAD version, you can hear them… not saying either is better, depends on your taste. The UAD seems to have more depth when pushed. And more character.

The reverbs, I can’t say, I have only ever used impulses or native, but these blew me away, the EMT 140 and Lexicon 224. Outstanding.

But some, I use the native Sonnox and SPL, I dunno, I couldn’t really tell much of a difference… so I would assume try before you buy them. You have a 14 day demo period.

Yea… I am very happy with the results and like to mix my friends metal. I’ll post a link up to the finished album soon when done.

I agree with the highly over priced.

Just takes you to pick and choose I suppose, I have a mix of both UAD 2 and Native, UAD 2 plugins I have chosen do sound better (for my taste - maybe not yours).

“different strokes for different folks” - And I LOVE the UAD 2 - Tilt EQ!!!

You should have bought the UAD EMT 140 (or tried) - I used Valhalla too, for me, personally, there really was no comparison. UAD Reverb just blew me away. It’s quality. But hey, I still love my Reverberate VST!

Which is why most people wait until one of the frequent promotions… i’ve had FREE plugins from them with a combination of, again frequent, vouchers and a sale promotion combined…

The promotions and sales, I think they should have those as their set prices. And cut them more. I had this debate with one of the guys at UAD over the phone… by the way, before I go any further, I have a little issue with words, I won’t go into detail. Sometimes they look in order to me and a lot of times they are just not… so please if something I post does not make sense, point that out to me.

…back to my point. I was on the phone giving off to the guy about the price but their excuse was royalties or something. So… I’m thinking, I might do as you said, wait for the promotion. I want the SSL Channel strip and the SPL Transient and I’d say I am complete.

Until they bring out the SPL PassEQ - which to be honest, already sounds fantastic Native anyway!

This. I would buy native versions of LA2A and EMT 140. Or at least demo them.

I know the chips process. My point is that the basis of the uad 3latform was to offload work from main CPU. This isn’t needed in today’s age. I don’t know the logistics to the code or how it runs or how much CPU uad plugs use, but if other companies can offer similar sounding emulations and run them native, the whole DSP accelerator card model no longer serves its original purpose.

I’m not an expert, but maybe

…starting with the input transformer, and real physical impedance
switching when used with Apollo’s Unison technology

Might be the reason for the DSP units. It’s, as far as I can tell, not only to take the load of your workstation but there are other technology application being performed within the DSP. I might be wrong, I am not claiming to be right. But it makes sense.

I just A/B’d a few demo’s, the SPL etc… the difference really is when they are pushed, they really shine. There is noticable difference in quality of sound, preference maybe? But I find the majority of UAD-2 plugins I have bought to be very high quality. I still am not convinced about the pricing.

Maybe I am wrong though, but if I am right then that means you’d need to do some serious work to have the behaviour described to be the same for a native VST plugin installed normally.

??? suggestions or am I wrong?

If UAD’s prices were lower it might push someone like me, and others, to buy more DSP power to run more (affordable) plugs? And maybe actually increase their profit…just a thought.

That being said, I do love the 1073MKII, and the Fairchild for m/s compression on drum groups to focus the centre a bit.

here here!

I am not sure, but the guy was a good guy, the support is very fair, they did give me a few free plugins because of some mistake and also a discount. It wasn’t like Apple, but they are in some aspect like Apple, I would love to hear from someone who REALLY understand the under-the-hood of the Sharc processors.

UAD-2, I was never really into that buying into it thing, but having the money saved etc, I thought why not so bought the Twin SOLO, and hey man, I was “right… this really is GOOD” so bought the Satellite Quad within days! That’s my only regret now, not buying the Octo.

The

Ampex ATR-102
Manley EQ
Lexicon 224/EMT 140
SPL(trans & twin)
PEQ-A1
Fairchild
Tilt EQ
Precision EQ
Shadow Hills Compressor

Man, these really are tasty and lovely to use (I still use the EQ’s in Cubase channels btw)… I think go and see if you can get a demo, before handing out all that money see if you get a setup to run the stuff and see for yourself. I am not saying they are better than the native, but they do have a certain depth and character which I had never noticed with 95% of the native plugins I used.

And when you push them the character gets better rather than worse!

I’m glad I bought the stuff. I just need to learn how to mix better, lol :slight_smile:

I have a pretty full mix at the moment, about 8 layers of keys (played) and a ton of tracks, all with UAD-2 plugins, buffer is at 64, was at 32 (still no pop/clicks whatever), I’m wondering what it is with the guys who have a problem?

I definitely hear a HUGE difference, my DSP % is sitting at 40% with a LOT of UAD-2 plugins, 5 busses with each a UAD-2 compressor, sends with: 3 instances of Lexicon 224 (and it really does sound fantastic) and 1 of the EMT 140, and one with Moog Filter (love it).

And still no pops or clicks and a very nice sound… I have to emphasise this is running the with quad & twin solo.

And the reason you need the hardware is for the Unison technology to kick in when using the inputs of the console. And I think there is a bit more going on there too.

But for sure, I won’t be ditching my UAD setup for a while (or the Native VST’s I own as they are still GREAT!), in fact I’ll be investing in BETTER monitors, more learning experience, reading the manuals and really getting to know the plugins inside out. I think regardless, whether you use waves (which when side by side, I do each time I go to buy a UAD plugin, the waves just doesn’t sound the same as the UAD-2 counterpart - there is a difference) ← that is not saying either is better or worse, but for me I prefer the fact that when I push the UAD-2 plugins they actually sound better! There is a bit more depth in the sound they produce, some type of 3d type “feel” to the sound… I love them and I’ve just been using the UAD for 2 -3 months now. No turning back for me.

But I’d say the closest would actually be T-Racks VC670 and the EQ 432, but as for reverbs, I don’t understand why you can’t hear the quality in those UAD reverbs, I have my friends simply wanting me just to run a stem through the ATR-102 and record the reverb send for that stem too just to use in their mix!!! Because they too feel and hear they actually really do sound fantastic (ATR-102 & EMT 140 & Lexicon 224)

In a nutshell I find DSP based effects to be more stable.

In fact I use UAD to mix with Scope hardware (I could use Scope DSP effects but no rendering to mp3).

I have found I get less “random” transients and greater dynamic range. I’d never go back to regular hardware with native effects.

Admittedly I don’t like to spend money on fast processors or computer hardware except for the PSU and motherboard.

Though as yet I have not tried RME or a networked audio card such as what Echo Audio are doing (another expense).

It’s ok for you to believe that but it doesn’t make it true.

Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in ghosts?

This magic stability you get from DSP processing, what about the fact the data gets sent back into the computers general CPU before being passed to the audio hardware? Doesn’t that de-stabilise the audio again?

I’ve been an UAD user for sometime, stability has never been an issue. Very solid indeed, in my experience.