In this article Julian looks at the Universal Audio plugin range and asks what makes them worth it in spite of the hardware requirement.
If you aren’t a UAD user you might wonder what the fuss is about? From the outside maybe all you see is some premium plugins which you have to buy an interface or DSP accelerator to try. Why would you do that when your computer is powerful enough to run all the plugins you need?
UAD plugins are, by their DSP nature, exclusive. If you don’t have the necessary hardware to run them then you can’t try them. But they are undeniably popular and enjoy a reputation for excellent quality and it has to be said, desirability. Here are five reasons UAD plugins still earn their place in the sessions of so many.
UAD Only Plugins
While some plugins are available both as native and UAD versions, there are quite a few which are exclusively UAD plugins. If you want them you have to use them within the UAD ecosystem. I have a lot of plugins but there are some favourites from UAD which I’d be very reluctant to be without so my Apollo continues to get flicked on when I mix even though it’s not my main interface.
So which plugins? For me it’s the tape plugins. I got myself an Octo Satellite accelerator just so that I could get the cumulative benefit of tape modelling without thinking about my DSP or native processing. Which tape plugin? I love the bang for your buck you get from Oxide but if I had to choose a favourite it would be the Ampex ATR 102, particularly since I discovered the tape delay feature.
Other tape modelling plugins exist of course but this is my go-to. If valves are your thing, rather than tape, you might try the Avalon VT-737. This plugin version of this substantial piece of hardware combines a Unison model of the tube mic pre, optical compression and a sweet EQ which is well known for its classy sheen. It’s long been a favourite for pop, R&B and hip hop but try it whatever style you produce. But you won’t find these plugins anywhere else. Only on UAD.
Plugin Versions Of Universal Audio Products
Given the success of UAD and the Apollo interfaces, you might forget that Universal Audio are behind so much classic studio hardware. Your first thought might be the ubiquitous 1176, possibly the hardware most imitated in plugin form. While there are 1176 plugins available from all the big players, if I want an authentic 1176 it is always the UAD Classic Limiter Collection. After all, who knows more about the 1176 than the people who make it? While the Rev A is the one for aggression, I’m increasingly fond of the later AE version. Having a 2:1 ratio available makes the AE a much gentler choice and while I’ve never really bought into the “all buttons in” trick, shift-clicking the ratio buttons allows two button combinations and 2:1 and 4:1 together is a cool sound. Try it!
Of course it doesn’t stop at the 1176. The LA-2A Leveler collection is a thing of beauty and very much my go-to when it comes to can’t-sound-bad tubey opto compression. I tend to stick to the Silver option here. When you want as close as possible to the real thing and you have these, why would you look elsewhere?
Low Latency Performance
Although very relevant to this section, I’m not going to concentrate on Unison technology here. It’s clever and makes a big difference but I wrote about it recently in this article. Latency as low as that offered by UAD plugins used in conjunction with an Apollo opens up the possibility of tracking through plugins. You might say that you can already do this in your native DAW using a powerful computer and low buffer settings. It’s true that you can track successfully like this and tracking at 32 samples is acceptable, nothing like the Elvis slapback experience of tracking through the high buffer settings we used to have to deal with. But the difference between low latency and (virtually) no latency is huge. I’ve previously likened it to the experience of having a buzzing fridge stop - you were’t aware of it but now its gone it’s just so much nicer. Latency is like that too!
There are plugins which can really affect the performance. In the same way as a great headphone mix can lift a performance so can a great sounding vocal coming back at the performer while they are tracking. There are a few classic mic preamps which fit the bill here. For example the Neve 1073 (well you would, wouldn’t you?…) and if you are a guitarist try the beautifully rich Fender ’55 Tweed paired with the AKG BX20 for some spring reverb which is dark and moody rather than the rather “doingy” efforts of lesser springs.
Processing Which Directly Affects Performance
While getting a more pleasing sound during tracking encourages the performer and ultimately better takes, some processing options actually are the performance. In the same way as the Edge couldn’t track his guitar parts without hearing the delays against which his part is played (tracked, incidentally, through the Korg SDD-3000 Digital Delay - also available as a UAD plugin), for many styles which use heavy, hard-tuned Auto Tune, tracking through the effect is absolutely integral to the performance.
Auto Tune Real Time Advanced, which is exclusive to UAD, is exactly the kind of processing which has this direct effect on the performance and, while you could track through a native plugin, it doesn’t have that locked-in DSP latency performance. While the idea of singing through Auto Tune might horrify some (me included), for many singers who use the effect as central to the sound of the record, it’s essential. Each to their own I suppose!
Officially Licensed
While anyone who can get hold of a classic compressor can model it and leave suitable clues for the end user to figure out which hardware it is that is being emulated, even though they don’t overtly namecheck it, officially licensed plugins made in collaboration with the original manufacturers do inspire additional confidence in users looking for an authentic reproduction of a piece of classic gear.
Such collaborations aren’t unusual and UAD have many products which are a result of such arrangements. A personal favourite of mine is the Thermionic Culture Culture Vulture, a plugin which deserves more attention than it seems to receive. The Neve and Avalon preamps are also great examples but the plugin I’m going to highlight here is one which I’d neglected for too long until this article prompted me to return to it - the amazing Capitol Chambers.
This plugin recreates the legendary reverb chambers beneath the Capitol Studios building in Hollywood. Chambers are unusual spaces in that they are extremely live but are also relatively small spaces. We’re probably all accustomed to equating long reverb with large spaces but these chambers sound so distinctive and so rich that when they really work with a source they are borderline magical. They aren’t particularly flexible but then again neither is the real thing. This is a plugin that only a well known company like UAD could make because Capitol wouldn’t open their chambers up to just anyone. I don’t know how difficult it was to get them to open them up to UAD but we can safely assume that a small indie developer wouldn’t have even got close. If you want this reverb (and if you hear it you probably will) the only place you can get it is on UAD.
You don’t need DSP like we used to in order to get mixes done but if you want access to some of the most desirable plugins out there it’s worth it. If you are a UAD user, what are your irreplaceable plugins which you couldn’t get anywhere else and if you aren’t a user which plugins do you wish you had access to?