UAD Cards, SSL Duende, Waves, Etc…

[MouseClickDrummer]

I am getting into the higher end plug-in market and upgrading from my stock plug-ins that came with my DAW.  I am debating whether to go either Waves, or Hardware-enhanced plug-ins like UAD, or Duende.

First of all, before i get to what does the processing, does the Duende and UAD stuff simulate vintage gear better than Waves?

And if yes, then if one were to go this extra hardware route, is Duende the better sounding stuff, or is it UAD?  Any other options?  TC powercore?

Thanks

Topic

[jim_k]

If you want VINTAGE sound, you can’t beat the UAD2 stuff… simply amazing. I call it High Definition TV for AUDIO… their plugs are THAT amazing and they pretty much specialize in vintage stuff.

I did try the WAVES stuff and purchased the HELIOS channel strip from WAVES… let me tell you this, compared to the UAD Helios EQ, the WAVES plug is a HOOVER. I am very familar with HELIOS and UAD comes a lot closer than the Waves version.

I can’t speak of WAVES other plugs but based on the HELIOS comparison, I have made up my mind and at this point, have all of the UAD2 plugs (actually they come out with some new ear candy every couple of months and I truly can’t wait for each release). Their newest release is a ECHOPLEX and check out the demos on their site.. it does sound that good.

And don’t listen to the nay sayers about the DSP being an expensive DONGLE… I use over 100 plugins on my tracks and my quad core still SMOKES with less than 20% CPU (and I use 100% virtual instruments). I played around using the native plugs that came with my DAW and after about 10 instances of the channel strip, my CPU was over 50% and the audio stuttering.

I have two UAD2 cards… a QUAD and a DUO because the QUAD wasn’t quite enough DSP for my projects but the extra DUO now has me set. I can’t recommend the UAD2 stuff enough but don’t take my word for it… check out the forums… the UAD2 actual users swear by the platform (and for good reason).

Jim

PS – Not that I am pushing one vendor or any other but UAD2 has a special going on right now where you can pick up a QUAD OMNI (almost every plugin included) for $1000 off for $2999… then on top of that JRR MUSIC will honor the coupon FORUM at checkout for another 10% off ($300 bucks) with free shipping… unheard of right now to get an QUAD OMNI for less than $2700…. if one was just to purchase the PLUGINS one at a time, the plugins alone would cost over $5000.

Keeper of the Shrine The Lamb Laid Down on MIDI www.lldom.blogspot.com

[MouseClickDrummer]

Interesting….

But what about a softened quality that still retains that modern sound?  And still gooey… but not too too vintage…

ever heard an Axe FX analog guitar amp modeler or an Access Virus analog synth modeler?  These sound not only very analog, but also very modern, but not too vintage, but they have this softened quality to them.

And since you mention TV analogies… i would say sure, high definition, warm… but also softened… like the diffusion filter that soap operas put on the lens of their video cameras.  So I am looking for HD audio with a diffusion filter.   This is what I hear as the audio equivalent in the Axe FX and the Access Virus.

So I guess these are the changes I am looking for… and I am also pursuing this softened quality in Mics and mic-pres… any other suggestions?   Or is UAD  still the way to go after my clarification here?

[Robshi]

I have two uad2 cards as well as the liquidmix by Focusrite. There are a lot of differing thoughts about the LM but bang for buck it is hard to beat with nice sounding emulations. However I found it not very stable so looked into uad2 and I have to say it just plain rocks. The uad2 works really stable and the quality of the plugins is immense. My LM just sits there gathering dust now as I use the UAE for everything and once you’ve bought the card the plugs aren’t that expensive and there are monthly deals as well.
Sure some of the newer plugs are more expensive but for your bread and butter eqs and comps they are really well priced.

The plate reverb is lovely and the neve eqs and vintage compressors are great.

All in all I love uad2 and now they have released the studer tape sim I’m starting to think about getting a third card when I can afford it.

Rob

Rob

[MouseClickDrummer]

yeah christmas was early and very nice to me this year.  great deal on waves!   i just hope waves can compete with UAD stuff.

lol

[GORILLA]

Hope you enjoy them!! Especially the W.U.P. hahaha Waves plug-ins are really decent, they just put a BIG hit on your CPU!

http://www.metalmusicians.net/<- click here for GORILLA'S website!!!!!

[MouseClickDrummer]

yeah actually I have decided to instead invest in something else – i would rather just run any processing to an eventide H8000FW through firewire.

And boy am I very satisfied among a new discovery about my researching this unit – I found out that the format of this firewire stream as a visual plug-in representation of the hardware controls coming up in your DAW – is only available in RTAS format – .   And since I happen to use this format, as a result of this news i am waiting for my HK! Which apparently also has killer converters in and out for 8 channels or something like that, and a premium mastering unit (at least among DSP-based mastering units).

So basically,  I am done with plug-ins including waves because I am under the belief that this is going to sound HUGE!  But I could be wrong.  Although I know what an eclipse sounded like when I heard that, and the HKs are supposed to sound 40% better.

here is a screenshot:

http://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/PlugIns/%7E/media/Images/Eventide/Audio/Products/Plugin%20screenshots/EControlScreenshot.ashx

[MouseClickDrummer]

Well after a while with it, the Eventide is great on FX and EQs, but I’m looking for a more dedicated mastering solution at this point.

Does anyone know for mastering how the UAD card stuff compares to those digital mastering machines from Weiss and TC that cost many thousands of dollars?  Are they as high end?  because the UAD stuff apparently runs on Tiger Sharc DSP which is supposed to be super duper. 

Please advise if possible.  

[Whitten]

The Studer A800 emulation is supposed to be incredible.
I heard this from a couple of friends too.

[jim_k]

Don’t know how the UAD2 mastering stuff compares to dedicated hardware but will say that they have a mastering suite that WORKS and some extra goodies if you need them… the STUDER is a GAME CHANGER…. I put one on every track and then on the master buss during mastering and it creates magic….

The master suite includes the usual suspects…. compressor, EQ, de-ess, frequency enhancers, limiter, maximizer and the all important Multi Band compressor/expansion/gate that can be tuned to five separate bands.

Again, I don’t work for UAD and have been a user for only a couple of years but I haven’t heard any plugins that sound as smooth as theirs.. they just work better. I do have a few WAVES plugs and they are OK but seem to be missing that magic. I also use ECHOBOY for my delay busses (which I do like as well) but can’t wait for UAD to come out with a STUDER/REVOX 2 track delay plug (I think Echoboy will start collecting dust if they do).

Someone mentioned their EMT Plate Plug… it is probably my favorite reverb (hardware or software)… but the good thing is, you can have multiple instances of the plate in the same project whereas having 3 or 4 real EMT Plate 140’s would cost a fortune and take a pretty large room to host.

OK.. so I like the UAD stuff but for a reason.

Jim

Keeper of the Shrine The Lamb Laid Down on MIDI www.lldom.blogspot.com

[MouseClickDrummer]

How fast are the compressors?  

[redlogic]

You can download the UAD User Manual http://www.uaudio.com/support/uad.
It’s very well written and has all the details about every plug-in.

Macmini 2019 3.2 GHz 6-Core i7, 32GB RAM, MacOS 10.15.2, LogicProX 10.4.8, FF400, UAD2 Satellite Octo

[MouseClickDrummer]

That was not intended as a technical support question in any way whatsoever and am not sure how you could have percieved it as such.  

in the gearslutz forum some are saying the punch and reaction is not as quick as some native plug-ins on the market.  Is this true?

I was under the understanding that the tiger sharc processors in the UAD 2 cards are the best for plug-ins but gearslutz members are telling me PCs have better processors for plug-ins now.  HUH?   And they are saying that that modern CPUs vastly outperform UAD cards, which means that the talented developers of UAD have much less to work with to build their emulations than native developers.   But wait a second…. I thought those tiger sharc dsps were the best for signal processing.  I am totally lost here.

For the money spent on UAD, which i have still been reluctant to do, it sure as hell better be the best possible processing available for audio signals.   So now with the majority of the gearslutz community going all gung-ho on native,  is that because there is now a disadvantage to UAD cards?

[Theo Werner]

ORIGINAL: FarBeyond

So now with the majority of the gearslutz community going all gung-ho on native,  is that because there is now a disadvantage to UAD cards?

I guess they are talking about pure CPU horsepower and the fact that what used to be one of the great advantages to UAD – offloading your host CPU – isn’t that much of an issue anymore, since those powerful i5/i7 processors has been released. Furthermore new plug in developers has stepped up and delivered some wonderful plugs in the past couple of years, narrowing the competition even more. I’m sure the UA developers has to cut some corners to get CPU consumption down, but I’m guessing that native developers has to be equally cautious about it.

Some people are claiming that the current UAD cards are underpowered in relation to some of the recently developed UAD plugs. I sort of agree. My Solo card gets pretty much fully loaded with one instance of the Massive Passive EQ, so I do a lot of offline bouncing and that’s fine with me until I decide to buy a second UAD card, because I really like what the software does.

AFAIK, whatever CPU you are using – the one in your computer, or the UAD card – it’s only about number cruncing/math. It doesn’t add anything to the actual sound. That’s all within the software, and for me at least, the UAD advantage today isn’t really it’s CPU capabilities. It’s the plug ins.

[jim_k]

The debate of native vs DSP has been going on for years now…. and the point/counterpoint all makes sense thus giving the debate life. But, the interesting thing about this is RARELY do I hear those in the UAD2 arena support the native viewpoint.

The one area where the UAD2 stuff falls a bit short is in ultra low latency because of the data needing to be sent down the pipe to the DSP, processed and then sent back up the pipe to the DAW. But, by simply turning the UAD stuff off during tracking solves this issue.

But, for me, the offloaded CPU is still a benefit because I use tons of plugins (both native and UAD) and only use SAMPLE libraries to trigger instruments in real time which puts a strain on the CPU. But, you still can’t beat the sound of the UAD plugs, MAGIC.

I have come to realize that those NOT using UAD are the folks to support the NATIVE is better argument (because it has some logic) but sound is about MAGIC and LOGIC is about computers.

Just try and find users of UAD2 that have regretted their purchase, they are really hard to find.

Jim

Keeper of the Shrine The Lamb Laid Down on MIDI www.lldom.blogspot.com

[Author]

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