2549
- that other one didn’t count!
I thought it was only 42…
Mauri.
It is not about the plugins or which plugins. It is about the engineer and production. Don’t worry about plugin hype. It doesn’t make anything any better if the knowledge isn’t there to operate it. Recording techniques are far more important in my opinion and the microphone, preamp and performance have more importance than the plugins I use.
Yes that is absolutely true, and all too easy to forget when confronted by shiny toys (of course I like the shiny toys as much as the next guy). There are 60 year old recordings that hold up to this day which were recorded on equipment that many today would consider crap. But the guys making them had great ears and technique.
And not to forget mastering, which professionally won’t be done in Cubase (or any competing recording DAW), because it is too limited for it.
A little OT …
While I do realise that people buy hardware like UAD’s in order to have access to the plugins that only run on that hardware, are there any DSP cards that’ll run the ordinary (VST) VIs and FX plugins that I already have – ie just to take some of the load off the aging and (hence, by today’s standards, puny) PC that I have Cubase on?
It is not about the plugins or which plugins. It is about the engineer and production. Don’t worry about plugin hype. It doesn’t make anything any better if the knowledge isn’t there to operate it. Recording techniques are far more important in my opinion and the microphone, preamp and performance have more importance than the plugins I use.[/quote]
thanks that was the closest answer i could get , some guys r getting jittery here … all i wanted was to know if there was a superior quality using UAD based plugins… thats all … best to finally end this thread…
well let me tell u guys , m not new in the field of midi , just trying to run to the latest technology’s , this means that the UAD card don’t process VSTi/s and only support their own effx … right ? … well thats no load off the PC cpu!!! so in case of using a sound card or audio interface , / USB … during Play back and VST processing does the external unit USB / Firewire / break out box PCI / PCIe sound card take the load off the CPU ?? in case of audio input , the breakdown of the A/D conversion happens in the external unit /internal sound card , but the rest processing during playback VST processing is done by C6 engine?, with the help of the PC hardware ??? will the internal sound card / external audio interface help to ease the burden on the main PC CPU , maybe also add some of its hardware architecture to the sound quality ??? also are there other DSP PCIe card out there cheaper than the UAD ???serious answers pls … s
a current 2600k wth 16-32 gigs of ram will be more than powerful enough without the need for any DSP cards. The days of needing to shift processing power of your cpu in a native system are long gone.
you can build a flying 2600 system for less than the price of the UAD quad.
MC
Do you have (or can point to) any data that supports this contention? As I understand it, the extensive modeling used in the UAD cards requires lots of processing power. They have taken a cpu intensive approach that results in very detailed modeling, more detailed and processing intensive than practical in a native plug.
I was an IT professional for 20+ years. Over that time I can’t count how many times I’ve been told, “This has more power than you’ll ever need for doing XYZ…” Never once has that proven to be correct.
I love my UAD plugs and can’t imaging not having them. But I wouldn’t recommend them as a starting place for for improving your sound, many other elements are more important to get right. If someone doesn’t know how to properly use EQ, they’ll be able to muck their sound up using either a crap plug or a great one. The plugs included in Cubase are perfectly adequate until your ears get to a place where they tell you they want better plugs. But before that day comes, the list below shows stuff it is more important to take care of.
- Accurate monitor speakers, and basic (or more if needed) room treatment - if what you are hearing is wrong, everything will be wrong.
- Listening skills
- Mixing skills, including how to effectively use EQs, compressors, reverbs, etc.
- Arranging skills
Once you’ve got that stuff down, then start looking at the nuance that better plugs (native or not) can bring. But remember, this is icing on the cake and not the cake itself. The cake is more important than the icing.
I totally agree with you here.
To be completely fair, UAD plugins are good and I am not trying to diminish their quality here. I use them in every session. I remember when I got my first UAD1 and inserted the LA2A and was floored. It was and still is great. You don’t get much with a UAD2. You have to then buy the plugins you want. Cha Ching! UAD plugs are not cheap and have continued to climb in price.
Back to plugins. If your goal is to reduce strain on an aging computer, I would lean toward getting a new computer before a DSP card as Marcus wrote above because your whole system will reap the benefits. DSP cards these days are a brandade when used for this purpose, are perishable hardware and a loss investment over time. UAD is a dongle, though I do have no idea how much strain it would put on a computer if they ran native, which I wish they did. All computer hardware is perishable these days. If you are making a living doing recording and production, this may not matter much to you. Even though I do, I have stopped investing into the UAD platform and buy native plugins instead.
Last things to consider and know with the UAD platform or any other DSP card is added latency. UAD suggests running a sample buffer of 512 in your host too. DSP cards add latency to the host in order to process the audio on their dedicated cards and there are chances depending on the computer you are plugging the card into that there may be conflicts of IRQ or simply a system incompatibility that will bring the entire system down. Since we are mostly DIYers, meaning we plug the card in and configure the computer, we have to troubleshoot, submit support tickets and try to find answers why the system blew up when the card was added to the computer, this must be considered when looking to move a direction. You have to be ready for trouble because if you are not, you will probably get spanked to reality and the sparkly new DSP card will then take the joy out of recording. Your hand will strangle your mouse and you will complete the mouse’s misery by dropping it to the floor as it gasps for air then finish it off with the bottom of your shoe. It will make you feel better till you realize you no longer have a mouse to troubleshoot your system. I speak from experience! 
Back in the olden days (before about 2005), UAD was a necessary hardware solution. Now processors are 4-6 times faster, we have 64 bit OS platforms, and memory is really cheap. There are competing native versions of several UAD plugins that sound extremely good. So, if you don’t want to buy a PCIe card you’ve got options. Are there sonic differences? Sure. But if you’re just going to compress and limit to the max, nobody will hear them anyway (stay with C6). If however, your audio has a LOT of dynamic range, you’ll want to listen to plugin demos to get an idea of how they change the sound.
There are several UAD plugins that don’t have any real competition. The Manley EQs are really addictive once you get some experience with them. I use the EP-34 all the time to create stage ambience. If you’re any kind of a production studio, you’ve got to have an 1176 and LA-2A. UAD intends to release 64 bit plugin versions this year at no cost to their users. If you want to sell the HW and SW, you just have to arrange it through UAD. You can pick up some bargains on Ebay. The only drawback in all of this is the expense of that damn card.
If you’re working on your own or with a small group, it can be a big expense. Some of the plugins consume enough card capacity that only one or two instances can be loaded, and then you’re out of space. If you must have more, you have to get a bigger card or an additional card, and there’s no price break for buying the second one (or third or fourth). The engine on each card is the SHARC chip, and you can buy cards with one, two, or four of them. The last time I checked, SHARC chips could be purchased retail for about $50. I’m sure UAD gets them for much less. So, they put $200 of them on a $25 PCIe card, and charge you about $1000 for it. Not hard to understand then why they don’t want to sell native versions, and that’s probably an eventuality that’s a long way off. If the Waves 1176 works for you, you could load them to the memory limit of your PC and run without any problem.
Bottom line is to first decide what you’re trying to accomplish with what type of audio, then listen to demos before you buy.
UAD is so expensive because it’s the biggest rip-off in the industry. But they are good quality and not dead abandon-ware. So at least you get something if you do invest in it.
Your paying for Brand-name and comfort that kiddies can’t use cracked versions for free. There are cheaper and just as quality if not better for almost all types of plugin though.
Like this, TDR Compressor TDR Feedback Compressor | Tokyo Dawn Records
I bought into UAD when they first released it, in fact i stll have that same card. At the time they were a godsend, the qualty was head and shoulders above what was available,and, more importantly the dsp was sorely needed. This was however over 10 years ago and things have moved on.
yes the new UAD plugs are very good but they’re no better than a lot of other native plugins. Some of the closest to hardware I’ve ever heard are some of the Nebula libraries. The newer Waves plugs are every bit as good as their UAD equivalents.
I’m about to trade in my old UAD card just because it seems crazy not to due to the $200 buy back however I’ve not missed my uad plugins at all.
If i were starting again now I wouldn’t go UAD at all ,there’s just no need, and not having a VERY hot dsp card inside your machine is also a bonus 
MC
Thanks every one , a new gen 15 or i7 should suffice … i shall stick to my older hardware 4 now , i can always get some hardware feel with them , anyway UAD/s are way 2 expensive 4 me now … and if they add to the latencies , thought it , addition hardware should have permanently solved the latencies , inside the PC in todays age and time … my basic questain was does it give enhanced quality to its effex compared to software , but i realize thats its like a Sample tone , some people like some sounds , some people dont … well thanks S
That’s nothing – they’re way 3 expensive 6 me 
… and that’s an extra fif-
what did that mean ??? hope u r not hinting @ sour grapes good old story …well if u did u could right too… s
It meant fif tea purse scent (50%). 
And “what did that mean”?
How about if we just write in English from now on, like everyone else on the forum?
well simple english … the grapes could be sour, as i right now cant affort the UAD … so u could be right s