UAD is a myth
1 - it offers NOTHING above native soundwise
2 - It has al sonic imprints plugins have in general compared to analog hardware (sound artificial, phased, hollow, plastic etc)
3- On top of that UAD is limited to the amount of instances that can be run on their cards (you pay for an MP plugin and then you need to buy like 4 octo’s if you want to use it like you would use native
4- UAD introduces latency because of the processing turnaroundtime of the PCIe bus, compared to native.
So yes, personally I think UAD is fully obsolete and one would be better of investing in a fast Win8 native platform and buy some native GEMs like Valhalla or if you into ITB compresson VBC
There’s plenty of marketing hype and ‘Emporer’s New Clothes’ in the audio world - both around hardware and plugins. I for one use the stock Cubase plugins almost exclusively. quote from sherz’s post
Considering the quality of Ian’s stuff I reckon this tells us all that we don’t need expensive plugins…wish I’d known this a few years ago
But not as goos as Nebula libraries such as AlexB’s ‘EAR’ reverb presets. The same with EQs, such as ‘MAMMOTH’ Massive Passive presets library.
There is a somewhat of a daunting learning curve in leaning how to use Nebula but the results are very pleasing.
There was such a “myth” in the past… If I bought my first UAD in 2004 it was a big improvement compared to the other native plug-ins. Today the difference is not so big, there are some UAD plug-ins without a competitor and some can be easy replaced with native plug-ins.
Today I would not buy a UAD because of some “myth” but for some good plug-ins (and I would buy a UAD again because some UAD stuff is still great).
And convolution is IMO not the best way. I bought the Nebula Pro stuff and it was too much hassle to use them and the results are not so much better compared to good emulations. I would every time prefer a good emulation (eg. from the UAD) over a convolution based plug-in.
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.
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?
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?
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…).
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
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.
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!
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.
…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.
