uad cards/plug-ins..are they worth the money?

[puggo]

[taylordeupree]

UAD is one of the best purchases i ever made for my studio. i've been using it for so long (since it was sold by Mackie) and use UAD plugs almost exclusively on my mixes for years.

there are a lot of great native solutions (the newer Waves stuff, Stillwell Audio, to name a couple).. but the UAD plug ins are much cheaper than Waves (UA is notorious for handing out coupons and sales almost every month)...

there's been some discussion on this forum already about UAD.. i'll see if i can find a link..

also, keep in consideration that companies like Manley Labs, one of the most revered high-end analogue outboard gear manufacturers trusted no one except UA to model their highly-sought-after Massive Passive EQ.

if you have any specific questions, let me know.. i have most of the UAD library.. some i use every day, some i rarely use..

i could go on and on how much i love them.. but i won't, and simply say that yes, they are very much worth the money.. if you don't mind using PCI cards.

(note: i have one UAD-2 Duo and one old UAD-1 card, and find that plenty of power for my mixing needs)

[puggo]

[taylordeupree]

that sounds like a good plan.. if you're curious.. my most used plug ins are:


cambridge
(rarely go a day without using this, it's on every track just about, as a CUTTING eq, it's fantastic, not so much for boosting.. it's my go-to cutting EQ though)

neve 88rs channel strip
(my default template for song writing has one of these on every channel to create a sort of "virtual console". i mix through these on every track)

pultec
(the bass on this is the best software bass i've heard next to my vintage hardware Siemens EQs)

precision limiter
(plenty of good software limiters out there, but i use the UAD, 'cos i have it)

Neve 1073 EQ and 33609 compressor
(great great great. one of the best boosting software eqs i've ever heard)

EMT250 reverb
(wonderful)

roland RE201 space echo
(as unpredictable as the real thing)

dimension D chorus
(never thought i'd use a chorus effect until i heard this one...  amazing on acoustic guitar)


i'm still getting my head around the Fatso and the Massive Passive, which both have learning curves.


i've never used the 4k channel strip as i have the Waves SSL strips. i tend to prefer the Neve sound to the SSL, so i use the Neve channel strip.

but, once you have that card, you'll pretty much want most of the plug ins anyway.. highly addictive!

also, keep in mind, if you buy a new card, they often come with fat vouchers so you can get a bunch of "free" plug ins.. so price that out as well..


enjoy!

[puggo]