Just finished reading Matt's review of the Wes Audio Beta76 (it’s locked so I won’t quote it!) I’m particularly interested in which UAD plug-in was/were the comparisons made against if possible please? older Standard or newer Classic Limiter Collection etc…

From what I’ve read (on other forums) I was under the impression that the latest UAD plugs are approaching a ‘very accurate’ or ‘hard to tell apart in a mix’ level, so perhaps not quite there, but not really a night and day difference as such… especially at quite modest gain reduction settings (for a 1176 type compressor).

Just interested to get some other users’ experiences and opinions here please since I’m deciding whether to add a 1176 hardware compressor to my setup (currently own the UAD 1176 collection). Any shoot-outs / examples would be great of course too if anyone has the means! I appreciate the model/vintage of 1176 plays a significant part.

Cheers!

Hi Strangy,

I'm pretty clear that the newest collection of three 1176s on the UAD is the best you can currently get in terms of software emulations of 1176s, with the possible exception of some Nebula libraries I've not tried. I've done quite a lot of comparisons, though. As I suggested in the Wes Audio review, though, I don't think even the UA models have nailed every aspect of it. For me, a decent hardware unit wins every time for this sort of thing. And personally, I prefer hardware models that add a bit more - side-chain filters, blend control etc. The Wes is really nice for the money. As is the Slate Dragon - which does quite a bit more. And the Lindell 17x is even nicer, but for rather a lot more money! Having played with Serpent Audio's SB4001 I'm really keen to find out how their new Splice performs (supposed to be an 1176-ish compressor).

Hope that helps,

Matt.

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SOS Reviews Editor

There are no software compressors that can emulate analogue really effectively. Even very cheap compressors like the DBX 160x and or the RNC are a real blessing when mixing. That said I really like the UAD 1176 (the newer one) and I'd certainly use a lot of them if I had a UAD card.

Like everything else, 1176's tend to suffer from the 'new ones are the same as each other but not the same (as good) as old ones, and old ones are all different' problem. The usual.

I don't think there's a need to spend pots and pots of money. Try and few things and see what you think.

J

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www.jackruston.com

Cheers for clarifying Matt, and your input Jack. I'm very pleased with the latest UADs, was just wondering how much extra the hardware brings to the table so thanks for you experiences..

The Lindell sounds amazing, and I was happy to see a 17 XS has since come about (just under £700 in the UK), this is what Lindell said about the differences over at GSz forums:

"17X is hand made and have exotic components. 17XS is mass produced and I've changed transformers, potentiometer, front panel, etc. Sound is 98% the same though"

There's also now a 500 series rack version for just under £230 which again is said to use many of the same components/sounds very similar, so might look into these cheaper options to start with.

PS: I do have some hardware compressors (TL Audio C-202 / LA Audio TCX20) but they're quite different in topology to a 1176... and are possibly more easily replaced by software than an fast/aggressive 1176 setting for instance.

I've been playing with the Lindell 500-series modules. Great vfm, good sound but not as controllable as rack units. Also check out IGS Audio and the Serpent Splice (announced but yet to be released) if you're happy to go 500-series. I love the UAD 1176 emus (the latest one), because there's no way I'd get the number of instances on my budget, or the recall I need for some jobs with hardware, and the sound/modelling really is better than comparable software that I'm aware of. As I think I remarked, putting decent hardware in place of a software compressor is like lifting a veil - even if I was already happy with the sound. You can make perfectly decent tracks ITB, but when it comes to 'flavoured' compression, if given the choice, I'd go for hardware every time: it's quicker to use and sounds better! Maybe the day will come when that changes, but it ain't here yet!!! For clean gain reduction, I disagree with Jack - I'd rather go software there - there are freebies that sound better to my ears for that sort of job, particularly if you're doing parallel compression with multiple comps!

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SOS Reviews Editor