Published 8/8/07
UAD v4.7 brings yet more analogue action
Universal Audio’s latest update for their UAD platform, version 4.7, brings with it two new plug-ins for their PCI, PCIe and Express Card products.
Following successful collaborations with audio hardware legends Neve, producing software recreations of the 1073 EQ and 1081 and 33609 compressors, Universal Audio have announced the 88RS Channel Strip, the fourth Neve-derived processor in their ‘powered plug-in’ range. Neve’s large-format 88RS console (currently still in production) is popular in big-budget music and film studios worldwide. Its crystal-clear signal path and per-channel dynamics and EQ earned it swathes of professional users, but its price tag is accordingly high; all the more reason to recreate it in software!
The channel strip’s four-band EQ section comprises two fully parametric mid-range bands, as well as high- and low-frequency bands equipped with switchable Q settings. There are also independent high- and low-cut filters that, when switched on, engage a 12dB per-octave filter at a user-definable frequency. The dynamics section is equipped with two sub-sections: a compressor/limiter and a gate/expander, which can be independently disabled using buttons on the GUI. The plug-in features a side-chain input, which can be engaged via the user interface, and the order of the EQ and dynamics sections can be swapped, using another button on the control panel. Usefully, there’s also a phase-reverse switch and a master output-level control.
Universal Audio state that 13 mono or nine stereo versions of the plug-in can be used on a single UAD card at 44.1kHz, although, by switching off unused sections, you can achieve higher instance counts. Using a four-card system, however, you can effectively recreate a relatively large-sized Neve 88RS on your desktop! The plug-in is available now from Universal Audio’s web site, costing $299, which was approximately £148 at the time of writing.
The second product that has become available with the v4.7 update is a faithfully modelled software version of the Teletronix LA3A (which is available today as a UA-branded hardware unit). It’s a mono ‘audio leveller’ based on the original late-’60s solid-state optical compressor that was designed by Urei’s Dennis Fink. Universal Audio say that, using a single UAD card running at 44.1kHz, 15 mono or 13 stereo instances of the plug-in can be applied to tracks: an impressive figure, considering that only eight simultaneous instances of the 1176LN are available on a single card running at the same sample rate.
LA3A will work on both Mac and PC, and can be used at sample rates up to and including 192kHz. It goes without saying that instance counts are reduced at higher sample rates. Universal Audio’s LA3A for the UAD platform costs just $199 (around £100).
Source Distribution +44 (0)208 962 5080
www.sourcedistribution.co.uk
www.uaudio.com
Following successful collaborations with audio hardware legends Neve, producing software recreations of the 1073 EQ and 1081 and 33609 compressors, Universal Audio have announced the 88RS Channel Strip, the fourth Neve-derived processor in their ‘powered plug-in’ range. Neve’s large-format 88RS console (currently still in production) is popular in big-budget music and film studios worldwide. Its crystal-clear signal path and per-channel dynamics and EQ earned it swathes of professional users, but its price tag is accordingly high; all the more reason to recreate it in software!
The channel strip’s four-band EQ section comprises two fully parametric mid-range bands, as well as high- and low-frequency bands equipped with switchable Q settings. There are also independent high- and low-cut filters that, when switched on, engage a 12dB per-octave filter at a user-definable frequency. The dynamics section is equipped with two sub-sections: a compressor/limiter and a gate/expander, which can be independently disabled using buttons on the GUI. The plug-in features a side-chain input, which can be engaged via the user interface, and the order of the EQ and dynamics sections can be swapped, using another button on the control panel. Usefully, there’s also a phase-reverse switch and a master output-level control.
Universal Audio state that 13 mono or nine stereo versions of the plug-in can be used on a single UAD card at 44.1kHz, although, by switching off unused sections, you can achieve higher instance counts. Using a four-card system, however, you can effectively recreate a relatively large-sized Neve 88RS on your desktop! The plug-in is available now from Universal Audio’s web site, costing $299, which was approximately £148 at the time of writing.
The second product that has become available with the v4.7 update is a faithfully modelled software version of the Teletronix LA3A (which is available today as a UA-branded hardware unit). It’s a mono ‘audio leveller’ based on the original late-’60s solid-state optical compressor that was designed by Urei’s Dennis Fink. Universal Audio say that, using a single UAD card running at 44.1kHz, 15 mono or 13 stereo instances of the plug-in can be applied to tracks: an impressive figure, considering that only eight simultaneous instances of the 1176LN are available on a single card running at the same sample rate. LA3A will work on both Mac and PC, and can be used at sample rates up to and including 192kHz. It goes without saying that instance counts are reduced at higher sample rates. Universal Audio’s LA3A for the UAD platform costs just $199 (around £100).
Source Distribution +44 (0)208 962 5080
www.sourcedistribution.co.uk
www.uaudio.com
