Curious about UAD-2

I'm no stranger to plugins at this point, but with the way UA does their PCI card integration thing, I was wondering if a user could explain to me the basics on how they work. Specifically, what the difference between the UAD-2 Quad, UAD-2 Quad Flexi, and UAD-2 Omni is, and how many instances of everything you can run per DSP chip. Also, do the Nevana packages include special PCI cards, or are they just model packages that can be purchased later with a regular UAD-2 card? Anything else I should know? Thanks a lot.

Thanks funky, thats what I wanted to know. Do you use a UAD? If so, what do you think of the quality? How many of the plugins can you run at once?

Universal Audio, with their UAD plug-ins, are at the very top of the game -- you'll be hard pressed to find anything better (all subjective of course). Myself (2 UAD-1s, and a UAD-2 DUO), and many of my DAW clients, we all agree that we simply couldn't live (mix) without them!

Keep in mind that UA is not just a software company, but also an incredible audio hardware company with decades of proven and successful audio engineering products -- they KNOW what "good" is supposed to sound like -- and it certainly shows in their software as well.

ORIGINAL: yorolpal

I use UAD as do many forum members and I think you'll find that while there might be a few naysayers UAD plugs are generally regarded as the cream of the crop. Before I got them I too would occasionally roll my eyes when I would hear a fellow forumite waxing hyperbolically in regards to the sheer awe inspiring wonderment of UAD and their plugs. Then I tried them. As we say where I come from: "They wadn't lyin, junior!!" But be warned, once you've gotten a card (please, at least a UAD2 Duo...really a Quad) and purchased a few plugs, there's no going back. Might as well take the big hit now and get all that you want. You won't regret it, ol pal.

My Ol Pal
What about when My hyperbola needed waxing?

ORIGINAL: space_cowboy

ORIGINAL: yorolpal

I too would occasionally roll my eyes when I would hear a fellow forumite waxing hyperbolically in regards to the sheer awe inspiring wonderment of UAD and their plugs.

My Ol Pal
What about when My hyperbola needed waxing?

You didn't need a wax. You needed a "brazilian".

One more vote for the UAD plugins!

They are pricey, but they work so well that you'll soon get over that, and besides, if you compare the plugin price to the cost of buying and installing a pile of the equivalent hardware you'll soon find a way to rationalize<G>!

I'd also point out that not only is there no need to buy all the plugin licenses at the start, but it might even be counterproductive. I have a pretty small collection and I just keep adding to it every month or so when their deal is attractive enough.

The compressors I use most often are the 1176, LA-2A, and dBX VU - but those are the ones I grew up with.

The equalizers I use most are the Cambridge and the Pultec/Pultec Pro. The Neve 1073 and 1081 are on my list for a near-future purchase!

The plate reverb is amazing, and I use it on every project. I also use the Dimension-D on an awful lot of guitar tracks.

That's pretty much it for me for now. And it keeps me quite happy!

When I started thinking about upgrading my EQ/compression tools, I looked at both UAD and Waves. Both of them have issues with the way they charge for their products. In the case of Waves, you have something called WUP, Waves Update Plan, which you get for one year free after purchase, but every year thereafter you have to pay a fee (up to a maximum of $200) if you want to continue to receive updates for the software.

As irritating as that is, I saw UAD as being worse. You have to buy a piece of hardware which takes up a PCI slot, even if your computer is already fast enough to handle anything you throw at it, and the card can only run a limited number of plug-ins. The UAD-2 Solo costs $500, the Duo costs $900, and the Quad costs $1500. That's just the price of entry. The cards come with a standard set of basic plug-ins, but from there you have to pay to buy additional ones, at prices similar to those you pay for stand-alone native plug-ins from other companies.

If you go all the way and buy the whole package, UAD-2 Quad Omni, you pay $4000 for 34 plug-ins. With the equivalent Waves Mercury (native) package, you pay $5000 for 91 plug-ins. That's about $118 per UAD plug-in vs. $55 per Waves plug-in. So you basically pay twice as much per plug-in for the privilege of using a PCI card you may not even need.

My conclusion was ultimately that the price of entry is too high, you are too restricted in what you can get, and too restricted in how you can use it. Also there is the fact that Waves is much more widely used by pros on big time projects.

I think the UAD cards basically came about as an attempt to provide a PC alternative to Pro Tools hardware at a time when processing power was limited. Now that PCs can handle pretty much anything natively, I don't see the point. And I think they're making a huge mistake by refusing to sell native versions of their plug-ins. I'm at least one potential customer they've ruled out by sticking to their must-buy-the-hardware business plan. Some of their stuff would interest me if I could get it native, but the way it is now, nope.

ORIGINAL: bapu

The card does the processing, so if you want the UAD plugs, you NEED the card (it is not an optional thing).

Right, which is the problem. It's not like they couldn't make native versions if they wanted to. Waves sells native and TDM, and the TDM versions cost almost twice as much. It makes no sense to me. Certainly not worth the money unless you're in a pro studio with a huge budget.

Also, I have read on this forum from users who are familair/use with both products (UAD & Waves) and they (hands down) say the plugs fro UAD are superior. So, maybe "double" the price per plug is worth it. I also recognize that anyone saying something is superior is purely a subjective opinion.

This forum is weird when it comes to gear. There are people here who are very dedicated to particular gear/software -- in particular UAD, Toontrack, and Ozone. I may be forgetting some others. You see people promoting them over and over and over, like they own stock in the company or something. None of those are what most pros use or would choose.

I'm not interested in defending or promoting Waves...I just came to the conclusion that however overpriced and burdensome Waves may be, UAD is worse. I hear some of the UAD plug-ins are good, but I'll never know until they start offering them native.

ORIGINAL: inmazevo

I'm not seeing the cost-per-plugin thing.
I see it like this:
$118 per UAD plug-in + their processing (the card)
vs. $55 per Waves plug-in + your machine's processing

That's a pretty significant difference to me. Processing power is very finite, particularly if you're someone like me who does almost entirely virtual instruments. My VMs need the power.

Then, of course, there's the "Waves factor," which is no small thing to me. Can I get a wup, wup?
No, Waves, you can't... not from me.

On the other hand, I've heard very few negative things about UAD as a company.

The processing power + the company definitely makes up the cost differential.
To me, anyway.

Curious, though: what does "native" mean. Perhaps I'm missing an important part of the perspective...

- zevo

I would rather put the money into a computer, which can be used for anything, instead of having to put it into a card that can only run plug-ins from one company.

I've got a DAW with a Core 2 Quad, 4GB of RAM and three 7200 RPM HDs that cost me less than $2000 to build, and it runs everything -- the OS, Sonar, plug-ins, etc.

The Waves bundle I ended up getting is the SSL 4000, at a discount, less than $500. I can run a full project with channel strips on every track and bus compressors on every bus with no problem. To me that makes more sense than plowing all of that money into the UAD setup.

Let's say I bought Waves Mercury for $5000, plus $2000 for the DAW. That still comes out to $77 per Waves plug-in, vs. $118 per UAD. And my DAW effects every aspect of production, not just one set of plug-ins.

I just can't see a justification for the UAD stuff. Like I said, sell them native and they might have a customer.

ORIGINAL: inmazevo

Fair enough.
Right now, I don't have Waves or UAD, so I'm actually more interested in learning the specifics so I can make an educated decision.

What does "native" mean?
Is it VST/AU/DXi?

rod

Native means it runs on your computer, as opposed to dedicated hardware.

Well, first, I don't know where you get your info there AJ but UAD is used fairly ubiquitously in the "Pro" community (as is Waves). Second, although I've asked this before I'm willing to again, what is the difference in paying waves $200.00 per year an update using their WUP plan and paying Cakewalk approximately the same for a yearly update? Assuming you do, of course, as I recall neither Waves or Cake forces you to buy any upgrade.

Isn't it true that you buy into a motherboard technology that in 4 - 8 years will be more or less unuasable?
So if you're gonna shell out that amount of money, wouldn't it be more future-proof to buy
something that's connected by firewire or USB?
I think the first adopters of the UAD technology is feeling a little burnt already?

A fair number of pros use UAD (also Waves, Massey, McDSP, Sonox, etc.). But - these pros have a significant amount of money invested in their instruments, mics, preamps, rooms, PT rigs... not to mention hardware outboard... and the $2K or so invested in UAD is not large relative to this. The hardware gets used for critical tracks and the plugs allow for economical use in multiple instances.

Now take a weekend warrior who buys a $400 guitar, a $100 mic, a $100 preamp, a $400 interface and then splurges $2K on plugs and well, it seems a bit out of balance. I would say concentrate the most of your dosh on the room, monitoring, D/A and most of all, on the instruments. A $100 Squire is gonna sound like cack no matter how many plugins you slather all over it.

OTOH if you really love the plugs and have the budget I'd never think to argue you out of them.

ORIGINAL: inmazevo

Strange thread.

I do have a question:
Anyone have a negative opinion about UAD that CURRENTLY HAS a suite of their plugins?

I don't have any, but I'm looking for a suite of effects to complement my system, and I'm honestly curious about real experiences... first hand... preferably from people who've had them for a while.

Anybody with UAD that regrets the decision?

- zevo

I have had UAD plugs for nearly 5 years. I originally bought the Studio Pack and purchased more plugs as I could. But now I plan to buy the UAD2 NEVANA very soon. UAD is first class in every respect. In fact, I feel so strongly about their company and it's ethics that I have been buyng their hardware and their plugs for 5 years. Absolutely no issues with customer service anytime I have ever called.

Waves ? A very good friend of mine spent 2K with them about the time I commited to UAD. He moved to Protools 8 recently and the Waves plugs wouldn't work. He said Waves wanted around $500 for the wupgrade just so he could use what he had already paid for.


Exceptional UAD plugs are the plate 140 reveb, LA-2a, 1176, Pultec and Roland Space echo among many others. But the ones I mentioned are just the go to everytime.

Danny

ORIGINAL: jkleban


The install went smooth (much easier than I thought it would be)

Man is that worth repeating. It's is so refreshing to experience how well they have worked out their license system. I recently set up a new Core i7 and migrated everything over to it. I was really dreading that because I own so many libraries. It took a few days to make the switch, but the UAD stuff was easiest of all. I think it is simply because without the card, the UAD stuff just will not work.