UAD-2 cards are underpowered and if I want to use Fatso on 3-4 tracks, along with 1176's, neve 1073, etc, then my cards get maxed real quick.

If I use some of their hi-end reverb/send effects, I have to freeze tracks.

Wow and i thought the UAD cards save CPU and enabler you to not have to conserve and freeze tracks. I'm glad i never bought UAD cards/effects. It sounds like a rip off from what I'm seeing you go through.

CJ

Related:  I just decided to add a ritard in the middle of a song  (slow down and then speed back up).  To make it sound right, I needed to add one beat to the slow measure to create a pause before going back to the main tempo.  This required unfreezing several instruments (as well as sliding MIDI data over).

Sliding midi is fine. Easy enough most of the time. Audio tracks that may or may not start exactly on the beat (slip editing isn't an exact science when you're just working away and may have forget to slip exactly to a snap point). That's my issue here. Plus sliding 40+ clips is a lot harder than 5-6. And when they aren't always starting at the some point, etc etc clients standing watching you... kinda lame.

As for UAD... Universal Audio is a great company. Service is on par or surpasses Cakewalk (sorry, just in my experience). Their products are also industry-toppers. Anyone who has tried anything from the real 1176 to the UAD version will be hard-pressed to say otherwise unless they have an agenda (Wave fanboi or similar).

I will say that charging $500-$2k for a card that limits the number of plugins you go and spend another $100-$300+ (each) is terrible. I'd be happy to need the card, but be able to run the plugs natively. The whole DSP-saving idea is dead in the water now. Only my opinion. UAD is very expensive. If I were to start again with 20-20 hindsight I'd go Waves and others. I'd have a hard time without UAD now. I know them too well.

The UAD cards are not a rip off, CJ. The Fatso emulation is extremely processor-intensive, absolutely authentic, and authorized & endorsed by Dave Derr & Empirical Labs. The emulation is so intricate that it eats up more of the UAD card's power than most plug-in's. That's what it took to get it right, and no one else has ever done a Fatso emulation, not even a "disguised" version.  

You could buy single hardware Fatso for $2199.99(street), or you can save $400 by buying a UAD-2 Quad for $1499 and the Fatso plug-in for $299 (less when it's on sale)...giving you up to 12 simultaneous stereo instances of the Fatso without freezing. (12 hardware Fatso's would cost you over 26 grand!)

I don't know which UAD-2 card fooman is running, but since getting my Quad, I never max it out, and I never freeze audio anymore.

I have two solo's.
Yes, I 100% agree they are all awesome plugins, which is why I use them daily on paid projects.

I think the plugin world is a different paradigm than the hardware world however. I don't want to be tied to an instance limit with a plugin.

I often have 50+ tracks that have everything from Fatso to Cambridge plugs. My PC could handle this, but two UAD2-solo's cannot.

Once again, I'm not here to rag on UA. I love em and their people, so awesome to deal with. I just want to freeze a track, insert some measures, and unfreeze with the audio clip staying put.