Hi all,
I've decided to sell my Mackie Control Universal Pro. It's too unstable in Sonar and my recent touch screen purchase has negated a lot of what I used the MCU for.
 
I've had an eye on UAD stuff for a long time, and I'm wondering if now is the time to buy one with the cash raised from the MCU? There are so many options that I honestly get confused. I hear that with some cards you'll only run a few instances of a plug and the card is maxed. I have a powerful machine and never stress with tons of native stuff, so I am concerned about the UAD limitations. I know a lot of you have them, so I figured I'd ask here for advice on getting into the UAD world...

Hey James,
 
Some of the newer UAD plugins do take a lot of DSP power, so for example you won't be able to run more than one instance at a time of the Manley Massive Passive on a single Solo card.  However, a lot of the oldies-but-still-goodies aren't so resource-hungry.  You can get an idea of how many simultaneous instances of a plugin you can run here:
http://www.uaudio.com/support/uad/compatibility/instance-chart.html
 
As you can see, a Solo card will run up to 24 stereo instances of the "Legacy" (original) LA2A or Neve channel strip, which are still great plugins, but only 12 of one of the new LA2A models or 3 API channels.  You can always render tracks to free up resources, of course. 
 
If all you want to do is run the older plugins, a Solo card should be sufficient for most situations.  For more intensive applications, though, one of the more powerful cards might suit you better.  Note that every card comes with a pack of "classic" plugins, including the Legacy 1176, LA2A, and Pultec, plus a usable reverb and channel strip. 
 
Let us know if you have further questions ... have fun!
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

I've been a long time user of UAD and they, by and large, are top notch plugs. However, with only a handful of exceptions, I would not recommend buying into the system now. Their plugs are too expensive compared to other top notch vendors (I.e. Fabfilter, Waves, Nomad Factory,etc...) and require an expensive "dongle" to boot.

Just my two cents. YMMV.

+1 Myolpal.
 
I'm happy to have two Quads, an use a fair amount of the plugs I do own*, but if I were starting out today, I'm not sure I'd do it again.
 
 
*about 45 of them stopping at the Studer.

Thanks guys! I searched this forum before I posted and there were similar threads but a few years old. Seems you guys haven't changed your minds in that time. I see that the razor is expensive as well as the blades to get into this. :) Maybe I'll pick up a single core used to just play around with it a bit...

smallstonefan
Thanks guys! I searched this forum before I posted and there were similar threads but a few years old. Seems you guys haven't changed your minds in that time. I see that the razor is expensive as well as the blades to get into this. :) Maybe I'll pick up a single core used to just play around with it a bit...

You can find some of these relatively cheap on KVR...but, as always, when you buy
used you're taking a chance...

I only have a solo card and there are some plugins I really like (DBX-VCU, the EMT reverbs, Harrison/Pultec EQs). I think if you can be patient and disciplined enough to buy the plugs you want when they go on sale, it's a good deal. If I were starting over I would have waited until they were giving away a duo or quad with a mic preamp/channel strip and jumped on board then.

SS,

Here's a deal on a Solo Card on KVR

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=414338

says

UAD
EMT-140 Reverb
Neve 88RS channel strip
Fairchild 670
Pulteq EQP1-A

Only plugins: $270 or make me an offer.
All plugins + solo card (incl. analog classics bundle): $450 or make me an offer.

Thanks Larry - looks like he only ships in Europe. I'm going to look into transfer fees on UAD stuff. As the rest of the guys say - it looks like it can be really expensive. If picking plugs up used is an option, that would make it more attractive...
 
Craig, have you found the solo card to be limiting in resources?

Didn't notice that..sorry SS...