Tommy Byrnes

I have used the UAD SSL for a couple of years and it's really amazing, especially as a Unison pre on recording inputs. I also have all the usual suspects and I find they all sound and behave differently. For instance, I always use the Waves SSL on a hi-hat track. Don't know why but it does nice things others don't. The PA versions are "heavy" sounding, thick and dense and really shine when they're driven, probably because of the TMT thing. I don't use the IK ones much at all, at least not to try to set up an SSL-sounding mix in the box. I have used them as their own sounding channel strip and as with all IK stuff, they sound groovy. I have a ton of SSL bus comps as well, but the UAD version is always on my 2-bus. It feels like the hardware on a mix. I grabbed this bundle because the discount is ridiculous. I would never pay the actual price but I thought this was a good deal. And, I really like these, especially the Channel Strip. I haven't spent too much time with it but so far I like it a lot. It is very open and transparent and the EQ is especially clear in the mid-highs and highs. It's not quite as beefy down low to me as some others but the filters are smooth. The comp is "grabby" in a nice way and seems just the right aggressiveness for most material. I dropped 30 across a test mix and it barely registered a hit to the CPU. The metering is really good as well. I think the reason some don't think these sound as good as some of the others is that you can't really drive the input to get some harmonics. You can't really "bend the board", so to speak, like the PA or the UAD. It seems to me it stays pretty clean until it hits red. Overall, I think it's a lovely channel strip and really does sound great. It feels like it's in a metal chassis, if that makes sense, very smooth operation. I'm glad I grabbed these, although I definitely didn't need another channel strip plugin. But, who can resist Larry's siren song?

I have to admit, the RS124 is a wicked nice compressor. It's been squatting on my bass AUX but it may start paying rent.

Mibby, I didn't see the same spike. I found it to be pretty easy on the CPU, much less than CLA Mixhub, which is basically unusable. I was leery of Epic because of that but I was pleasantly surprised.

I swore I wouldn't buy another reverb (no snickering) but since I was mostly a good boy this BF I picked this up. I like it. My first inclination was to turn everything on, which made the track sound like it was playing in an aircraft hanger. But, each one of the modules has a particular vibe and if used one or two at a time the results are quite nice. Quick, too. The routing options make it wicked versatile and all the delays and verbs sound good. I have a pretty good verb and delay template that has the ones I use most set up as Room (now almost exclusively IK's Sunset Sound, which is amazing), Plate (Valhalla Plate and Abbey Road Plates), Chamber (AR Chambers, Sunset Sound's chambers, Valhalla Room) and a Main Verb (UAD Lexicon 480L), Slap Delay (Waves J37 for tape and HDelay), Tape Delay (IKs TR5 Tape Echo) and a basic delay (HDelay, Waves Super Tap). I will often use sends on the delays to the verbs or vice versa, much like this plugin does. That said, it's quick to drop on a track and get a quick thing going.

Depends on what's for dinner

For almost $600 those EQs better do the laundry and make dinner

Wicked good EQ.

Thanks for the head's up!! This is a lovely verb.

Jumped on this as I was planning on picking up a 421 soon anyway. This is a really good deal!

I think the update somehow corrupted some of my projects. This problem seems to arise on projects that I was working on at the time of the update. New projects work as expected and older projects do as well. It just gets weird on the 4 tunes I've been working on for a client the last few weeks. Can that happen? I don't think I've ever run into this before. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Jonathan!

This is the part that isn't working any more. At least on my machine.

Hi Noel, Thanks for addressing my question. I've been using Sonar/Cakewalk every day professionally for 13 years and I've always edited automation this way. It's total muscle memory. It's not working the same way since the 2020.08 update.

After the 2020.08 update a curious bug has showed up. Before, when doing automation editing, I could use the SmartTool + Ctrl to raise or lower an area between two nodes. Since the update, when I try this only the left node moves, not both. I have tried to add nodes to set up a region but only the left one will work with this command, even when both nodes of an area are highlighted. I was hoping this new update would address this but it still exhibits the same behavior. Has something changed that I am unaware of? Even when I choose the Move Tool this still persists. Thanks, folks!

I agree, Larry. I used it for years but seem to reach for it less, lately. Another is the UAD Bax EQ. It's also sweet on busses.

I have to admit, I grabbed this on a whim with my August voucher. Like I need ANOTHER eq? I put it on the 2-Bus of a mix I started to rough in and was shocked at how good it sounds. Like, very, very good. Wicked open and airy on the top. MS is a delight. With the voucher it ended being $14.99. Absolute steal. I guess I did need another eq.

Thank you, Bakers!!! This looks like a wonderful release.

This has lived in my main template since it first came out.

Your Drum Bus will thank you

I picked up the bundle on sale a while back and having these as Pro Channel modules is really handy. Wonderful-sounding plugins, super easy on the CPU. Oh, and welcome back Larry!

Carlos, The real advantage of UAD is the ability to track through the plugins and print the effects while recording. Regardless of OS no regular interface/plugin combination can do this. I don't in any way feel trapped by the UAD platform and I use native plugins 90% of the time ITB but when I'm tracking a band or I want the ability to run mics through a Helios, SSL4000, Manley, Neve 1073, etc., I've found there is simply no better sounding strategy without owning the actual gear. This is why folks invest in UAD. It is a very good example of getting what you pay for.

I use the plugins during mix as well. Their Legacy plugins that come with all their interfaces are great for some general use when you want to save on CPU hit. They barely hit the SHARK chips and sound good and work well. I often track with a Unison plugin and then drop a Legacy version on the track during mix. Their regular ones hit the SHARKS hard but also sound amazing when used during mix and mastering. One advantage to this system is that it, for me, feels more like recording with real analog gear. I can push the Unison pre just like on a desk and get very close to how it feels. It is an expensive way to go and I grit my teeth every time I purchase one but I haven't regretted the decision yet. I can't say that about many things these days.

If you have a Unison preamp the SSL is wonderful, as is the Neve 1073. My very favorite though, is the Helios 69. Man, it's just yummy! I'm trying to only get UAD plugins that are Unison-enabled at this point. I've got most other things covered from other vendors but being able to track with the plugins is amazing. I recently tracked a whole band session using the Helios and loved the results.

On the 2-bus I have an SSL Bus Comp set to very fast attack/release times and 2:1 ratio to get a gain reduction of barely 2dB. A bit of glue. I use a true peak limiter to keep peaks below -4 to -4.5 dB.

Thanks, msmcleod. I ran it and it didn't see any problems. If I could roll back to earlier versions to see if it's CbB I would try to see if it is something in the program my system doesn't like now.

Thanks again for the reply, Azslow. When I said "fine-tuned" I meant the other audio devices, such as the HD audio drivers for my graphics card, etc are disabled in the device manager. All USB controllers are set to "no power saving" and the other things we all do to maximize the system for audio. No issues with LatencyMon-sterling readings. When you say "it seems like your system is 'fine tuned' for low multi-core load only," what do you mean? I'm not sure if I do or not. I have all the cores unparked, if that's what you mean. If not, could you elaborate? I'm going to start working backward today to see if I can suss this out. One thing I noticed that I haven't seen before is if there is no audio driver running, in other words, all audio devices are turned off, my idle temp is 25-32C. As soon as an audio driver is engaged the temp jumps up to the upper 40s. I've tested this with MOTU drivers, old Mackie drivers (which still work great for my old Onyx 1220i mixer) and UAD Apollo, which is my main interface. The UAD drivers run way hotter than the newer MOTU drivers (M4 interface) and the Mackie. I used the MOTU and Macke just for testing and don't really use them in the main rig. If I just open CbB I'm in the 50s. Minimal project with a few plugins and I'm in the danger zone. So, I'll take your advice and re-sit and re-thermal paste first, then replace the liquid cooler, then replace the CPU/motherboard. Then throw the whole thing out the window and revisit the old Tascam 244 4-track cassette portastudio in the storeroom and make a cocktail Thanks again for the help.