I got a new UAD-2 Solo.... Plugins help!

[aux]

So whats youre budget and what nice plugins (uad or otherwise) do you already own. What (EQ/Comp/Special FX) are you mainly looking at, and most importantly, whats you budget

man... i got a Solo Flexi, so $500 + $100 bonus from the Promo this month... on top of that there are 25% discounts...
looks like i got some calculating and testing to do before end of the month...

[paradigm_x]

So for $600 you could get;

Classic console pack 1 - 1073&1081&33609 - 3 very meaty plugs, not much subtlety tho (fuck that, tons of free subtlety elsewhere !)

Or I might suggest;

Pultec Pro (cheap, useful mids, will add up so you get more bargain discount)
1073 (my fave of the neves)
1176LN - prob a bit more useful than 33609, 33609 very nice but not usable in all situations.
Plate - nuff said, although to be fair nebula does some very very good reverbs, even the free version, CANES your cpu tho. google Acusticaudio Nebula3free
VCA or LA2A - totally different, VU smacks everything hard, LA2A is invisible, like an invisible hand turning things up and down.
RE201 - I love this thing, awesomeness, especially for dubstep.

Should be able to get that lot for $600, with the discount, not chekced thoroughly. Depends if you want eqs or comps really.

Harrison is also an awesome eq, with HP/LP filters, but expensive (relatively, be worth it with a discount) , cambridge is a 'dull' but amazingly useful precision eq, helios is very nice and vibey but a bit uncontrollable (like the real hardware, if you even turn on the bass without any gain you get a big around 7dB bass boost, so not always ideal), but super lugh highs.

I wouldnt bother with the rest for now IMO. There the ones i use every tune.

[aux]

So for $600 you could get;

Classic console pack 1 - 1073&1081&33609 - 3 very meaty plugs, not much subtlety tho (fuck that, tons of free subtlety elsewhere !)

Or I might suggest;

Pultec Pro (cheap, useful mids, will add up so you get more bargain discount)
1073 (my fave of the neves)
1176LN - prob a bit more useful than 33609, 33609 very nice but not usable in all situations.
Plate - nuff said, although to be fair nebula does some very very good reverbs, even the free version, CANES your cpu tho. google Acusticaudio Nebula3free
VCA or LA2A - totally different, VU smacks everything hard, LA2A is invisible, like an invisible hand turning things up and down.
RE201 - I love this thing, awesomeness, especially for dubstep.

Should be able to get that lot for $600, with the discount, not chekced thoroughly. Depends if you want eqs or comps really.

Harrison is also an awesome eq, with HP/LP filters, but expensive (relatively, be worth it with a discount) , cambridge is a 'dull' but amazingly useful precision eq, helios is very nice and vibey but a bit uncontrollable (like the real hardware, if you even turn on the bass without any gain you get a big around 7dB bass boost, so not always ideal), but super lugh highs.

I wouldnt bother with the rest for now IMO. There the ones i use every tune.

Damn... thanks for the info.
I'm already thinking Plate140 ($149)
Roland RE-201 defo on the test cards ($249)
I'm also thinking a channel Strip like Neve OR UD 4K. ($299)

Thats already $522 (with 25% discount.... ) DAMN!

more testing to be done before i decide

[paradigm_x]

neve channel strip, although nice, is quite subtle. Not too far removed from eg bootsy's free eq. Not tried the ssl one.

If you want a full on, 'this is why i bought a UAD', id suggest 1073, just mint. and then buy a few more odds and sods, more flavours and less expenditure, for now. Edit - The 1073s the same price as the harrison - maybe grab the harrison for your one, mint eq - more flexible than the 1073, nice HP and LP filters, and poss nicer. 1073 is a few years old now, still lush. Harrison uses more DSP tho, although you get SE versions of both (less DSP trade off against no upsampling). Fattest bass ever is 1073 tho..

Also Id demo the cooper time cube vs roland re201 - both v good delays, but different - 201 has shorter max delay time, but classic tape delay sound, ok spring reverb and decent saturation. CTC has much longer times, a weird garden hose sound (check out uas page) and a great sound, with longer max delays.

Decisions, decisions...

I told you youre going to be skint

[macc]

Couldn't do without 1073. SE version (also 1081 SE) is great for those nice curves without the character, which you don't always want.

Neve 88RS is one of the best plugins ever made IMO, if only for the filters, the eq and the SOUND (comp is ok, but not my taste). Wonderful.

[paradigm_x]

Did you try the harrison Bob ?

[aux]

Which compressor would you recommend for Dnb/Dubstep?

anyone tried the 4K Buss comp?

[paradigm_x]

drums - 1176ln no questions. or 33609, 2nd choice. vca vu 3rd

bass - la2a, dunno, only use la2a

pads/perc/bits - fairchild

overall 1176ln.

try the 1176se youve already got and try to imagine a bigger, badder, distorted but well version. if so, grab the 1176ln. if not, get the vca, or the neve bundle, with free lush eqs.

edit no not tried the ssl comp. try uad forums or gearslutz, although youll have to filter out stuff for rock etc....

[macc]

Did you try the harrison Bob ?

Tried it for 30 minutes or so, thought it was really nice. I would have bought it if I would have used it, but couldn't really justify it.

Thing is that I'm not buying mix plugins any more as now that I am mastering ALL the time, I just don't use them very often. It's still nice to have the options, and they can sometimes come in handy when you need just that thing in mastering, but I'll save the money for real gear these days.

That said, of all the plugins I have that aren't 'sterile/transparent' type plugs, UAD are the ONLY ones I would trust in a mastering signal chain. The mention of the 1073 SE wasn't coincidental Was just the ticket on something the other day. In combination with the G14 of course

[macc]

BTW for bass guitar = LA2A or VCA VU will give you what you need.

For compressing heavy sub lines, 33609 SE is my weapon of choice by a mile. Looooooooove it!!

[Sharmaji]

you could replace the word "drums" with "1176" in general conversation. seriously. it does wonderful things. not sure how accurate the PDC is w/ uad these days but try it as a parallel comp... or just smash the shit out of your kick and snare w/ it.

done a ton of sessions w/ engineers who swear by the pultec emulation, and yes-- just putting it in the chain makes things sound nicer.

how's their re301 space echo simulation? does it take 30 minutes to warm up like the real deal?

[aux]

I'm going to hold back on testing the Neve gear...
i'm too scared that once i've tested it, i'd buy it... going to wait until i buy my next Duo Flexi to test them...

Right now, i got running...
1176LN
LA2A
Pultec Pro
Harrison
RE-201
Plate140

a bit full on for testing it seems... but i just cant help my self...


ps> thanks Macc for the email... will hit ya back after the weekend bro! Cheers!

[macc]

No worries

This post serves to tell you that if you don't get LA2A, you're a big fool

I thank you.

[macc]

and the plate.

[paradigm_x]

I'm going to hold back on testing the Neve gear...
i'm too scared that once i've tested it, i'd buy it... going to wait until i buy my next Duo Flexi to test them...

Right now, i got running...
1176LN
LA2A
Pultec Pro
Harrison
RE-201
Plate140

a bit full on for testing it seems... but i just cant help my self...


ps> thanks Macc for the email... will hit ya back after the weekend bro! Cheers!

that will be plenty get you going on a good mix, and none too dsp heavy (plate/201 a bit).

[aux]

I'm going to hold back on testing the Neve gear...
i'm too scared that once i've tested it, i'd buy it... going to wait until i buy my next Duo Flexi to test them...

Right now, i got running...
1176LN
LA2A
Pultec Pro
Harrison
RE-201
Plate140

a bit full on for testing it seems... but i just cant help my self...


ps> thanks Macc for the email... will hit ya back after the weekend bro! Cheers!

that will be plenty get you going on a good mix, and none too dsp heavy (plate/201 a bit).

oh boy... so after a couple of weeks of testing...
Plate140... WINNER! sealed the deal.
RE-201.... very very nice indeed, also sealed the deal.
1176LN - defo sounds great on drums, but i'm still have a tough time controlling this atm...
Harrison is nice also, but i dont know if i'm too comfortable with the Logic Eq... perhaps graphics eq is more my thing.
LA2A I'm finding good for bass.
88Rs.... is defo something special as well... didnt wanna test it... but couldnt help it... and now i think i've fallen for the UAD TRAP! hahahaha
BIG UPS to everyone with the wicked advise!