My honest opinion on UAD Spark .. Is UAD native plugins really the future or too little too late?
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- Опубликовано: 8 апр 2022
- My honest opinion on UAD Spark plugins .. Is UAD native plugins really the future or too little too late?
Is now the time to sell your apollo twin, uad pcie 2 and UAD satellite? This week I talk about universal audio native plugins which include uad api 2500, uad 1176 and la2a, and also my thoughts on whether the universal audio spark plugin subscription will perform as well as everybody thinks it will.
My name is Paul Third and I am a Scottish youtuber / audio engineer / mixing engineer / audio geek. I mostly cover audio engineering related content ranging from audio plugin shootouts / plugin comparisons (acustica audio plugins, universal audio etc etc) to actual analog vs digital / gear vs plugins plugin tests via access analog and mix analog. I even include ddmf plugindoctor tutorials in my plugin reviews so you can be your very own plugin tester and experiment and understand whats actually going on under the hood. I also discuss digital music distribution from time to time and like to give my viewpoint on online music distributors such as onerpm and distrokid.
All of my audio blind tests involving music production software are conducted in avid pro tools 2021 which is my main daw and I also use HOFA blind test 4U as my blind test software. In terms of my audio interface I record and monitor through my audient id44 and use an audio technica AT2050 for all of my voice overs.
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Видеоклипы
For anybody wanting context for how UAD sounds here are all of the shootouts I've done including UAD plugins
33609
ruclips.net/video/9eKyLiQHVWg/видео.html
1176 & la2a
ruclips.net/video/p7NNIka9iaI/видео.html
Studer tape shootout
ruclips.net/video/NWMeW30AHT4/видео.html
Fairchild
ruclips.net/video/HS3BAZfJZwk/видео.html
Pultec
ruclips.net/video/w_Xh7s0pNe8/видео.html
API
ruclips.net/video/jEXYpmzoo60/видео.html
There are so many other developers who make as good, or better, plug-ins than UAD. Might be interesting for some people who are already used to the UAD DSP, but you won't get the same sound without the Unison pres. The magic with UAD stuff is in the Unison+DSP mix. Being able to subscribe to the plug-ins instead of just buying them one-by-one (or in bundles) for insane prices is probably the most interesting part about Spark.
Yeah it's a double edged sword. It'll benefit some and won't benefit others. If it was 5 or 6 years ago then it would make more of an impact but really to make it worthwhile you'd think they'd incorporate luna and unison within the subscription so people could get into using the modern side of UAD. Running their plugins native isn't enough for me
If you buy on black friday and buy ultimate collection, you pay 25$ per plugin!!!
I just watched a video where the dude did a unison version vs Native and there was no difference. so now was the "unison" just snake oil.. oof
That's not true at all. UAD plug-ins are always among the best. The Apollo is a killer interface and the UAD-2 equipment really does take a load off your processor. And I'm not a real fan boy, don't actually use an Apollo. To be honest, I was always wavering in my support of them but a couple of uad plugins I found indispensable. And recently, look at Sound City Studios. There is no other plug-in on the market that can match it. And it only cost me $50 black Friday.
UAD should have done this a very long time ago. Crazy to think they probably never would have even done this if it wasn’t for the chip shortage forcing them to do it.
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It seems that most companies across all sectors are hell bent on moving customers to a rundle billing model ASAP because it does wonders for the company valuation. As White Sea Studio observed, the audio companies that have done this never seem to have their updates ready on time when there is a change in the tech industry, yet those offering single purchases somehow do.
Yeah that's true. It took PA ages to start releasing M1 compatibility
Exactly as I suspected the whole subscription game eventually turns out. They don’t need to have anything ready on time, as the income is always secured by the subscribers. As close to Heaven as one can get as a company.
I'm wondering if they've been hit hard by chip and supply chain shortages, just like everyone else. They may be looking at a reduced supply, maybe not right now but sometime in the future if they cannot replace sold units with new ones. I imagine they've always had everything running native as a "plan b" contingency plan and now must be the right time to switch things up.
That's the third comment about that already 🧐 could be some truth in that. The shortage has been a pain in the arse. I was meant to get my new electric car start of march and its been pushed back to June (they expect). Second hand motors are now more attractive to car sellers due to manufacturer delays and its the best time to sell your 5 year old motor .. Crazy times
They been using outdated repurposed graphic cards for processing. . Nah no fake chip shortage. Just greedy subscription model in effect...
The prices of their hardware have gone up a lot in the past year.
@@kodakeller6353 Rumor has it that one of the fabs for the dsp chips burnt down apparently and was the reason for bundeling plug-ins with the heritage edition to hide the price increase (according to a salesman in a local Music Store)…the chip shortage just being the icing on the cake.
Thanks again Paul for clearing the smoke out of the room. UAD has always been presented as the high water mark in plugin development. I use a PC. Adapt, improvise and overcome; that's been my workflow for years. Thanks again and Cheers !
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Was happy when I heard this. Always wanted to try Voice of God. At the same time, I was disappointed with the limited number of plugins that are currently available.
I know. I was really shocked at how limited the native options were. I don't know if they'll purposely limit the native options to maintain sales of their apollos and satellites.
same here!! was hoping for that ssl..
@@PaulThirdit's not really worth it right now. I hope they don't limit the options. They also have Oxford under them. Maybe it's a licensing issue with the other brands they have under them.
My guess for the sub is that it will be uad plugs only. I have a slight suspicion they won't be able to sell the native version of third party plugins like brainworx, softube, eventide, sonnox etc. Dunno I just have this feeling that their licensing only covers the dsp versions which is technically their own as it utilises their tech and hardware. Native versions already exist by the devs themselves so I doubt the devs will allow UAD to sell the native versions.
Call it an educated hunch but I may be entirely wrong
@@PaulThird you hit the nail right on the head. This just might be it.
If you want a rack mount audio interface with at least 8 inputs, I know there are other, cheaper options but I love my Apollo 8 and would cling onto it even if the UAD plugins all became defunct and unusable. I just love it as an audio interface.
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Same, my X6 and twin x are only 3 weeks old
I’m one that greatly benefits from this! I have a single DSP Arrow, which I love. It sounds great and gives me access to Console and LUNA but obviously, I can only run a handful of plugins. Now (for free!) I can run the 1176’s, LA-2A’s, Studer 800 and the API Vision natively in addition to a few others I own that aren’t on Spark yet and I did nothing to earn this added feature.
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Agree with your opinions. Similar windows pcie user here. Some of my favourite uad plugins like the curvebender are not technically uad and I mainly use my octo for the uad reverbs like capital and Oceanway to save cpu resources.
Yeah you don't realise just how much uad stuff is Third party till you go through it all
When someone who's been greedy for years suddenly does something that seems to benefit YOU. Leopards, spots etc.
It'll definitely be interesting to see how the story unfolds 🤓
@@PaulThird Hi Paul, while you're on, thanks for all your hard work mate, appreciate it all.
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My dude.. Your voice sounds sooo much better through that new SE mic!!!
I'm glad somebody said it!! Haha Im really digging this mic. Such a big step up compared to my at2050 🤓
Awesome..love what youre doing on this chanell. What la2a do you use?
I don't actually use la2a's but if I was I would 100% use timP opto 32. I prefer that over la2a hardware. I use la3 more than la2
@@PaulThird thank you very informative. I appreciate your response! Sorry to bombard but when you have a chance, which la3? I trust your judgment implicitly thats why i ask
Timp opto 32. He sampled and measured both la2 & la3 and managed to get JPN to create a skin to incorporate both programs. It's unbelievable. You can create a frankenstein if you want and have 2a compression with the freq response and harmonics of 3a and vice versa.
Plus the TimP clippers are awesome. He actually created clippers that are the units being hit hard. You have all the options you would ever need
Good point Paul, Cant wait for someone to do the hardware vs software NULL test and confirm they are the same sounding.
Tbh a perfect 100% null is pretty much impossible in my eyes but in a lot of cases you may get nulls low enough that prove the differences to be realistically inaudible.
If you manage a null around -60/70db id argue there's still not enough of a difference to make a 'better' audible impact within the context of a mix.
Offering these plugins as "subscription-only" is UADs final lame attempt to preserve some sort of exclusivity of their plugins. I guess half a year before they change the model or go out of business :D
Yeah.. This, volt and the new sm7b knockoff are signs that they are scraping the barrel to remain relevant. Hardware like Black lion audio's bluey and warm audios la2 have definitely had an impact on hardware sales. You take away hardware and plugin sales they need to start appealing to the budget market which is something they never had to worry about 10 years ago. Times be a changing
Agreed.
Bluey owner here and I totally agree. 😎 and yeah I owned an apollo for a short time but sold it after observing UA’s absurd pricing model for their dsp only plugins.
I have a UAD Solo. I wonder why I should buy the Distressor Plugin which is currently on sale for 99 Euros, when I could run it natively now? :D
@@stansteez because if you buy it, you get the native license free forever and dont have to pay for it every month
As someone who has "invested" $4k+ into UAD Apollo x8 and many plugins over the years, my relationship with UAD has gone from LOVE to mostly FUAD.
I equate the UAD brand with having an a**hole friend. Every time you hang with them, you realize that they're just that, and that you'd be much better off without them in your life.
From the days of glory, in 2022 UAD is:
- Still developing a new DAW (because, ..clearly an underserved market :)
- Exploring a novel concept of audio plugins running natively with UADx
- Exploring offering very few audio plugins as a paid service with Spark
I'll keep what I have from UAD, but they have joined Waves and IK on the list of companies that I do not support with my money anymore.
Yeah it's almost like they spent so long doing what they were doing and then one day thought..
"yeah maybe we need to stop being assholes cause we're running out of friends.. We need new ones, preferably rich ones but they aren't replying to our texts so I suppose we'll have to start hanging in different circles to befriend the budget guys now"
Or something along those lines 🤣
@@PaulThird I suspect that they're still assholes, and that we're likely in an abusive relationship! 🤣
lib747, What is your opinion of IK if you don't mind?
I use their plugins extensively.
They need to read this!! Well said...the arrogance...that Ben Lindell smirk, offering you a 150 dollar plugin on sale, instead of 299... Raising their interface prices by just calling it heritage Edition...never giving freebies, not updating plugins to high resolution Retina, ... Basically just selling you a plugin and then run with your cash ..laughing at you...
@@keith-marvk-harrisii8666 I have nothing against IK, Waves or UAD products. It's their business practices that disgust me.
For instance, IK believe that they have the right to upload software onto our computers at their will, and advertise to us using the software that we have purchased from them. Specifically, I purchased T-RackS 5 MAX, and during installation, IK also installed The Custom Shop. I've informed them that I didn't purchase or want The Custom Shop on my computer, but there was no way for me to remove it. Many emails later my purchase was refunded, all IK software removed, and my relationship with IK was over.
Is there an 1176 emulation which isn't snake oil vs hardware?
Uad, arturia, TimP & surprisingly free analog obsession..Waves & Slate nah.
Check out my pinned comment as there's a link to the 1176 & la2a comparison i done which includes 2 different hardware variations
@@PaulThird Which ones are based on rev A?
UAD
It's kinda cool. I own a lot of the plugins already. But it's nice to get the lexicon. Sounds really great. Quite happy with the sub, its just a nice thing to have really on top of everything else in the plugin arsenal 😁
I dunno why but I never seen you as a subscription guy. Have no idea why 🤣
Another good video, Paul. Beers again. 🍻🍻Cheers
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The UA Ox is their best ‘software’ product imo, can’t live without it!
Yeah as a guitarist I wouldnt mind the ox box 🤓
8:05 video suggestion: "Does Oversampling Have a Role to Play in Today's Emergency Services Eco-System!?!". The thumbnail would simply read: "Who do you think your are, Dr. Third!?" and feature your cut-out face covering Laurie's face on a still frame from "House" where everyone's looking outraged. Also, the Ghostbusters ambulance in the background.
Now, this might be off-brand for you, yes, and I understand if you're reticent but I think this would be great use of your 'Access Analog' supscription. Your methodology and penchant for analytical thinking need a new challenge. Also, and this is even more important: I got slightly drunk on leftover mulled wine while my wife went to a Sunday brunch.
Gotta love the left over mulled wine eh 😂
I agree with everything. However the argument is valid for all developers, not all plugins of a single production company are valid or up to certain features (some even subjective) that's why I've never seen an engineer working only with a suite. Thanks for the update I didn't know about uad anyway :)
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I am glad Spark came out before I bought an Octo Satellite. I was ready to pull the trigger on that and now I don't have to. Since I have an Apollo and most of the plugins ported to Spark, I can run those native and have more then enough DSP for all the others. I am glad they did it! My guess, and it's just a guess, is that they will not port everything to Spark. but we shall see...
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UA goes native because they know there’s no future in DSP for the music industry… we’re on the verge to reach total maturity where computer power surpass needs for any music project out there. It’s just a matter of time, depending on how intensive your sessions are… for some people, the power is already high enough, for some users, we still need more power. But since computers keep getting more and more powerful for domains that are very demanding (such 3D, AR/VR, AI, etc…), we will get the benefit of more powerful computers to the point the “need” for a new computer to run the new version of apps/plugs won’t be necessary. I still remember the time we had to change CPU and RAM just to run the new version of Microsoft Office. Now, any smartphone and tablets can run the very last version of all office applications. So it will be a time with the same effect for music applications. So why run DSP at this point? That’s why UA goes native and get prepared for the future with subscription. However, they will need to bring a little bit more content in their sub plan, because the offer is a little thin in comparison to Plugin Alliance, Slate Digital and such… if UA brings the whole catalog for $20/m, then they might get my money… but until then, I will pass.
Exactly…UAD interfaces are now useless in my eyes ever since they’ve released the Volt I knew they were going to go native it was just a matter of when. I almost bought an Apollo X4 but I’m glad I went with the Motu Ultralite MK5.
@@tuneunleashed UA Apollo interfaces are still very good interfaces, like Antelope, RME and such... however, they might not be in the entry price point like Motu, Focusrite and such. So now it's good to know we can get a Volt, or any other medium range interface and still enjoy UA plugins.... without spending price on high-end interfaces (such Apollos).
Yeah, look at those Apple M1 chips... M2 is coming already...
"Alias like a fuckin' ambulance!" That's one stonker of a simile. 😉
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Plugin Alliance Mega is 20$/month if you buy 1 year subscription, and they give you money back in vouchers to buy plugins. You get 180 plugins of which 30-40 are really top, also including TDM/AAX DSP formats. How this compares to UAD?
It doesn't. As plugin subscriptions go, nobody on the market can compete with the options of PA and value for money. I quit it recently but still managed to cash in 2 years worth of vouchers and bought the plugs that I actually use
@@PaulThird And that's smart move. If you continue to buy plugins they will send you vauchers even you're not subscriber. It works great unless you're not willing to wait for new fancy plugins to be seriously discounted. Cheers! S
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Ladies and gents. The Mr. Paul Third !!!! 👏👏... I want that sweater 😎
Your the second person to mention it haha my wife wants to bin it though 😔
Hey Paul..overloud just released a Pultec emulation that seems to be awesome.. maybe a review for it will be well recieved
Nah I gave up with pultec shootouts after I did the big hardware vs plugins one. They are all practically the same man. Just slightly different nuances
The one plugin I haven't found a native replacement for is UAD's Cooper Time Cube. Love that one. But I don't think I'll be paying $20/month to use any of their plugins in native format since my X8 currently runs them for free.
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You look like you're starting to feel better! :)
I'm more mobile now so the antibiotics helped but it was only a week and low dose so I've still got a fucking cough 😅 could get through a voice-over now without coughing up a lung but that's now 5 weeks straight I've had a cough. I don't have the constant nose blowing anymore nor feel like I'm coughing out of my chest but still got a constant cough.
@@PaulThird that sounds amazingly frustrating! I'm glad that you look energetic though..... I don't think there's any need to worry about you... at least! Do feel much better soon, mate! 🎸🎶🕊️
The advantage is having DSP available when your CPU runs out of steam, and you need low latency tracking capabilities with effects. It's not yet possible to reserve a number of core's on your CPU for this purpose. Until it is, DSP has a place, and native/DSP versions of plugins are necessary.
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Good video as always Paul, the missus thought she saw you in Edinburgh cause I'm alwsys watching the chanel.. I just said 'the lad gets about.. He's delaying' but I dnt think she got it.. We'll she didn't laugh just looked blank and smiled 🙈✌🏽👀
I was in Edinburgh 2 weeks ago but it was just ikea haha
I'm sure she just Paul Thirds everywhere! 🚦
I wake up every morning now hoping to have email from Paul third
Why haha am I missing something 😅
@@PaulThird yes, last time I sent you a beautiful email to the address you provided me with ❤️ I’m dying to be friends with you
Just DM me on Instagram. Easiest way to contact me 🤓 emails are hit and miss whether I remenber to reply as I get so many in a day
@@PaulThird I will do that! Thanks!
Excellent, the exclusivity illusion is over.
It's bout time people had the chance to test out the hype for themselves 🤓
I tried the plugins out on a trial. I've never used the UAD plugs till now. I found the blueface 1176 and the Tape sound fantastic ad have been using them a lot. I'm going to to test alternatives and see - i'd like to find some alternatives, but the Studer tape is really good, maybe not enough to justify the subscription, but to find a few I like it good, I might just dip in and out of the subscription if needed. Eventually I hope to find an alternative but I have yet to find as good a tape plugin (not tried the Softube one but I've tried most of the others). It might end up actually being good value if they add some of the other great plugins they have - not so bothered by SSLs and the like as I have quite a few of those in some form, but some of the more unique to UAD would be good.
Uad studer won my studer tape shootout and it even included a real studer haha I use it from time to time but I normally use the tone empire reelight pro due to the options it has. Can get way more out of it
@@PaulThird I use the Uhe satin as well but it’s only because of options again. Well I guess we should be grateful even more plugins to get lost in now.
Totally. Nobody can complain about the tools available these days. There is everything at your finger tips. No reason why a skilled engineer with a good ear can't make awesome sounding records on a budget
I’ve been happy with my Apollo Twin X interface but have avoided using UAD plugs inserted in my PT tracks in anticipation of the day I may switch to a different interface and lose all the settings. As long as my licenses for these new native versions remain perpetual, I’ll be much more likely to use them in sessions. I won’t be so happy if they require a subscription, which they likely will, in order to keep them up to date - the way Avid does. Ah well…
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Preach it Paul! ( Thats the accent. )
Im using an octo and quad card. I like owning them without having to rent them every month. Had the slate subscription but owned a few of their plugs before the subscription plan. So, I now no longer rent their stuff.
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Have you listened to the API 550 UA plug compared to a 500 series unit. I owned one back in the day. The hardware blew the plug completely out of the water. I mean you could do a blind test hungover to fuck with 3 hours sleep and tell the difference. Would you say the channel strip is a big step up in emulating the hardware in this case? Going to have to demo this now!!!
Did even better and compared to the api 5500 hardware and uad nailed it
@@PaulThird Thanks for the reply. I only just realised they modeled the 550 in the channel strip! I thought it was just the 560. (All the main pics seams to have the 560). Demo time for me!!! What do you think about the earlier 550a/ 560 stand alone EQs vs the EQ in channel strip? i.e) UA's earlier attempts vs the channel strip EQs
I don't know why they dont offer plugins you actually can't find on other brands. You might hate their marketing but PA and Waves have great emulations.
If UAD would offer something like the Fatso Jr on Spark I might consider it. But having a lot of PA plugins I'm not interested
Great news! I support their idea. Can’t wait to see how they’ll screw this up!
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If I'd bought UAD hardware in the last 6 months because I wanted access to the software I'd be seriously arsed.
Depends what software you want access to though. The more I think about it I don't think they will make everything native for that reason precisely but I may be completely wrong
@@PaulThird I took the free trial because why not? But if this is all they're going to offer it's not going to be enough for $20 a month.
100% compare that to plugin alliance mega bundle it's a joke
UA says there’s more to come. And as someone who owns almost all UAD plugins, it’s great to get the native ones for free, as they appear along the way.
The best part about uad is i can get high quality emulations... and not hurt my cpu. Not to mention being able to track into the emulations with the unison preamps.
I got a highend i7 and am still having to max my buffer size these days.
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Lol who cares about UAD. I knew this was going to happen because people are starting to realize UAD is useless with these new computers.
@@tuneunleashed these new computers… thanks for the tech savvy breakdown.
The thing is that machines like the Mac Studio are so powerful that it is hard to bring them to the limits. I have a 2018 i7 laptop and a än iPad Air 2020 model. The single core performance of the iPad is nearly 3x of my laptop. I did a test with SynthMaster 2 which I have both for PC and iOS and the cpu usage confirms this. But I think with the new 12th gen Core i Intel can keep up again. However at the cost of power consumption.
@@mudi2000a one, just because an M1 is amazing doesn’t mean everyone has one.
Two give me an M1 and I’ll max it out.
Keeping a buffer size low during production and even mix down has its advantages.
Wow when the blue came in from the monochrome that was amazing.... Paul delivering high quality cinematic content...:) No expense has been spared.
When it comes to lighting I have no idea what Im doing 🤣
@@PaulThird really does look good.
i was a uad user many years ago but had to leave the platform because it couldn't cope with a multi-cpu processor :D - that was the uad-1, back when the uad platform made sense.
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The dsp plug-ins have more depth, but the test of the phase in null.
I have tried Studer A800 native Vs dsp and i feel something different. Maybe it s my bad hears 😊
If it nulls there is genuinely no difference.. Soz haha 😜
@@PaulThird 😋
I have to say I have done tests myself in compressors and UAD does have more detail and depth. I’m not 🙌UA person I use lots of stuff. There is a huge difference in quality between the CLA compressors and UAD. But yes developers have caught up. I do like UAD for tracking with FX latency free without recording the fx. Dig the channel Paul 👍
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Voice not 100% there yet, but glad to see you doing better, Paul. Maybe it's the lighting, but you looked healthy to me. I'm exactly in the situation you are describing.. I would have probably bought 2-4 UAD plugins, but didn't have, didn't need and didn't want a UAD interface. Now I have all the plugins, so what should I get UAD for? If anything I'll get this capitol chambers thing, eventhough it goes for 180 Bucks (and that's on sale with 50%!) cause eeeverybody who has UAD uses it. Alas I'll have to wait for them to make it windows-compatible? Are you serious?
Btw. I had a funny moment with my last instrumental (yesterday). Did something you ain't "supposed to do" and stuck that H910 Duo on the Masterbus and blended it in. I'm pretty certain it was unique to the instrumental, but I'm telling you Paul.. it worked! I've never used it like this. But without exagerating - after getting the settings just right (no presets, default into my own chosen settings) this was a serious 8-12% improvement - which is absolutely bonkers. It took a pretty good beat (sellable) and turned it into a special beat (would buy it myself). I will try this out more often now. It glued the track, while giving it width and depth and that beautiful "unity movement" I love on busses of instruments that I want to move together. It lost a bit of punch.. but the way I mixed it was probably a bit too punchy in the first place. Just sharing this, because I found a new application for my favorite secret-weapon.
Speaks volumes about a man to share the more special plugins he actually uses publicly like this (not like I did with you in a little comment nobody reads, but like you did in a video that thousands of people watch). Way less people than should use the H910 nowadays, but way more people than tell you do.
What did you think of the new SE dynacaster?
Yeah the eventide stuff is awesome when you want to be creative. Sometimes I simply have a 'sort of' direction and just stick up one of the eventide plugs and I usually get something that I want. Whether it be the h910 (which is always a dual mono send to the lead vocal now), omnipressor as a drum parallel, sp2016 for verb, or even the flanger on a guitar part. They just make very unique sounding plugins
As for my health, I'm better but still coughing (5 weeks in now). Only had a short burst of antibiotics which I don't think was enough but I did use a warmer filter for the video 🤣
@@PaulThird There was a microphone, I forget what it was actually called, we called it "BBC" and it was a high-end mic, cheaper than the Neumanns, but not cheap and with a warmer sound. Had me smiling to see that black rod in front of your innocent white sweater, not gonna lie. Honestly, it sounds great to me. Has that podcast character, without being overly boxy and muffled like the SM7B - or did you tweak it? To me that's pretty much exactly how simple speech, especially in a podcast, should sound like. But I never worked podcasts.
I'm in love with it. I used the dynamite preamp in it so I only needed to have the gain halfway on the audient.
I also used the low shelf and the first high shelf which surprised me as it deals with sibilance so well. The triple plosive filter does the trick and overall the mic results in a very solid consistent vocal recording.
honestly it's the smallest voice over chain I've had. Bit of noise reduction, de-essing and de-click via accusonus, Bit of moderate compression, light use of soothe, split eq to take away a lot of low end transient information and sibilance transients and kirchoff hipassing and dynamically reducing any muddy or boxy frequencies.
Honestly all light moves. I'd do the same thing with the at2050 condenser but the processing of each step would be a lot heavier. . at times I'd even add spiff to reduce plosives and I'd use a de-esser after the compressor in combination with soothe just to calm down the sibilance.
Where with this thing. Small moves. bit of clean up and compression. That's it really.
@@PaulThird beautiful, didn't even notice that you were using dynamic EQ. Yes, didn't sound overly treated, that's why I asked. It's a great result, your love has fallen in the right place. As I said, this is pretty much exactly how simple speech should sound like -to me. Natural "but" professional - if you're feeling me.
(And in case you don't: clean (de-essed, deplosived, de-everythinged) and upfront, without processing artifacts that I notice while just listening to it.)
It's totally the mic. The more your source sound is geared towards your end result the less processing it needs. The less processing it needs the more natural 'it should' sound.
Dunno how it'll work on singing vocals but the second high shelf is a pretty big boost so I could utiluse that and the hpf instead of the low shelf so I have options. The high shelf and low boost is quite reminiscent to an re320 but I need to have a proper play about with it on my singing voice as I dunno if those voice over mic settings will translate well to singing
I can't do it yet though as I've still not got my high register back since I became ill. The constant coughing has made it impossible to get a decent vocal. I remember I hit falsetto a few days ago and was like there we go... Woke up next day with god knows what in my throat and ended up spewing and was splitting blood for like 2 hours and I've not hit falsetto since 😅
Flawless American accent. I talk exactly like this.
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Imo, global/-ist corporations, UA, PA on this list, are on the way ‘you own nothing - but on a subscription/renting whatever you need’, so I doubt it will be possible to buy native alone to use it or not;) But I can be mistaken
Will be interesting to see how this new PA, izotope & native buyover will manifest
I am not sure if you can sell all hardware without selling the plugs too... I think the always stick to a piece of hardware according to the licence. Anyhow, this is great news for me maybe. I am owner of Apollo 8 and 16 MK2 2x Quadcore. I run analogue hardware synths in them... But it is sad not being able to run them natively. Gonna check if I can install this new software and see if I can run all plugs I already have for "free". I started to pull the plug of buying more plugins from UAD. But if I would be able to buy Ultimate 11 like on Black Friday, I would have a massive ammount of UAD plugs suddenly running native. As I have not yet invested in other plugs, similar to UAD. This could be a game changer... Although, UAD should have done this 5 Years ago...
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Heed get ya hand on it today laddie 😊 Available for 149 a year or 20 British clams a month.
I've got a pcie card (that was given to me) .. They get no money from me 😎
A little too late and they’re not exactly setting the world alight. Stupid of them to delay the Windows versions and releasing only a limited amount of plugins is a baffling decision. When you create an elitist business and ignore the budget market you deserve to go out of business when you realise you have no room for growth. Others took the lead and now have loyal customers. Why would one unsubscribe their Slate plugins and go to UAD? Focusrite go the other way. They give their customers free plugins to get them going and cater for ALL budgets. Scarlett is the best selling audio interface for a reason. Also look at their price point for their subscription. It’s laughable to say the least. I won’t be rushing to demo their plugins any time soon. Got burnt by their rip off prices when their dsp hardware was a great tool to have. Would never fall for their price gouging again. Thanks for the video.
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« Hard on »….oh my you killed me 🤣 a comedy show for geeks
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UAD is comparable to that “accent” in your intro. I will go RME PCIe for my next interface🇩🇪
I thought I did him pretty well tbh 🤣🤣
to be honest, the reason UAD has been successful is probably less to do with DSP stuff (which hasn't been that powerful years now) and more to do with the 1:1 relationship with specific studio equipment. The idea that you can take the same settings on the real equipment and get a pretty good approximation with the exact same settings just saves people the headache really.
The thing with making music is that its all a little bit of "voodoo" some times, and people just want to find solution that worked for others and stick it on their mix. Its just a bit more reassuring for most people to slap on dedicated replicas of some studio stuff that everyone knows works well than figure out the settings on some third party plugins or stock ones.
We've seen for years that you can make anything sound good with stock plugins (didnt Billy Eilish's bro just use Logic stuff?). So now its just about peace of mind really. You can do great stuff with anything these days. Its more of a peace of mind thing imho. And if you can afford it, why sweat?
Fineas produced it with stock logic plugs but the mixing engineer didn't. He actually used quite a lot of UAD haha pretty sure he said on pensados place he used the 1073 on every billie vocal. Can't remember the rest
@@PaulThird fair enough about Fineas, But I wonder how much of that is just preference and being comfortable with your tools than absolutely “needing” xyz plugin to get the mix done? Like can you get what you need from uad glue compressor vs uad’s ssl comp? Apple had that Beck song on the logic demo that time with the mix sounding great (admittedly very well recorded!). I dunno, I think a good mix engineer could easily make records just off stock plugins 90% of the time if they really wanted to. May take a bit more time to figure out how to recreate a sound I suppose.
Yes, but also Just Logic stuff??? You realize that's a billion dollar company.. Apple..luxury Daw, luxury Mac ... So, they probably don't need 49 dollar UAD plugin upgrades lol They can make any plugin they want , or even buy Farbfilter tomorrow as a lunch snack. ..or plug-in alliance...or slate..or softube....and dismantle it, close it, incorporate , clone... whatever Apple wants... Billions versus pennies. I'm sure they hired some great sound library makers, plugin coders, emulators...etc etc
To be honest with u I have the original uad satellite and I will never give that up it works awesome for me and it works for me. Long story short Uad will never be the same and for many of us will have to accept updates and upgrades. 😆🤣😊😉
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A feature I would really like is balancing the DSP and Native CPU for Plugin power. In my experience Universal Audio are a polarising entity in the market. Some people love them and others hate them. Personally my studio is Universal Audio Powered. Apollo x6 and x16 as well as UA OX Amp Tool for Guitars. The company's product sound is perfect for the vision I have for my projects. I think Spark is a good move but I have no idea if supply chains for Spark CPUs were a factor. I do know a lot of people were calling for UA to go Native and they listened. Are my Apollos redundant. Absolutely NOT!!
I personally don't see any benefit in native for me as I don't use that much uad however I understand its a massive step for big uad users.
The dsp of the pcie card is the biggest selling point for me as efficiency is critical with me being a protools user and using quite a bit of convolution. Many would argue that I'm still fixed to the desktop with the pcie but not every native dev allows more than one license so I'm still pretty tied to it.
Everybody cries out for native but dsp definitely has its benefits when you don't have the money for an M1 or a maxed out desktop. New engineers need all the help they can get
Acustica for example is the opposite where everybody is screaming out for dsp. People would actually buy hardware for acustica which is crazy considering the backlash of uad in recent times.
Regardless I have no intention of ditching the pcie 🤓
@@PaulThird I own a OCTO PCI e and a Solo Pci e from my first UA purchase 8 years ago. they are good if you need to save space.
A fellow Stone Cold Steve Austin fan I see!
My school days were the attitude era haha the best days. Getting a mattress out and stunnering boys left right and centre after they've rock bottomed you 🤣 always one smart arse who thought they could Swanton bomb though.. Never ended well for them haha
@@PaulThird hahaha!
In middle school, kids used to stun each other in the hallways.
The Arturia plugins are great
Yes they are 🤓
I think This move is due to semiconductor shortage, it's no because UAD want to give you an access to his plugins without shark's DSP 🙃
Somebody else mentioned this.. I am now pretty intrigued but can't be bothered digging further 🤣
Nope that’s not it. I saw this coming people are starting to realize that UAD is like a Mercedes’ good for short term use bad for long term use. You’re not technically pay $900-$1200 for a Twin you’re paying 2,300 because of its plugins . Why need that when computers nowadays have 10x the power?! Why not go with a cheaper interface then?
@@tuneunleashed First Let me disagree with this assertion " Mercedes good for short term use bad for long term use" respectfully. We already know that went you buy a twin you buy an outdated shark DSP +plugins 😀
Uad knows their plugins arent competing with the competition anymore so they are trying to milk what they can out of them until they do something new.
Seems to be a trend amongst a lot of the OG devs
I agree so much of UAD 's stuff is outdated. They focused so heavily on DSP optimization. They have solid groundwork of they'd just just fully update them and make them competitive with today's best plugins. Some of them do hold up though. And a few are actually current already.
...30 seconds in.. I don't know about the rest of the video yet, could be great could be crap. But.. BUT, I love the shirt.
Hahaha that's all that matters!
@@PaulThird For the record, the video was pretty good, too.
No 610 plugin with the subscription .
I think the UA Spark subscription is dumb. I’m going to keep using my UA Apollo Twin X and the plugins I own. UA has been strong with vocal chain, and acoustic recording, but most modern music is sampled beats and virtual instruments where the audio interface plays only a minor role. Once in my DAW I use a variety of plugins from Logic, Plugin Alliance, Waves, Arturia, Native Instruments, Valhalla, etc. UA is best on acoustics and vocals. For everything else it makes no difference.
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0:47 hard on,u strike again bro 😂😂😂 Anyway a bunch of money with the UAD,i hope they have a real low latency...
Can't remember exactly how much ed said there was but it was around 2ms I think
@@PaulThird I will Upgrade my iD4 mk1 with iD14 mk2. Respect Ed Thorne,Respect Paul Third!
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Remember to check out my autism channel if you want to learn more about my life 🤓🤓
@@PaulThird I had a friend stay the night with me over at my grandparents house when I was a kid. My buddy was telling my grandma that he was autistic, and she said "Honey, that's no way to talk about yourself." He just looked at me dumbfounded.
Stone Cold Paul Third, is that you?
WHAT??
@@PaulThird WHAT!!
WHAAAAAAAATTT!!??
Spark = Dynacaster ?
Nah haha
I ditched UAD system years ago when I felt the pressure of buying into a "closed eco-system" - been down that road too many times and it always ends the same way... expensive hardware that loses value fast! This "native" alternative is the death toll for their DSP systems... if you're making money from it, no probs... but for the rest it's the classic "planned obsolescense" that particular (cough! appple! avvid! cough!) companies build empires on!
That's why i ditched the PA sub. I was hardly using the plugins but felt I still needed all those options, which I didn't.
Only sub I have left is the protools sub as I got it cheap per month due to trading in my perpetual license.
I'm gonna try reaper soon and if that works out I'll probably ditch that as well which means I'll have no subs whatsoever
I’m a bit confused by this, I’m always searching online for a good used deal on UA hardware to expand my setup, but even the old “silverface” duo models are still about $1500. I bought my first Apollo rack in 2014(I think), and it’s one of the rare pieces of digital equipment besides a select few that has retained value.
I noticed when I first got mine, I knew a lot of friends and studio owners that went down either the Apollo or Apogee route, and most everyone I know that got an Apogee ended up switching. I think everyone was just happy to have a good option to dealing with Pro Tools HD. Lol
UA definitely prices their plugins way over what they should be, atleast for the old ones, but once you buy an Apollo they give you a bunch of discounts. Just never buy any plugins if they aren’t on sale, but for the price, I don’t think Apollo hardware or Software can be beaten. Not when you factor in thunderbolt, IO options(all of the have adat and such), and the real selling point low latency tracking with plugins and amazing sounding unison preamp emulations. It’s a shame that the market hasn’t expanded more on that side of things, but DSP will still remain in demand for tracking and live setups. It’s always going to be faster on device.
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@@magicmark3309 I have no problem with the quality and power of UAD products per se... but, I've been around long enough to have a closet full of the "latest greatest digital hardware" that has been replaced by newer faster shinier (and cheaper) over and over. I had an original UAD-1 system with all their top tier plugins... less than a year later I was unable to use the latest software updates as the UAD-1 was unable to run it. This is not unique to UAD as no tech companies can plan for advancements in chip designs and performance. Remember Digidesign Nubus? ;-) Anyway, the shift from having a monopoly on UAD plugins bound to their hardware being opened up to increase their market share is actually more a sign of despair than advancement - they are not doing it for the good of the audio community. Software is always more profitable than hardware - unless the software is only attainable via their proprietary hardware... as this will no longer be the case, the DSP side will become a "bonus" more than a "must have". This puts them in the undesirable position of competing with RME, Antelope Audio, etc etc. purely on interfaces as they will no longer be unique in the market. The competition will most likely drive their next generation of Apollo's down... which guarantees the resale of previous generations will drop sharply - nobody's interested in "vintage" digital gear. Just sayin' 😉
@@mixphantom0101 I feel you on the UAD-1 stuff. I was lucky enough to wait till UAD-2 came out, but I saw a lot of similar comments and such on gearsluts back in the day. Especially back then when the environment was changing so rapidly.
God, trying to get Pro Tools to work was a nightmare in of itself. I was excited when they opened it up with the M-audio version and LE for 7(8?), and not having to spend $$$$$ on an hd rig. I bought both the m-audio version with the profile 2626 and I even bought the last Digi design 003 right before it all opened up. I still have the Digi 003 sitting Pristine, in its box lol.
But…i am still using my first silver face Apollo duo rack to this day with zero issues. Once I switched from custom PC’s to Mac back in 2011, with thunderbolt 2, things became much more usable. As bad as pro tools has been over the years, the Apollo with a Mac has been the one with the least amount of issues.
I think you may have just picked a really poor time to buy into UAD-1, which I entirely sympathize with. I have been there a lot. Anybody who was around for the early days of non-native interfaces I’m sure can understand. Your best option back then was going with a some apogee converters and outboard gear.
But things have changed alot since then. I can even run my old 2011 MacBook Pro with my Apollo to this day, though I don’t anymore because it gets bogged down with bigger sessions now, but I’d say my 8-9 years out of my UAD Apollo is great. Not to mention I can still sell it for $1200-$1500? I paid $2300 for it originally. It’s not as good as purely analog gear, but for digital it’s great.
I think it depends on your environment. I live in the states and work more on the creative side of things, and the go to for most people and studios in this scene is Apollo, because of it being able to be expanded so easily. The setup of an Apollo twin for home recording, that you can take into the studio and Daisey chain with the Apollo rack units is just such an easy thing. It’s great for working musicians and writers.
UAD is #1 believe that!!!
i like having DSP next to the CPU power of my computer, but in no way i am buying into a digital technology that is 10 years old. If I chop out 1k for a dedicated DSP product, it should deliver close to unlimited power to run the plug-ins. This is 2023 and new Apple chips do exist.
No need when you have nebula 4. I am going thru and organizing my programs tim pethericks etc. Some serious stuff for more of the auuthentic analog mojo and color that UAD cannot deliver. That is a fact.
And with maxes fantastic skins. ruclips.net/channel/UCImGoGIpqdnyGM5nZmQtkVA
Im still a crap mixer ha ha ha.
Yeah Tim's stuff is different gravy even compared to hardware.
In regards to acustica vs UAD I'm thinking about an Amber and magenta comparison due to the resurgence in people looking into the UAD now.
I think nows the time to really put both to the test. I've just been waiting for the right time haha
@@PaulThird Good man.
@@PaulThird Ebay and gumtree gonna be filled with UAD interfaces.
(haven't watched it yet, but) How can your opinion be objective? :D
How can it not?
@@PaulThird idk, because you said it's an opinion and not observation ;)
Anyway, good video as always. You seem healthy again, that's good!
Too late in the game for UAD to be playing these games their greed for considering they had the best plugins nailed them in the cross and for their subscription program with spark they've just shot themselves in the leg for that I don't take them serious anymore not that I ever did, Plugin Alliance, Arturia, United Plugins, and Waves are my go to plugins I've excluded SSL plugins out since the free 6 months trial ended in early February they're also good in my opinion
Yeah plugin alliance have the whole plugin subscription thing nailed.
Waves SSL's, IK tape or Chowdsp, little TB EQ4 and smidge of cla mixdown. Low CPU and great sounds.
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Many uad fanboys cried on that day. Tears were delicious haha
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Barry Johns by any chance? I haven't watched his UAD Spark video - and probably won't!!! 🤣😂🤣
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crazy bad bang for buck.... 14 plugins (right now) for $20 a month.... Is UAD one of the best? Yes.... Key words being "one of"! Don't forget, a lot of the developers that built UA plugins for them, have been making plugins for and as other plugin companies.
Totally. Softube, brainworx, eventide, sonnox all contributed to UAD's early growth. That's what filled up their collection. UAD's first foray into it were legacy plugins with no THD haha they've came a long way in regards to quality and analog circuit modelling but the second systems are diverse enough to make convolution cpu today's algo cpu the tide will shift.
I dunno how AA stuff fares on M1 but I'd imagine reaper in combination with M1 is the starting blocks of manageable convolution cpu
I agree. If I was looking to subscribe I would wait until there are more plugins. At this point we don’t know what the release strategy is going to be. You definitely get more with a plugin alliance subscription. I am happy that this is happening because I will get native versions of the plugins I already own without paying extra for the conversion.
Hopefully it works with the pcie card cause I was only meant to have it for like a year haha 😅 I'm hoping I can wangle the native versions of whats included with the pcie incase Stefan still wants it back haha
@@PaulThird I don't know if this will be the case with the PC version, but with the Mac you have to download additional plugins. The old plugin still exists so you would have to go back to your old projects and replace the plugins that run off the pcie card with the native ones.
Ah yes UAD's just become a funeral parlor for our wallets now. XD
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Porting their plugins, especially with Windows 11 and the billion of third party options of PC hardware, is just going to be a big job for them and the majority of their users are using Macs because of thunderbolt. They’re still trying to get the bugs worked out on the apple silicon, and that will probably take up 90% of their time at the moment.
I think now that there’s m1 macs, you might as well just get an m1 Mac mini for $600 and save yourself some headaches.
UAD plugins are overpriced for the old ones, but 99% of their plugins sound great. Everything good I always gets overrated, but there’s a reason UAD stuff is used on pretty much every major record.
The question really is.. Will there plugins still be as relevant in another 5 years time? If they don't advance or release more products then there's a chance that this is the start of them being left behind. Great plugins but the more they stay still the more time it allows others to catch up or go past them.
Look at eventide for example. Didn't solely rely on the their clockworks bundle and released a plugin in split eq that is pretty unique in today's market.
PA capitalised early on the subscription model and could easily stop releasing new plugs due to the mega bundle but they don't stay still.
As much as I disagree with it even acustica are throwing out new emulations every couple of months.
More devs like tone empire and baby audio are experimenting with AI learning and more devs are cramming more into their emulations ie UniChannel which is 3 (api, Neve & telefunken) different channels strips in 1. Fully interchangeable so you can mix and match and includes randomisation technology for more realistic non linearities.
Plugins are getting smarter and the classic engineers are getting older. It's bound to happen that these 2 factor will meet and as soon as more new up and coming engineers start taking over the hits you'll see a shift from classic static analog emulations to smarter and diverse offerings which ultimately may destroy many plugin devs.
For me UAD are 5 years behind and if they don't act fast they'll be left behind. Apogee are offering the low latency dsp stuff and with clearmountain behind it you can only imagine itll grow more over time. They are already offering rent to buy on their plugins.
I dunno, I think that in today's times you've got to think 5 years ahead at all times due to the advancement in technology. The day that processing power is that advanced that DAW's can record any plugin at super low latency like dsp it'll bring many walls crumbling down.
I watched somebody edit an 8k video on an M1 mac Pro with 4 streams and that's crazy considering where the tech was only 5 years ago.
@@PaulThird I think you are foreseeing a future for UAD akin to what has happened with Waves, a company that is trying to play catch up and resting on its laurels/ former success. There is much more competition out there both in price and quality and user expectation/ awareness (thanks to people like yourself) has increased. I expect more UAD sales...$29 a plugin anyone?
@@PaulThird it’s so hard to say with a space like the audio software world. I do agree with much of that, and I do think AI and machine learning is about to open up a world of hurt on traditional plug-in developers.
I feel like the tech audio world has been super slow at releasing stuff, all around. I know there’s a lot of smaller companies coming up and releasing new plugins left and right, but there are a few things to take into account.
These newer plug-in makers are starting fresh on alot of developing frameworks that can run out of the box on both Mac and PC because they are using a lot of web frameworks.
Look at the state of plugins everytime there’s an OS update, it’s almost a full year till you have even the big players switched over. Not to mention that the iPhone market has just dominated mobile music creation, and it’s way easier now that both iPhone and Mac run the same architecture.
Apogee has always had a niche area because of their converters. I’ve never been in a bigger studio that was actually using anything but their converters. They’re good, and super clean, but even with the Clearwater plugins I don’t think they’re gonna hit that market. Remember. Aesthetics and that look and feel of those classic hardware units is king, unless you just have something like izotope, fab filter, or melodyne.
My last point is this, I have no idea how the audio scene is gonna okay out, much less the whole state of the world, with the upcoming advances in machine learning. It’s gonna be like a snowball coming down from Everest. So many companies are gonna come and go, but UA has a couple of really good things going for them:
1. Despite just recently developing new products, they have still maintained a vast head-start on so many competitors and in so many different fields. Their unison ores with the low latency plugins is still just running alone in a race by itself. Add console, the Live UAD Rack, and their own DAW.
2. They’ve still got a mass of hardware that people will always buy. They’ve got so many classics for analog gear, and they are even releasing mics now. I have not been in a pro studio in the last 5 years that wasn’t using atleart a couple analog units and atleast one Apollo unit. The desktop smaller interfaces are really where it’s at. Someone could get a 8p 1st GEN(used) and am x4 for $3k and be set to record anything they could think of, with plenty of expansion left.
But I also get that knee jerk reaction of them being super overrated, it’s so hard for me to fight it. I hate hype, but unfortunately we need some more competition! I it’ll be interesting to see either way.
I think all in one plugins(channel strips, consoles) , and midi/touch devices are going to be the next big integration into the audio interface world. “Smart” consoles. Lol.
@@PaulThird oh, last thing. Speaking of the M1 and editing 8k, apple also was behind on stuff for a few years pretty badly, they’re always playing the long game. We’ll see if UA is smart enough to do the same
Appreciate the videos and dialog.
UA definitely have the net worth to capitalise on the new advancing market. And I think personally they will but I dunno exactly how. They have the infrastructure and one of the biggest reaches of any audio company. The eyeballs are there.
I dunno enough about business to make bold claims but I would make an educated guess that hardware sales are massively dwindling. Warm audio and black lion have definitely hit them hard.
Interfaces are now cheaper and higher quality than before so I can take a guess that audient, ssl, rme and focusrite have slowly chipped away at that as well. I think audient really took it to them and showed the world that you don't need to pay apollo prices for a high quality interface with super clean pre's and top conversion.
They have the luna & unison stuff but how long can they capitalise on it until others follow suit.
Apple was the best example as they were really behind in iPhone and mac sales compared to their peak. What did they do.. Gave the iPhone the camera quality everybody screamed for and gave their macs the processing power they needed to compete against ryzen and Intel.
That's what UAD have to do to maintain that prestige and authority within the industry. They need to compete and adapt to the moving world of technology but not just adapt.. Innovate and produce higher quality. I know from a few youtubers that they are struggling with the sd-1 mic as for those who don't know, UAD are pretty picky about who they work with and are not the biggest in throwing free stuff people's way. I wouldnt say its elite but they are super picky.
The youtubers I know that do have contact with UA tell me that they only get in touch with free stuff if they are struggling to sell something. And lots of them are being contacted by UA to do SD1 videos and being offered the mic for free.
Its common practice for many manufacturers but no so much UA. I don't even know if they sponsor videos but they aren't like waves and others so I think they may learn a harsh lesson of what happens when you build an expectation and don't deliver.
I know why they are doing what they are doing but you've got to be careful when your biggest selling point is your prestige and notoriety.
I compare it to like if rolls Royce started selling a small 3 door basic hatchback. Yes it means that they can reach a part of the market they've never had but they do so at the risk of jeopardising their brand reputation.
Its a fine line and I feel UA have always purposely pushed themselves into that elite audio rolls Royce category where everything they do is expensive and has a sleek marketing angle to it. "you need UA cause its in every big studio in some shape or form"
I've never personally felt they gave a shit about the newbie slugging it out. Always felt a bit like SSL where its very elitist and I think that you've got to create that balance where you can 'allow the peasants in' without losing your brand identity focused on superior quality.
Its gonna be a big task as they aren't apple but I think it's possible. Maybe they need a new team of modern guys in, maybe that's what they've done already.. Its all guess work but I enjoy watching the narrative change.. I'm too geeky haha
What most people forget (or refuse to acknowledge) is that every mix can be done entirely with stock plugins. These expensive "elite" emulations and what not are essentially luxury products. You may want them but you don't need them. So if you don't have the cash don't buy expensive shit thinking that they are gonna radically improve your mixes.
That's exactly how I feel about hardware haha
Spot on. Luxury products make sense to people who are mixing and mastering for Grammy level musicians. But for most bedroom musicians the stock plugins are perfectly fine and capable.
@@PaulThird This is a bit off topic but I also don't like the fact that most popular plugin companies primarily do emulations. And it seems like such a boring thing to do with all the freedom that one has in the digital realm. This trend must die at some point. We are essentially stuck in the 80s.
I think it is gonna die as you can only saturate the market so much. However, still probs a good 5-10 years away stlll till analog emulations stop becoming their bread and butter.
The more big hit records that are mixed by newer engineers that are utilising new technology, the more you'll see them developed.
Eventide with Split eq, oeksound with soothe & spiff, sonible with smart eq, comp & limit, sound theory with Gulfoss, mastering the mix with reso, mixroom and bassroom, fabfilter, kirchoff eq, double tap etc etc those are the guys that will set the trends of the future as they offer stuff others don't
Its just still all relatively new at the moment
@@PaulThird Do you do much tracking, Paul? If I had started out as a mixing engineer I may not have obtained the amount of hardware that I own. During tracking I think hardware can really benefit the sound.
This isn’t really anything for pro users. They did this to supply their Volt customers with plugins. They aren’t about to release all their plugins on spark anytime soon. You want those, you need to buy an Apollo. And the native plugins are completely different, meaning you can’t just switch back and forth between dsp and native, making it fairly useless for pro users looking for a solution to traveling without an Apollo. This is definitely targeted at the entry level market, which is where ua has been focused for a while now.
I'd have to agree with that
👍 I will say I am excited to see what’s in the works for the Apollos though (Atmos, Dante, room tuning, preamps, etc) - seems it’s about time for a big upgrade now that the entry level mics, interfaces, and plugins have been taken care of. When compared to the mtrx studio and comparable focusrites the current models are falling behind. Also thanks for the vids brother!!! Really appreciate all your hard work and audio curiosity!! 🙏
As someone owning almost all the UAD plugins, I can assure the move towards native is really valuable for my workflow; finally to be able to use just some of these plugins I use on every single track natively, with less worry wheather I’m gonna run out of DSP is a thing, workflowwise. Even if they’re not all gonna go native, it’s really worth it imo. Everything counts, so to speak. And the native plugs are free for DSP version owners.
For existing guys it's definitely the right thing for UAD to do. It's just a pity that they are seperate plugin instances. That's my only gripe. Means that if you are moving a session with dsp plugins to a native setup you'd need to remember your settings as I dunno if the dsp gui's would still show up in the native setup
@@PaulThird It’s true that the instances are different versions/plugin ID’s. But you can copy the settings from one type to the other from the popup menu right to the UAD-2 logo and paste it into the UADx using paste in the top bar, and obviously the other way round. It’s fairly easy, of course it though would have been perfect if they were ‘switchable’ from inside the plug. But yes, you can open them even though the hardware’s not present and copy settings this way. 😀👍
UAD Spunk
UAD is simply too late to the party on this to have given it such a half-assed rollout 🤷🏻♂️
Agreed
It’s fundamentally wrong to talk about UAD as plug-in developers. It’s like plugin Alliance - they don’t Code by themselves - they pay coders. I personally always take a look at who coded a procurator plug-in that I really like.
Other companies are Black Rooster Audio or Fuse Audio Labs - both companies coded by Reimund Dratwa, who coded stuff for UAD/Plug-in Alliance.
But as a business they still pay to develop plugins
UADs selling point is DSP.
SPARK is not worth it.
Audiogridder is a better dsp solution.
True works well on my laptop but still trying to get it to work on my desktop. Dunno why I'm having an issue
Why did you sound like every late 20th century televangelist ever?
It's one of those "if you watch enough audio youtube channels you'll get it" things. If you know, you know haha
"UED"
Still sound like A when I listen to me back 🤣
@@PaulThird I’m just playing mate. Great vid. As along time UAD user I’ve long worked out the okie doke as far as they are concerned. Great plug-ins but a lot of people have caught up. I think UADs card was pulled when softube and BX started putting out their own plugs that previously were just on the UAD platform. Also I hate the fact that I can’t work on my UAD System then open up those plug-ins on spark. It’s a totally different system. What sense does that make?
Yeah I noticed that dsp and native are completely different instances from other videos so you'd need to copy the settings over if you moved to a non uad hardware setup which would be annoying. Doable but annoying if the dsp gui won't load without the hardware. Would just add more time to a session.
How can they be outdated? That would imply that there’s something better.
For their vintage emulations, there’s not anything available in a software format, that’s better than what UAD offers, no matter how old their offerings are.
Show me a better sounding Neve 1084 or Pultec EQ, etc, and on and on and on.
PLUS the added bene of not having the draw on your CPU even if you have a powerful machine, your CPU still doesn’t get as much wear and tear.
As long as their plugs sound as amazing as they do, they’ll never have the ‘outdated’ stamp applied to their work. Not truthfully anyway.
You do know that UAD plugins are algorithmic just like others..
Theres no magic. They are just very good at modelling. Some of the best at getting compression envelopes right and incorporating a lot of non linearities.
But theres loads of devs that are just as good now. Different market place where tech is moving. UAD are mostly emulation based which is ten Bob a penny now where the landscape has changed with convolution like acustica and nebula, smart tech plugins like sonible, mastering the mix, oeksound and even melda offering all the building blocks for others to make their own creations with their own GUI's
So yeah.. UAD making their old emulations native is outdated
Man. I have never understood why folk can't see that the UAD DSP interfaces are just glorified dongles. They're totally out of touch with the market.
Unless it's for licensing reasons, It's mad they are still drip feeding the release of plugins for native purchase.
Shame.... as there are some genuinely great tools in their catalogue.
Its so dull.
No Avalon at all, not cool!
uad is a big joke 1600 euro interface and can load 3 plugins they are money makers!!, these spark is also a joke only for mac,
i had in the past a imac pro , i spend 4000 euro and can load 15 heavy plugins
since i have windows machine for 3000 euro i can laod tons of heavy plugins!!
save your money build your own 3000,- windows machine and the game have almost no limit
I was shocked when I found out the price hike of the apollo interfaces. Crazy stuff. So expensive compared to what else is out there
The analog classics bundle won't show up. They have decided to not
update it anymore. Well thanks for nothing UAD. Nice way to rip off your
customers. I hate their greedy shitty brand so much. Prices are just
ridiculous and the plugins doesn't sound that good to be honest. Not
with all other companies that does it better and cheaper.
You’ll own nothing and be happy...
Plugin Alliance Is the future and the generation of sound and creativity. Uad is dead....
I thought that and then cancelled my PA sub last month haha