Universal Audio UAD-1 Project Pack

been recording since year and day,
tested most of the plugins available and had lots of dissapointments,
i always preferred hardware comps/eqs until i started using a UAD-1 card. These plugins do what they're supposed to. The compressors sound nice, i add them to a track to enhance the sound, not just to kill the peaks. LA2 and 1176 can get agressive and pumping but i love that,
i've never used a plugin that has the same "warmth". Waves ssl4000 is great but uses so much cpu and still its sound is less interesting to me.
I combine two UAD-1 cards with some vintage hardware: DBX160, 165, Ashly, Symetrix, Orban...

real easy to use if you know how compressors and eqs work,
great thing is that adjusting attack/decay really changes the sound which cannot be said about every vst plugin.

I am amazed, i adore using the Fairchild and 1176,
the precicion limiter kicks Waves L3 in the butt. The dreamverb and even the normal reverb are nice, i've cursed vst reverbs for years and now i enjoy using them. Sadly i haven't tested the Plate yet which is supposed to be a killer.

I have two cards and won't sell them, mixing without them is no fun

Really worth the money,
it saves cpu power which is great but most of all the sound is good good good!

If my computer explodes i'll buy two new cards asap

making music since 1998.
now i am use cubase 4.03
i made mainly dance music and some guitar rock stuff.
i use core2duo 6600 w/ 2gb ram.
echo audiofire4 + krk rp8 + beyerdynamci dt990

cheap and good GUI.
no problem with install and register.
fully automation support.
very good detailed manual.

it's the best dsp plugins i've heard.
i try creamware stuff, but it's buggy in vst (xtc) mode.
i don't use presets, i'll try to listen :)

la2a, ln1176, pultec pro, neve eq1081 and cambridge are awesome and musthave plugs! there is NO alternatives in software.

yeahh! it's definetel worth every cent.
i can compare this plugs with sonalksis stuff.
absolutely solid, no crash plugs! i use 4 OS for UAD-1.
but all this plugins are VERY DSP CPU HOG.
you need at least 2 uad-1's for comfartable work.

I have been involved with home recording for 30 years, since the days of the early "simul-sync" reel machines. My studio is built around a Dell 3.0 GHz PC running Nuendo, with a Tascam DM-24 (with Firewire card) as the audio interface. Monitors are JBL LSR28P.

The studio is used for personal projects and, when they come up, commercial jobs. Mostly acoustic guitar-based music. Need plenty of processing for instruments and vocals.

The user interface for UAD-1 plugs couldn't be more straightforward. Many of the plugs are 1-to-1 virtual copies of the front panels of classic equipment like the 1176 compressor. If you can run a hardware 1176, you can run its UAD-1 equivalent. If you can't, there's always the factory presets...

No problems installing either the card or the optional plugs I bought.

The UAD-1 "vintage" plugs sound fantastic. They are my go-to plug-ins for vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, mains, and more. I can't seem to get a bad sound out of the LA-2A compressor. And the (optional) Plate 140 is worth the price of a card all by itself.

In fact, I'd love to have a second UAD-1 card for the Plate 140 reverb. It's the best-sounding reverb I've heard, but it takes a lot of horsepower to run it. The beauty is, I can buy a $400 entry-level UAD-1 package for the purpose; I don't have to pay for Plate 140 again.

Universal Audio has a great tool here.

I chose the UAD-1 based on word-of-mouth recommendations as well as the features it offers. I wanted something that wouldn't siphon off my CPU power, which is busy running 16 tracks of Nuendo audio. The UAD-1 has been totally reliable.

I hope Universal Audio continues to develop useful new plug-ins for the card. I don't have much need for "sound effects," just good re-creations of proven studio components like the Pultec EQ, the three classic compressors (1176, LA-2A, and Fairchild), and the Plate 140 reverb. Gimme more!

Buying the whole package with all the available plug-ins is pretty expensive up front. I've been able to distribute the cost over a couple of years by downloading new plug-ins one at a time. Right now I've got a good, solid, usable configuration whose only limitation is on-board CPU power.

I've been making music,as a rather serious hobby for the past 15 years, and play guitar and a bit of keyboard.
Currently on Ver4.0 using as host Cubase SX3 and Wavelab 4. My main machine is PIV 2.8Ghz INTEL, 1 Gb ram, couple of HDD's and DVDRW.
The rest of my setup is rather sparce, but all crucial items are decent - KRK monitors, Behringer digital desk, valve EQ & pre-amp , synths Korg to Roland, electric & acoustic guitars, Fender amp, Rode & Shure mic's - yada yada...

As PCI cards go these days - the installation was quick and painless, just ensure to load the latest version (4.0 in this case) before installing the card.
Thank goodness copy protection is not a nightmare - no dongle, (suppose the card is one ;-) or challenge~response type stuff.

**GENERAL OBSERVATIONS - not limited to any one plug-in**
The plug-ins being based on older technology are therefore operationally easy to use. This is both bad and good - GOOD for quickly getting a quality "sound" from say an instrument recording or vocal take, using only your ears as guide. BAD, if you are used to visual accurate confirmation of levels or frequency response; you'd have to rely on your host software.

I would have been nice to get a hard copy of the PDF manual - nice bed time reading...the manual itself is detailed without being laborious.

**ALWAYS a SUBJECTIVE subject**

There are several reviews on this card and the plug-ins themselves. Most audio nuts rave tirelessly - just read some of the comments at the UA site.
My humble opinion is that yes the sound quality is good - better than anything else on market? Only people with a proclvity for an exaggarated opinion of their hearing ability would say that the quality is "better" than WAVES, VOXENGO, IZOTOPE etc. I did several comparisons with these plugins and the UAD stuff, my unscientific finding is that they are all pretty much on par as far as 'sound tools' are concerned.

Also I bought the basic project pack, but the demo plug-ins of the full studio version are included, which allows one to make reasonable judgements as to which other algorithms to add to your arsenal.
I've since added the Cambridge & LA2A to my collection.

Several presets are included, but with for example a LA2A, the device is so simple that 4 presets represent a decent starting point for any material.
Strange bit of work from UA's boys are the inclusion of a large range of 1176LN presets - but these are not compatible with the SE (special edition - less computional power) - easy to work around though - load the 1176LN (even after demo expires) and visually copy setting to 1176SE.

Well worth the money - given that at $149 UA's plug-ins are currently the best value for money for a high end plugs (usually that means one with an expensive GUI and good marketing)

The fact that the DSP card alleviates PC resources is a really a good thing, despite the fact the your overall system latency increases.It does allow one to approach a Pro Tools (TDM) way of working at a fraction of the cost.

I might buy another card - not for the reason of sound, but rather that it makes economical sense. Once a plug-in has been authorised for your card it will work, at no extra cost on 1~4 cards in your PC.

not being able to use the DSP power for other party plug-ins is a pity, which brings another point...to date all plug-ins are solely provided by Universal, unlike TC (Powercore)who are collaborating with Sony and Waldorf to name but a few.

If this card was stolen...probably so would my PC and everything else installed as well, then the least of my concerns would be a DSP card....!