Thinkin of gettin a UAD Card (or is it gearlust?)

jtsuited

Right so, I was using the UAD LA-2A plugin (or whatever it's called -the white one) the other night, and man was I impressed.

I don't tend to be that much into buying into hype but it was just gorgeous sounding. So after a bit of asking around to various people (who tend to be sceptical) and researching on the internet, i'm pretty sure I'm going to get the UAD Xpander xpress (same as the Xtreme but with less voucher $ bundled).

Seeing as I am gettin an old tape machine soon, and a few other bits, I'd really like to give my mastering setup a real good set of plugins alongside the analogue punch.

However I've been a little concerned that UA are going to come out with some new sort of format given that the Xpander just came down in price to 699 euro (a no brainer bargain if i ever saw one).
It's been a while since the UAD 1 cards came out and knowing my luck some mega-UAD thingy will come out in the next few months (and be sold for peanuts).

Hmmmm. Gearlust is normally something I do not fall prey to.

Anywho, just wondering if there are any recommendations floating out there in boardsland.
Anyone have any horror stories?

Reasons I should get the UAD stuff
1. Unbelievable plugins
2. Run on DSP card, freeing up CPU in my mac. Not really an issue as I rarely run out of power (thank you logic for being so efficient)
3. Relatively cheap for what you get (the $500 dollar plugin voucher as well as the 1176, pultec eq, CS-1, and a 14 day trial period of all of them)
4. The precision mastering bundle is going for $400.

Reasons I should not:
1. It could be a case of gearlust. Uh oh.
2. I'm getting by fine with the Sonalksis stuff.
3. I really should get a Duet.
4. It could be outdated very soon.
5. I may just end up buying every UAD plug under the sun.
6. My financial situation is not exactly perfect (ie. I survive)

Help me!

ps. by help me i really want you to go : 'tis a no brainer, get it, bargain, fantastic, treat yourself, tis not gearlust. you're being perfectly rational'.

unclebill98

jtsuited wrote: »

ps. by help me i really want you to go : 'tis a no brainer, get it, bargain, fantastic, treat yourself, tis not gearlust. you're being perfectly rational'.

+1

sei046

I have only heard good things about all their stuff TBH. You have to look at what gap in your arsenal is it filling (..lol ah jaysus........) and is it worth the bux. If so, Go for it. I too will head down that avenue at some stage

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

You have to look at what gap in your arsenal is it filling (..lol ah jaysus........)

lol...
well i want a few more options for colouring a sound, and the nice fancy precision mastering bundle would obviously stop me from using things like Izotope's Ozone (which has a decent limiter in it - the ozone's presets are a bloody train wreck btw)

frobisher

Gearlust is a beautiful thing!

Is it a transferable license? Maybe you could pick up a card used and it'll keep it's value. No risk at all then!

jtsuited

frobisher wrote: »

Gearlust is a beautiful thing!

Is it a transferable license? Maybe you could pick up a card used and it'll keep it's value. No risk at all then!

they're relatively new so i haven't seen too many knocking about. a few on ebay but the shipping was gonna cost a good bit.

sei046

Have you tried the Waves La2a copy? Its not too bad. I use it from time to time

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

Have you tried the Waves La2a copy? Its not too bad. I use it from time to time

might be the hippy in me, but i sort of have ethical issues with the Waves company. A studio i was workin in last week had the mercury bundle and it wasn't exactly mindblowing.

if you don't know what i'm talking about google : waves piracy crackdown

sei046

yes their practices arent exactly moral. A lot of lads had issues with them. I have been ok, their support is pretty slow though

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

yes their practices arent exactly moral. A lot of lads had issues with them. I have been ok, their support is pretty slow though

not being racist here, but their bullying heavy-handedness is not exactly surprising considering their an Israeli company.

sei046

eh....ok! Waves are one of the companys who got hit hard with the whole piracy thing. Its not surprising they are gone extreme. Im not agreeing with the way they are going about it though

Neurojazz

I have UAD card.... ummm - you can't batch process files with the UAD plugins in wavelab - it crashes after a a random amount (and general niggles in steinberg/cubase etc...) -otherwise - when treated with care, it's stunning.... really stunning...

I suppose MAC users might not get the same issues - unsure... but i would recommed going to their forum and reading *anything* related to equipment you own and motherboards etc...

Seziertisch

You don't need a UAD card, you need a couple of em.

Neurojazz

I have the UAD1-e - more than enough for what i do - i got lucky with the mobo i brought and it had the express slot on

Turnkey took my faulty virus TI back and got the extreme/ultra pack with the credit note

I can run many instances of the cambridge eq and a few of the effects... as i have duende and powercore here for other effects i don't find the UAD choking with cpu usuage... (i don't do large scores or anything though!)

Depending on what you master/mix depends on how many UAD you need! - there are links on site showing cpu usuage per plugin instance, so you could work out what you need and how many you need to run

jtsuited

Neurojazz wrote: »

I have the UAD1-e - more than enough for what i do - i got lucky with the mobo i brought and it had the express slot on

Turnkey took my faulty virus TI back and got the extreme/ultra pack with the credit note

I can run many instances of the cambridge eq and a few of the effects... as i have duende and powercore here for other effects i don't find the UAD choking with cpu usuage... (i don't do large scores or anything though!)

Depending on what you master/mix depends on how many UAD you need! - there are links on site showing cpu usuage per plugin instance, so you could work out what you need and how many you need to run

nice one thanks. took me bloody ages to find the link on their site to 'how many plugin instances can i run'.

duende, powercore, and UAD!!! Your CPU must not know what to do with itself!

frobisher

jtsuited wrote: »

not being racist here, but their bullying heavy-handedness is not exactly surprising considering their an Israeli company.

Whatever your political opinion that is an utterly ridiculous thing to say. No more slurs like that or the thread will have to be locked.

jtsuited

frobisher wrote: »

Whatever your political opinion that is an utterly ridiculous thing to say. No more slurs like that or the thread will have to be locked.

ffs.

how is it utterly ridiculous to say?
it was said as a btw anyway.

the thread would have to be locked? why? it's not racist (Israeli is not a race). It's not abusive, it's not a personal attack, it is certainly not un-civil.

If I said something like 'typical America' when referring to a multitude of things would you lock a thread?

frobisher

jtsuited wrote: »

ffs.

how is it utterly ridiculous to say?
it was said as a btw anyway.

the thread would have to be locked? why? it's not racist (Israeli is not a race). It's not abusive, it's not a personal attack, it is certainly not un-civil.

If I said something like 'typical America' when referring to a multitude of things would you lock a thread?

If you don't see the problem then I won't be able to explain it to you.

One more thing like that and it's a one week ban.

sei046

A little dodgy alright but anyway! about waves. They are loosing a lot of people over their protection now

jtsuited

frobisher wrote: »

If you don't see the problem then I won't be able to explain it to you.

One more thing like that and it's a one week ban.

what!!!!??????
well that's a bloody great explanation of your reasoning.

well here's my reasoning just to clarify.
there are many plugins companies in the world. the only one to go completely overboard and try to use a bullying heavy-handedness, sly practices (ie ringing up studios to book sessions asking if they have Waves plugins and then videotaping the cracked plugins in use) and serving $75k fines on tiny studios (who wouldn't make that in 10 years) is Waves.
And they're an Israeli company.
Do I have to go into detail about Israeli military, political, and business policy in order to defend my statement?
I really shouldn't have to unless you've been living under a rock.

Congratulations, you've successfully made an issue out of nothing.

sei046

Im sure your not trying to get at anyone jeff. Its just comparing a privacy policy for a plugin company to that same nations Military foreign policy might be a bit over the top. Perhaps you meant it in a joking way. I often joke about commys and Libs and Conservatives and of course my own atheism. Maybe you meant it to be more of a joke?

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

Im sure your not trying to get at anyone jeff. Its just comparing a privacy policy for a plugin company to that same nations Military foreign policy might be a bit over the top. Perhaps you meant it in a joking way. I often joke about commys and Libs and Conservatives and of course my own atheism. Maybe you meant it to be more of a joke?

of course i made it in a matter of fact, btw, joking way. I would be the furthest thing from a racist.
I also make jokes on the American Nation's descendency into being a theocracy (i'm also an atheist), how the puritan ethic is still alive in American foreign policy, and many other things that by Frobisher's logic (although he has yet to explain it) would get a thread locked and a ban warning.

Making a comparison between a Nation's characteristic traits (or stereotypical even) and a company that operates from that Nation (particularly considering it is strange that one of the biggest plugin companies in the world comes from a tiny country not known for it's music history), is of course, deliberately over the top. But certainly doesn't warrant a shake of the ban stick.

Jeepers, apologies if i offended anyone, but i'm sure everyone(even vaguely familiar with the world) knew what I was getting at and that it wasn't anything that malicious.

Neurojazz

jtsuited wrote: »

sly practices (ie ringing up studios to book sessions asking if they have Waves plugins and then videotaping the cracked plugins in use) and serving $75k fines on tiny studios (who wouldn't make that in 10 years) is Waves.

Ummm cracked software means someones not getting paid... = BAD/WRONG

If you can't afford to use this stuff, then don't! - if you use cracked software you don't take yourself seriously and don't respect the society your living in. This stuff cost money and time to make and develop.

The people who steal rarely would give a second thought about the consequences - i've been majorly 'stolen from' and the lack of that capital directly affects many other people for a postive force within society - so my personal and professional stance is that i pay my way in the hope that others do one day!

Waves protection is very complex, but once you have one plugin in there then it's done and dusted... There's nothing sly about them hunting down abusers and nailing them to the wall... who else is going to look after their interests/families/bills and the network of people who benefit from their wealth.

jtsuited

Neurojazz wrote: »

Ummm cracked software means someones not getting paid... = BAD/WRONG

If you can't afford to use this stuff, then don't! - if you use cracked software you don't take yourself seriously and don't respect the society your living in. This stuff cost money and time to make and develop.

The people who steal rarely would give a second thought about the consequences - i've been majorly 'stolen from' and the lack of that capital directly affects many other people for a postive force within society - so my personal and professional stance is that i pay my way in the hope that others do one day!

Waves protection is very complex, but once you have one plugin in there then it's done and dusted... There's nothing sly about them hunting down abusers and nailing them to the wall... who else is going to look after their interests/families/bills and the network of people who benefit from their wealth.

is it going to work for them? not a bloody chance. why? because it looks bad.
I don't use cracked plugins whatsoever but Waves' practices are ridiculous. There are much better ways of protecting your plugins than trying to look like the big bad wolf.

sei046

Ok lads lets get this back to UAD stuff? Have you thought anymore about it? Are you stuck for cpu or is it you just want that plugin?

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

Ok lads lets get this back to UAD stuff? Have you thought anymore about it? Are you stuck for cpu or is it you just want that plugin?

not really stuck for cpu too much.
i really would just like a few really nice eqs and compressors in my arsenal.

Also the UAD plate reverb plug looks right up my alleyway.

frobisher

I've asked a mate who is using UAD cards to swing by with his thoughts. He said he would but to not expect anything bad as he'd go to bed with it if he could.

bedbugs

frobisher wrote: »

I've asked a mate who is using UAD cards to swing by with his thoughts. He said he would but to not expect anything bad as he'd go to bed with it if he could.

Jesus, you can say nothing in confidence around here. Perhaps information sent over the internet isn't secure.... nah..

I have a UAD-1e. I wish I had 3 of them. The really evil thing about them is that their emulations are so damn good, you feel like you need them all. So perhaps a remortgage is in the pipeline.

I actually got my UA card after I got a Liquid Mix. The LM is also stunning and is part of the reason why I chose the plugs I chose on the UA card.

You get the 1176LN, the Pultec, CS suite and Nigel with the card. All fantastic. I got an additional 3 plugins: The Plate 140 reverb, Roland Space Echo RE-201 and I upgraded the Pulted to the Pultec Pro.

The plate is the most lush reverb I've ever had the joy to use and is now my go-to reverb. I also have IK's CSR reverb -also great, but the plate! Wow!

I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to use a real Space Echo before. this emulation is poyfect. But it's better than perfect, coz it has a sync switch. Crazy echos here.

Pultec pro is a dream for EQing spanish guitar. So warm.

Someone mentioned that they were dissappointed that they could only run x amount of instances of the UA plugins. Ok, but these emulations are 99% faithful to the originals. If you wanted to buy a real LA-2A, it's gonna hit your pocket hard, and huess how many instances you get out of hardware? Yep.. 1.

I've also used Waves stuff in the past. I really don't miss ANY of their plugs (ok, maybe the SSL suite) because of the LM and the UAD.

It's been rock solid for me too.

All the best

Colin

sei046

Colin you have me foaming at the gash...........

What sort of rig are you running?

PaulBrewer

Neurojazz wrote: »

Ummm cracked software means someones not getting paid... = BAD/WRONG

If you can't afford to use this stuff, then don't! - if you use cracked software you don't take yourself seriously and don't respect the society your living in. This stuff cost money and time to make and develop.

The people who steal rarely would give a second thought about the consequences - i've been majorly 'stolen from' and the lack of that capital directly affects many other people for a postive force within society - so my personal and professional stance is that i pay my way in the hope that others do one day!

Waves protection is very complex, but once you have one plugin in there then it's done and dusted... There's nothing sly about them hunting down abusers and nailing them to the wall... who else is going to look after their interests/families/bills and the network of people who benefit from their wealth.

I don't disagree.

sei046

Now i am seriously considering a UAD Express pack.