Universal Audio Powered Plug-Ins

[jorhay1]

 

Originally Posted by Anderton

We've had some other requests for that one, so...duly noted. I have a temporary problem in that my music computer went down, so I'm using an old Frankenputer to tide me over that doesn't have any PCIe slots (yes, it's that old). Although I could use the Satellite with my Mac, the Mac isn't set up for doing videos so while I could do audio examples, it seems the videos are a hit and I'd rather do that.

I should be up and running early next week, once I get everything re-installed. Speaking of which - the UA plugs are some of the easiest to deal with in terms of a dead computer, you just download the software, re-authorize, and you're back to work. No hunting for serial numbers, authorizing hard drives, etc.

 

Maybe you could a/b it with a popular convolution verb that comes with 250 I/Rs. That would be groovy.

Whenever you have time.

(your new PC sounds like a monster!)

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by jorhay1

Neato! I want one.

Can you expand the UA processors (either the duo or quad) beyond what comes in the Apollo by adding an additional UA card or firewire Accelerator?

 

My understanding is that at the very least, you can expand it with one of their Satellite modules. However, as of this moment it's still Mac-only. I'm also assuming (in other words, I could very well be wrong!) that if you bought a duo Apollo, there would be some way to upgrade it to a quad.

[Anderton]

Just got this press release from UA...

UNIVERSAL AUDIO ANNOUNCES NEW UAD-2 HARDWARE AND UAD POWERED PLUG-IN SOFTWARE BUNDLES

-New Flagship 8-Processor UAD-2 OCTO DSP Accelerator, New Custom and Ultimate UAD Plug-In Bundles, More Affordable Pricing Across the UAD-2 Lineup-

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA • October 1, 2012 — Universal Audio (UA), a leading manufacturer of professional audio recording hardware and software, is pleased to announce a complete re-imagination of the popular UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform. Highlighted by the new flagship UAD-2 OCTO DSP Accelerator card, featuring eight SHARC processors, the UAD-2 Series offers new Custom and Ultimate software bundles and more affordable pricing for all UAD-2 SOLO, DUO, and QUAD DSP Accelerator models.

New OCTO DSP Accelerators — Heavyweight Processing Power

The new top-of-the-line UAD-2 OCTO DSP Accelerator ($1,499US) features eight SHARC processors on a single PCIe card and easily installs into a PCIe-equipped Mac or PC workstation or compatible expansion chassis — giving music producers and engineers twice the processing power of its UAD-2 QUAD DSP Accelerator counterpart. For UAD power users running large audio sessions with high UAD plug-in instances and/or high sample rates, the UAD-2 OCTO DSP Accelerator is the uncompromising professional solution.

New UAD-2 “Custom” Bundles — Pick Any 3 UAD Plug-Ins

For just $400US more than a UAD-2 DUO, QUAD, or OCTO “Core” DSP Accelerator model, UAD users can now step up to UAD-2 Custom bundles, selecting any three individual UAD plug-ins within 45 days of their new UAD-2 hardware registration. With a world-renowned UAD plug-in library that includes Ampex®, Manley®, Lexicon®, Studer®, EMT®, Empirical Labs®, Neve®, SSL®, Roland®, and more, UAD-2 Custom bundles deliver a potential software value of more than $1,000US (depending on UAD plug-ins selected), at significant savings to new UAD-2 users.

New UAD-2 “Ultimate” Bundles — The Definitive Collection

Combining the most powerful UAD-2 DSP Accelerator hardware with the most complete UAD plug-in bundle available, the new UAD-2 OCTO Ultimate (PCIe card format) and UAD-2 Satellite QUAD Ultimate (FireWire format) packages offer an extensive library of more than 55 UA-developed plug-ins, up to and including UAD Software v6.3*. These UAD-2 Ultimate packages represent the definitive collection of more than 10 years of UAD plug-in development.

More Affordable UAD-2 SOLO, DUO, and QUAD Core Models

Alongside the new UAD-2 hardware and software introductions, UA is debuting new, more affordable pricing for the “Core” models of UAD-2 SOLO, DUO, and QUAD PCIe hardware and UAD-2 DUO and QUAD Satellite FireWire hardware. All UAD-2 Core models include the popular “Analog Classics” plug-in bundle, featuring the LA-2A Classic Audio Leveler, 1176LN/1176SE Classic Limiting Amplifiers, Pultec EQP-1A, and RealVerb Pro plug-ins. Additional UAD plug-ins can be purchased from UA’s Online Store.

“We’re excited by the additional power and flexibility that this new UAD-2 lineup provides,” says CEO and Founder, Bill Putnam, Jr. “Not only has the processing power doubled with the UAD-2 OCTO model, but it’s now easier for users to customize their UAD-2 packages right out of the box. And with our new aggressive pricing for SOLO, DUO, and QUAD Core models, UAD-2 is now even more accessible to producers who want to add authentic analog tone in their recordings.

Estimated US Street Prices for UAD-2 Desktop (PCI-Express) and Satellite (FireWire) DSP Accelerators:

UAD-2 OCTO (PCIe)

$1,499.00 Core Bundle

$1,899.00 Custom Bundle

$5,499.00 Ultimate Bundle

UAD-2 QUAD (PCIe)

$999.00 Core Bundle

$1,399.00 Custom Bundle

UAD-2 DUO (PCIe)

$699.00 Core Bundle

$1,099.00 Custom Bundle

UAD-2 SOLO (PCIe)

$299.00 Core Bundle

UAD-2 QUAD Satellite (FireWire)

$999.00 Core Bundle

$1,399.00 Custom Bundle

$4,999.00 Ultimate Bundle

UAD-2 DUO Satellite (FireWire)

$699.00 Core Bundle

$1,099.00 Custom Bundle

More information on the UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform:

http://www.uaudio.com/uad-plug-ins.html

*The UAD-2 Ultimate packages do not include any Direct Developer (3rd party) plug-ins, nor plug-ins released after UAD Software v6.3.

About UAD Powered Plug-Ins

Powered by Universal Audio’s popular UAD-2 DSP Accelerator hardware, UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins offer the world’s most authentic analog hardware emulations and award-winning audio plug-ins on Mac and PC. UAD-2 plug-ins deliver rich, analog sound quality that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with native recording systems.

About Universal Audio Inc.

Founded in 1958 by recording pioneer Bill Putnam Sr., and refounded in 1999 by Bill Putnam Jr., Universal Audio is best known for its classic, hand-built analog hardware and advanced UAD Digital Signal Processing technology for recording, mixing, and mastering audio. Headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, UA is focused on merging the best of vintage analog and modern digital technology, following its rich recording heritage and motto, “Analog Ears. Digital Minds.” www.uaudio.com

[Syncamorea]

 

Originally Posted by Anderton

Just got this press release from UA...

UNIVERSAL AUDIO ANNOUNCES NEW UAD-2 HARDWARE AND UAD POWERED PLUG-IN SOFTWARE BUNDLES

 

I must get an octo card and that Shadow Hills mastering compressor plug. Just kidding about the octo card as I have a quad Apollo and quad pcie card in my studio PC. So what I really need is for UA to get their Windows drivers completed to I can combine the Apollo quad with the pci-e quad.

These spammers must be eradicated!!!

[Anderton]

So, against my better judgement (being that I'm in the middle of a mix), I decided to install version 6.4 with 64-bit support for powered plug-ins in my PC Audio Labs computer running Windows 7 64-bit SP1. For Apollo and the Satellite, I'll be ordering an FW800 qualified board in the next day or two (I think I'm going to go for the Sonnet, any computer-oriented company that exhibits at NAMM gets my support) and I will try Apollo with FW400 just to see what happens; these results will be posted in the Apollo Pro review.

Meanwhile, I have a Quad card with plug-ins just itching to go 64-bit, so time to take the plunge.

Now, I should mention that there is some confusion about which programs UA supports with 64-bit operation. So I went to the source, got the scoop from UA, and posted the following in a thread in the Cakewalk forums where a lot of misinformation was floating around after UA "abandoning" Sonar support

UA makes a distinction between qualifying and supporting systems. Sonar, Ableton Live, Studio One Pro, etc. are still supported and UA does test those and other programs for compatibility.

Qualifying is apparently a process that takes months of man-hours where UA tests every parameter of every plug-in. They chose three "test beds" for plug-in qualification: Cubase for VST, Logic Pro for AU, and Pro Tools for RTAS. So, what they are basically doing is qualifying operation of the plug-in formats. I can't argue that those are extremely representative programs, as Steinberg invented VST, Apple invented AU, and RTAS is the"Pro Tools format." As a benefit of using these programs, it allows UA to guarantee that every parameter of every plug-in will work with those particular programs because they were the test beds.

However, in theory VST is VST, and if a plug-in works perfectly under one VST host, it should in theory work under other VST hosts. So, UA does less rigorous testing with other VST hosts to check whether the theory holds true.

So far, my understanding is that UA has not found issues with VST support on other 64-bit hosts, but they are actively seeking any reports of problems from users of non-qualified 64-bit systems so that any problems can be addressed.

And did they install properly? Keep reading...

[Anderton]

Normally, this is where I go through all the problems I experienced, how I solved them, and workarounds. However, I must admit...I cheated: I read the release notes. After doing so, I realized that much of the angst from people who couldn't get the plug-ins to work would have been solved had they read the...release notes

So, here's how the process works:

1. Download 6.4.

2. Open the file.

3. Say yes to everything.

4. Download new authorizations if needed.

5. Boot your DAW.

6. Enjoy!

The only non-standard aspect of the installer is you are not given options of where to install the plug-ins, which are installed in the usual Steinberg-centric Steinberg/Vstplugins folder. So, rather than scan another folder, I just moved the plug-ins into my "global" VST folder that holds ALL VSTs, and which I scan with all DAWs.

So far, everything works exactly as expected with Sonar, i.e., inserting plug-ins in the FX bins. I did see something in the Cakewalk forums about difficulties when loading UA plugs as part of FX chains loaded into a ProChannel when you save the chain and try to load it into a different ProChannel, so I'll look into that...but so far, smoooooooooth sailing.

[Anderton]

Well, we've gone from "absolutely no way Satellite will work with Windows" to "Satellite is going to work with 64-bit Windows" to "Yes, it really does work with 64-bit Windows."

As with the plug-ins themselves, this was painless. I ordered a Sonnet FW800 board (which was qualified by UA) for my PC Audio Labs computer, plugged it in, and booted. The FW800 board loaded its drivers automatically, so I turned on the Satellite, and it installed its drivers automatically. So far so good.

Then a message came up saying the firmware needed to be updated, so I did that; then another message said I needed to download new authorizations. Okay.

So I called up the control panel and...

Success! Happy Satellite!

Of course, to fulfill my Reviewer Duties I must now play music for long enough to make sure that the plug-ins all load and everything works as expected. And by long enough, I may need to do a LOT of testing, I feel like working on a new song tonight

And next, the moment we've all been waiting for: Apollo on Windows 64-bit. Based on my experience so far with the plug-ins and Satellite, I'm assuming things will be equally painless but in any event, we'll find out soon enough.

[Anderton]

I wanted to see what happened if I loaded up really CPU-hungry effects, and what happened in terms of distributing that over the internal card and the external Satellite. So, I started loading up Manley Massive Passives into Sonar X2.

Each instance takes up about 60% of each DSP chip, so each of the first four instances filled up 60% of each of the first four slots. Adding two more transitioned over to filling up 60% of the DSP in each of the Satellite's first two DSP chips. Clearly, UA hits the onboard card first, then if it runs out of space, heads over to the Satellite.

I then wanted to see what would happen if I loaded some plug-ins with lighter drains. They basically filled up the available memory in the chips until they had all reached their capacity, and took advantage of any available CPU power in either the board or the Satellite.

I then deliberately tried to overload the system by adding more Manleys. After the DSP limits were reached in Sonar, the program froze and I had to quit. However, some element of it was still running as it showed up in the Task Manager and could not be stopped (this is usually some kind of driver not letting go of something), requiring a restart. However, I should add that Cakewalk just released Sonar version X2a today, and I haven't updated X2 yet. If it can handle running out of power with the UA plugs more elegantly, I'll update this information.

Wondering if this was a Sonar-specific issue (Sonar is supported by Universal Audio, but not officially qualified; on Windows, Cubase and Pro Tools are tested for official qualification, which means the performance of every parameter of every plug-in is quantified), I decided to try the same exercise with Pro Tools 10 using RTAS versions of the plug-ins. The timing was good for a Pro Tools test; I just got a project in for mixing by the hip-hop band ICC, and it was tracked in Pro Tools (I did quite a bit of the engineering as well)...it seemed like a good time to really exercise the UA plugs.

There was the same protocol when handling DSP distribution. However upon exceeding the available limit, Pro Tools was better-behaved. It presented an error message saying that the plug-in was unable to load because the DSP load limit was exceeded - no crashes or freezes.

My curiosity piqued, I then tried the same exercise in Ableton Live. However, the version of Live I have is still 64-bit, so I couldn't use the UA 64-bit plug-ins with it (have no fear, 64-bit operation is just around the corner). I then moved over to Studio One Pro 2, which like Sonar, is 64-bit and can run VST plug-ins.

Like Pro Tools, SOP 2 presented the same error message upon being overloaded, and neither froze nor crashed. I suspected Cubase 6.5 would act similarly with respect to being overloaded, and it did. As with Sonar and Pro Tools, DSP power was distributed on a CPU-available basis with Studio One Pro 2 and Cubase.