Speak to any audio professional working within the realms of audio production or music composition, and the chances are they will have used Universal Audio plugins at some point. With an enormous catalog, encompassing vintage and contemporary classics alike, it's possible to emulate the sound of circuitry from the likes of Neve, SSL, and Moog, with utterly alarming accuracy and detail, and all from within the software domain.
UA's audio units
The ethos related to their extensive plugin platform has always been to rely on their appropriately equipped hardware for plugin processing, thus relieving your computer's CPU of the heavy lifting. Once upon a time, this was a sound option, but with the advent of faster computing, the necessity for an external device to take up the slack has seemingly become outmoded. This has undoubtedly influenced UA's decision to re-engineer many of their plugins to a native format, allowing access to all users, regardless what their choice of the audio interface might be.
Getting sparked
The native response is Spark; a subscription-based model, which kicks off with a free 14-day trial, after which time it will cost a mere $20 a month. Given the breadth of UA plugins currently available, it would be almost inconceivable for all of their plugins to migrate to a native format in one go, hence the opening offering feels somewhat limited if compared to the entire catalogue. UA have however made efforts to begin with some of the diehard perennials. For starters, the 1176 and LA-2A compressor collections are both available, along with their Pure Plate and Lexicon 224 Digital Reverbs, and the Galaxy Tape echo, which is a model of the Roland Space Echo. There's a 1073 preamp and EQ from Neve, and API Vision Channel Strip, with tape saturation in the style of the Studer A800.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2022-Ausgabe von Computer Music.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2022-Ausgabe von Computer Music.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Explore Black Salt Audio's cm bundle
In a new series, we're highlighting the best plugins from the CM Plugin Suite V3.0 and showing you how to make the most of them
DH Plugins LFO-EQ-1
Modulating your EQ parameters opens up a multitude of exciting effects. Can this affordable plugin really hit the mark? Jon Musgrave finds out
SSL Module8
Multi-effects are getting more powerful at the expense of ease of use, but Module8 manages both and is therefore pretty gr8, says Andy Jones
Dawesome/Tracktion Myth
Peter V is fast becoming the most ground-breaking plugin developer around. His latest is a synth of mythical proportions, says Andy Jones
Tailored reverbs
Reverb is a great tool, but cleverly thinking about its application can really take your mix to the next level. Here’s how to get tailoring…
Make a spicy lead with GForce Axxess
It's time to turn up the heat and Axxess a searing lead, with a little help from an ultra-cool addition to the plugin suite
Cherry Audio Chroma
If you're after a colourful new synth, Cherry Audio has something that covers the whole spectrum. Roland Schmidt looks through the prism
GForce Software VSM IV
This updated VSM continues to prove that strings are very much the thing! Roland Schmidt swots up on his virtual string theory
KATIE TAVINI
A ubiquitous name in the world of mastering, Katie Tavini’s intuitive senses and aptitude for bringing out the best in a huge array of music has been rightly praised. We were keen to catch up with Katie – fresh from moving her studio into a new setup in Liverpool – to find out more about her acclaimed approach
Make a loop into a track
It's simple to make a killer loop, but how does that become a dancefloor-filling hit? It only takes a few steps to get the process started...