Universal Audio Arrow £435

The latest, smallest, most portable, most affordable UAD-2 system ever. Daniel Griffiths asks, ‘What’s the catch?’

- Daniel Griffiths

Arrow is a tiny gun-metal box which slips under UA’s universally loved Apollos at the base of the range. It’s ideally suited to power-user music makers on the move or as the ideal entry system for those ‘going pro’ with UA’s plugins.

As background, the UA universe is an ever-growing collection of world-class plugins most of which emulate classic bits of studio gear. These plugins are second to none, but require UA’s UAD-2 DSP hardware to take their strain and free up your computer for more audio and MIDI. It’s a luxurious way to make music but one that means shelling out for both hardware AND software.