What is the purpose of Unison Technology

Hi all,

I have checked the latest video from UAD and Unison is still the great mystery of the XXIrst century.
I have never understood if this technology is used only to change the volume knob from the apollo hardware and it is detected by the plugin and changed accordingly... or does it has an impact on the sound it self.
I mean if we take the same 2 plugins, one with unison and one without. Does the final result would be the same or is there an improvement of the simulation thanks to Unison ?

Thanks to all who would like to explain me this mystery !

Regards

There is most definitely an improvement of the emulation thanks to Unison.

Think of Unison as a very detailed instruction for the "innards" of the Apollo to read in order to sculpt the sound signal into the most complete and proper emulation. It achieves this by actually changing the way the electronics inside the Apollo react to the signal via impedance changes etc.

So, for a simpler explanation:

--- ( sound source ) ---> ( a regular audio interface like an Apogee Duet ) [ NO SIGNAL CHANGE ] ---> Computer DAW Software

--- ( sound source ) ---> ( Apollo with Unison ) [ Signal is changed to precisely emulate the desired/chosen Preamp, Guitar Amp, etc. from UAD etc. ] ---> Computer DAW Software

Since the UAD system is a closed system, the unknown parameters of other companies' A/D converters, pre's, etc. are not an issue, and the emulations can be MUCH more accurate in their work.

It's a pretty amazing set up, and is pretty simple once you get your head around the idea that the impedance changes, etc. happen in real time, just like the hardware that Apollo/Unison is emulating.

Unison is no more than a placebo pill.

^Slam, are you saying all unison is, is a non linear effect algorithm?

Lulu German said:

Unison is no more than a placebo pill.

Click to expand...

But hang on.... placebos actually effect psychological nerons which in turn have a psycho physical effect.

Zsarbomba said:

^Slam, are you saying all unison is, is a non linear effect algorithm?

Click to expand...

No, I didn't say that at all.

It is a non-linear effect, but it is also a hardware effect that is utilized inside the the Apollo hardware. It is hardware + software controlled.

So, I try to look at UNISON as part of the signal chain using OLD SCHOOL recording methods. The UNISON mode is like everything becoming recorded up to and including the PREAMP on a desk.

As a matter of fact, I made some suggestions to UA about expanding the role of UNISON technology to include an convoluted reverb to recreate the air in the signal before the PREMAP.

In case I am not being clear (which I have been known to do), here is what I am thinking.

Let's say you have a electric guitar track you want to record. Everything before the desk is UNISON which would include:

1) The AMP and SPEAKERS
2) Any pedals (stomp boxes)
3) Any ECHO effects for the guitar
4) The Air of the room
5) The mic(s) and placement
6) The preamp of the desk

Now, when you are mixing or tracking, everything else would be POST unison. In this scenario, I can see using an AMP SIM (FX, cabinets, speakers), then putting this AMP is a SIMULATED acoustic space (Like OceanWay plugin) with mic brand and placement controllable and finally what kind of preamp do you want to use for recording. I would LOVE to have the HELIOS preamps modeled by UA as a new plug or better yet, the entire channel strip where internally the put the PREAMP model in UNISON mode and the rest of the model in normal mode wherein it would be invisible to the user how this is engineered. I don't know how this would sound or if it is even doable but it would be amazing to me if they could. We would be one stop closer to ITB and OTB production being more on par.

Jim

Unison: I own it - I use it exclusively. Frankly, I can't hear the difference. I'd say Unison/Apollo is an input dongle for UAD plugs. I should have kept my DigiRack003 and used the money to buy another FW Satellite...
My workflow has not improved and tracking with UAD plugs hasn't been life-changing. I love UA, but I have to keep it real.

Flip the impedance switch on a 1073 and listen to what it does to the sound of your mic! Works just like a real hardware mic pre! Unison is all about impedance loading, and the effect is quite noticeable!

Seems like the UA marketing department has done a great job mystifying what Unison is. I guess "Software controlled impedance and gain switching" wouldn't be as sexy and mysterious.

But yeah, it sure makes a difference to the sound. Might not be for the better in every case, but at least it better matches the hardware its trying to emulate.

jimk said:

So, I try to look at UNISON as part of the signal chain using OLD SCHOOL recording methods. The UNISON mode is like everything becoming recorded up to and including the PREAMP on a desk.

As a matter of fact, I made some suggestions to UA about expanding the role of UNISON technology to include an convoluted reverb to recreate the air in the signal before the PREMAP.

In case I am not being clear (which I have been known to do), here is what I am thinking.

Let's say you have a electric guitar track you want to record. Everything before the desk is UNISON which would include:

1) The AMP and SPEAKERS
2) Any pedals (stomp boxes)
3) Any ECHO effects for the guitar
4) The Air of the room
5) The mic(s) and placement
6) The preamp of the desk

Now, when you are mixing or tracking, everything else would be POST unison. In this scenario, I can see using an AMP SIM (FX, cabinets, speakers), then putting this AMP is a SIMULATED acoustic space (Like OceanWay plugin) with mic brand and placement controllable and finally what kind of preamp do you want to use for recording. I would LOVE to have the HELIOS preamps modeled by UA as a new plug or better yet, the entire channel strip where internally the put the PREAMP model in UNISON mode and the rest of the model in normal mode wherein it would be invisible to the user how this is engineered. I don't know how this would sound or if it is even doable but it would be amazing to me if they could. We would be one stop closer to ITB and OTB production being more on par.

Jim

Click to expand...

Good ideas. Hope somebody at UA is listening.

chime13 said:

My workflow has not improved and tracking with UAD plugs hasn't been life-changing.

Click to expand...

Even though I love the Apollo, I do understand where you're coming from regarding Apollo vs. more DSP's. 2 x OCTO's would be more life-changing for me than an Apollo.

Hicks said:

Hi all,

I have checked the latest video from UAD and Unison is still the great mystery of the XXIrst century.
I have never understood if this technology is used only to change the volume knob from the apollo hardware and it is detected by the plugin and changed accordingly... or does it has an impact on the sound it self.
I mean if we take the same 2 plugins, one with unison and one without. Does the final result would be the same or is there an improvement of the simulation thanks to Unison ?

Thanks to all who would like to explain me this mystery !

Regards

Click to expand...

Hi all,

Thanks for commenting on the video - it's good for me to hear that it's still not clear. In the video Learn How to Set Up Unison Technology with your Apollo Interface - Blog - Universal Audio, I was trying to be really clear about what Unison is, but if you still have questions, maybe there's a better way for me to explain it.

The things we try to get people to understand are that Unison preamps control the hardware impedance on the mic preamps and Hi-Z instrument inputs on next gen and Apollo Twin. Input impedance is an important part of how a preamp interacts with the microphone attached to it. Different loads affect the frequency response and output levels of the microphones and guitar pickups - sometimes dramatically. Manufacturers designed impedances into their devices as part of the tone shaping, so matching them allows us to emulate that aspect of the original designs in hardware.

The input sweet spots we refer to has to to with capturing analog headroom in the digital domain. Let's say you have a mic pre that has a maximum output of +24 dB. Many times, you want to use the upper end of the preamp for it's euphonic properties - distortion, saturation and whatnot. So to make that headroom available, the maximum output has to be shifted down to 0dBFS. That let's you use the gain structure more like you would on the original device and there's a digital makeup gain at the end of each one so you can get perfect tone and level.

The rest of the emulation occurs in UAD-2 DSP, so it can happen in realtime. The controls for the hardware preamps and DSP are all in the plug-in, so they can all reside in one place (as opposed to having to adjust input gain in the Apollo Console and EQ in the plug-in for example).

The video was intended to be high-level, but also have enough meat in it to satisfy the mildly curious. If you have suggestions on how to make it or the blog article less mysterious, let me know.

Thanks!

-GK

UniversalAudio said:

Hi all,

Many times, you want to use the upper end of the preamp for it's euphonic properties - distortion, saturation and whatnot. So to make that headroom available, the maximum output has to be shifted down to 0dBFS. That let's you use the gain structure more like you would on the original device and there's a digital makeup gain at the end of each one so you can get perfect tone and level.

The rest of the emulation occurs in UAD-2 DSP, so it can happen in realtime. The controls for the hardware preamps and DSP are all in the plug-in, so they can all reside in one place (as opposed to having to adjust input gain in the Apollo Console and EQ in the plug-in for example).

-GK

Click to expand...

I thought the whole point of Unison - was to be an analog bridge into the digital realm. In other words, my analog signal goes into an apollo "generic" preamp in which we insert a "Unison" plug that gives me the desired preamp character/emulation in realtime.

So, I'm lost again. I believe all of this is possible with a preamp emulation plug with euphonic properties - distortion, saturation and whatnot. If I capture my intended signal properly, I should be able to get the same results - shouldn't I? So, why do I need Unison?

I do appreciate the video, though!

chime13 said:

I thought the whole point of Unison - was to be an analog bridge into the digital realm. In other words, my analog signal goes into an apollo "generic" preamp in which we insert a "Unison" plug that gives me the desired preamp character/emulation in realtime.

So, I'm lost again. I believe all of this is possible with a preamp emulation plug with euphonic properties - distortion, saturation and whatnot. If I capture my intended signal properly, I should be able to get the same results - shouldn't I? So, why do I need Unison?

I do appreciate the video, though!

Click to expand...

Hi Chime,

I guess that on the most basic level, yes, you're converting analog to digital. But Unison adds elements to the emulation in the physical domain and those elements, though subtle, are part of the goodness of classic tube and transformer-based mic preamps. The difference in "capturing your intended signal properly" on a generic mic preamp is that you may not get the same frequency response and gain the mic would have if it were connected to an actual preamp like the 1073 or 610. The color can be different.

The impedance switching and gain staging takes place before the A/D conversion. Your mics will sound different through a 610 B at 500 ohms vs. 2k ohms. And that's because the mic is responding to the changes in the load, nothing in the preamp or the plug-in changes other than the impedance, but the sound will be quite different. The right combination of preamp, impedance and your mics or guitar could be magic and Unison gives you the options to experiment as you would with hardware.

Whether or not you need Unison is another question. No one piece of technology is going to make or break a piece of music, but the sum of a lot of small details done right can make a big difference.

Glad you enjoyed the video!

-GK
Gannon Kashiwa

I must admit I don't get the confusion about unison

It seems to me that any body who has plugged a guitar into a real amp vs a piece of software knows exactly how the feel of the guitar and its sound is affected positively and negatively: how it changes under real impedance load.

There is a real electrical relationship between the guitar/amp and a mike/pre affected by the impedance load.

Although the apollo pre is an ic pre, unison adds the real impedance load of the modelled amp/pre into the electrical circuit before conversion and before the dsp of the plug in.

So essentially a unison pre is adding a very similar (to the real amp/pre front end impedance load) to the signal path of the unison plug in so it more closely creates the sound characteristics of the actual amp/pre.

UniversalAudio said:

Hi Chime,

I guess that on the most basic level, yes, you're converting analog to digital. But Unison adds elements to the emulation in the physical domain and those elements, though subtle, are part of the goodness of classic tube and transformer-based mic preamps. The difference in "capturing your intended signal properly" on a generic mic preamp is that you may not get the same frequency response and gain the mic would have if it were connected to an actual preamp like the 1073 or 610. The color can be different.

The impedance switching and gain staging takes place before the A/D conversion. Your mics will sound different through a 610 B at 500 ohms vs. 2k ohms. And that's because the mic is responding to the changes in the load, nothing in the preamp or the plug-in changes other than the impedance, but the sound will be quite different. The right combination of preamp, impedance and your mics or guitar could be magic and Unison gives you the options to experiment as you would with hardware.

Whether or not you need Unison is another question. No one piece of technology is going to make or break a piece of music, but the sum of a lot of small details done right can make a big difference.

Glad you enjoyed the video!

-GK
Gannon Kashiwa

Click to expand...

Totally get the impedance thing, very nice indeed.

My question is about gain staging.

Many preamps (Neve included, if memory serves) have very complex gain switches (as opposed to simple pots), so that for lower gain conditions they can use less amp sections to cut down on noise, and for higher gain situations extra op amp stages are added (not IC op amps, but real discrete transistor op amps) via the complex switches (multi-gang/multi-position).

I'm guessing you are not changing actual circuit topologies like the real thing mentioned above, but maybe you are

What is the nature of the gain staging component of the Unison technology?

Geoff Waddington said:

I'm guessing you are not changing actual circuit topologies like the real thing mentioned above, but maybe you are

Click to expand...

Actually, they are.

Geoff Waddington said:

... What is the nature of the gain staging component of the Unison technology?

Click to expand...

I don't believe there is any physical gain staging done by Unison - It just sets an impedance matching that of the emulated mic pre - and then post A/D conversion, the amplified line level signal is processed by the plugin to emulate the sound of the mic pre, with its gain-staging characteristics.

- Richard

chime13 said:

If I capture my intended signal properly, I should be able to get the same results - shouldn't I? So, why do I need Unison?

Click to expand...

Impedance changes the way the microphone performs. A preamp with low input impedance actually causes your microphone to distort and lose upper frequency range in a way that many people have come to appreciate.

Beyond impedance, though, you're actually making a good point. Gannon's point about gain staging makes it easier to approximate the real hardware but I don't there's anything stopping you from being able to get to the same place without Unison.