Do I need to use plugins in the Console at all?

[addmultiplier]

I am new to UAD products so please bear with my dumb questions...

I bought an Apollo a month ago and really like the sound quality and I love the plugins. Much of what I record is just electric guitar. So in the Console, I've been setting to Record (not Monitoring) and using:

UA 601-B -> Pultec MEQ-5 -> UA1176LN L

It sounds great and has definitely been nice in terms of zero latency.

But, would it make more sense to record my tracks in Logic with everything in Console bypassed and wait until I'm in the mixing stage to add the UAD native plugins since latency would be moot at that point? Not to mention it would also be nice to tweak EQ or compression after the fact rather than committing to those settings while going through the Console.

Or, is there an intrinsic advantage to recording with plugins in the Console instead?

 

[addmultiplier]

FWIW, I did create a Logic project so I could test which sounded better. Honestly adding the native plugins in Logic after recording gave me a more full bodied kind of guitar sound, but I don't know if I'm imagining it since they're the same plugins as what's in the Console!

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

You can have both. In Console, change UAD Rec to UAD Mon, that way the Console inserts will only be there for you to monitor and Logic will record your clean signal. Keep in mind that you'll need to load all the plugins, including the 610B, as inserts and not Unison (Unison gets recorded no matter what, leave that slot empty).

 

[klong]

In addition to what Eric said above, there is also a "trick" where by using one of the AUX sends in Console, you can record both the processed and unprocessed (as a backup) into your DAW.

Also, if you were to use LUNA this would be a moot point as your can track with DSP/low latency effects without printing them.

 

[addmultiplier]

Unison gets recorded no matter what, leave that slot empty)

I guess since I've been thinking that I don't really need the plugins activated during tracking, I would just add them in during the mixing stage when tracking is all done. My main question is, is there any difference in sound if I do it this way?

 

[JohnR1]

I think you can do this anyway you want, but may end up with slightly different results. Recording dry/clean then applying effects; recording wet, but FX on an aux or parallel that doesn't track; or FX inline or via aux send and tracked that way. May not matter to some, but I think many players and singers respond differently in terms of intonation, dynamics, fingering, bowing, hitting or breathing/muscle when FX are applied. So maybe more of an artistic or situational decisions.

 

[hotspot]

My main question is, is there any difference in sound if I do it this way?

Def is.
Whether it bothers you is another question.
But if you do without the plug-ins when recording, then you're only eating the base of the cake and leaving the cream.
Unison is where the real fun begins.

 

[chrisharbin]

Yeah, I echo allot of the sentiments...particularly the "do it how you want it" approach.

For me, found using console FX to be a bit cumbersome and you are stuck with that as a print. I personally like to do that later after trying it that way.

 

[chrisharbin]

Oh, forgot to say though, that 610 is much missed after going back to all native/Babyface Pro

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

I guess since I've been thinking that I don't really need the plugins activated during tracking, I would just add them in during the mixing stage when tracking is all done. My main question is, is there any difference in sound if I do it this way?

610B sounds different when it's loaded into the Unison slot.

 

[addmultiplier]

610B sounds different when it's loaded into the Unison slot.

Gotcha, that is sort of what I was trying to figure out. When I tested it in Console/Unison slot before it hit Logic (and amp sim) it sounded one way, but when I just added as a plugin in logic (again before the amp sim) it sounded different and I wasn't quite sure why.

 

[klasaine]

Gotcha, that is sort of what I was trying to figure out. When I tested it in Console/Unison slot before it hit Logic (and amp sim) it sounded one way, but when I just added as a plugin in logic (again before the amp sim) it sounded different and I wasn't quite sure why.

When you use an Apollo and have Unison Enabled plugins in the Unison slot of either Console or Luna, the physical impedance adjusts inside the Apollo to compensate for both the mic/guitar/fx pedal and how said input hits that Unison preamp (or guitar amp or effect). It can be subtle or dramatic depending on the source and which plugin. Definitely not 'snake oil'.

 

[danisalat]

My advice is and always will be to track everything how you want it to sound and don't wait to do it later. It tends to make for a better production and easier and faster mixing.

However, if you're unsure and you will do enough work/practice sessions, track it raw, see what you like in mixing, what you normally have to do most times, and gather that info to slowly try those things during tracking.

 

[addmultiplier]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the UA 601-B is best in the Unison slot in Console generally, as opposed to be inserted before the am sim in Logic. Seems like native UAD EQ plugins could be added during the mixing phase in Logic though (since I don't need to hear them while recording, and so less latency issues...?)

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the UA 601-B is best in the Unison slot in Console generally, as opposed to be inserted before the am sim in Logic. Seems like native UAD EQ plugins could be added during the mixing phase in Logic though (since I don't need to hear them while recording, and so less latency issues...?)

Mostly correct except that there are no latency issues when using insert plugins in Console, including when you have them set to monitor only.