Using UAD-1 (in 2024)

[ozark2001]

I still have an UAD-1 card running fine with 6 plugs authorized for it. Now there is another PCIe slot free, so what would happen if I added another UAD-1e card to that slot on the same computer? Would those 6 plugins extend to work on the other card, as long as both cards run at the same time in the same computer? Or would that second card be useless, unless I did get the (exact same) plugins authorized via an .uad file specifically for that card?

I know this is a real corner case, so thanks for any info about how this is supposed to work (it is also intentional this way, no need for suggesting upgrade paths or modern alternatives

 

[aceweapon]

It appears Universal Audio has ended support for UAD-1 cards. New registration or transfers haven’t been possible in 10 years. Best just to update to the UAD-2 platform.

https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/206024206-UAD-1

 

[ozark2001]

It appears Universal Audio has ended support for UAD-1 cards. New registration or transfers haven’t been possible in 10 years. Best just to update to the UAD-2 platform.

https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/206024206-UAD-1

I am aware of that, hence this topic and my last sentence

So anyone run two UAD-1 cards in one computer without having them grouped into a single system online?
Would authorization translate, if any plugin is "authorized for all devices" on one card but not the other?

 

[ozark2001]

Small update:
Took a chance and got another random UAD1 card for super cheap (as many are still floating around on offer).

Put it next to my existing one this morning and both are working now with v6.1 and 1176LN, LA2A, Pultec, Realverb and Nigel. Not sure why, but I didnt need to combine them or register online (as thats no longer possible) nor use any .uad for the second one (it didnt come with an .uad file anyway).

Maybe I got lucky, just wanted to post this here in case any one wants to try this out or chime in and share their ideas or experience.

 

[XL_Erate]

Small update:
Took a chance and got another random UAD1 card for super cheap (as many are still floating around on offer).

Put it next to my existing one this morning and both are working now with v6.1 and 1176LN, LA2A, Pultec, Realverb and Nigel. Not sure why, but I didnt need to combine them or register online (as thats no longer possible) nor use any .uad for the second one (it didnt come with an .uad file anyway).

Maybe I got lucky, just wanted to post this here in case any one wants to try this out or chime in and share their ideas or experience.

Gotta ask what do you call super cheap?
I see people trying to sell UAD-1 cards for more than a uad-2 Solo or Duo PCIE all the time.

 

[ozark2001]

Gotta ask what do you call super cheap?
I see people trying to sell UAD-1 cards for more than a uad-2 Solo or Duo PCIE all the time.

10-15 Euro for a PCI UAD1 "as is" (no box, no files, just bare card with no other info).

 

[XL_Erate]

10-15 Euro for a PCI UAD1 "as is" (no box, no files, just bare card with no other info).

Thanks for the reply just had to ask because you definitely didn't sound like you had paid the type of price I normally see.

 

[ozark2001]

Thanks for the reply just had to ask because you definitely didn't sound like you had paid the type of price I normally see.

There are also (sometimes much) higher priced UAD1 cards for sale, just in case no plugin licenses come with it as .uad file, they tend to go as low as that. Still useful if just for 1176/LA2A or Pultec, if the cards still work hardwarewise. Plus I do like preserving resources as opposed to see still functioning stuff go to waste.

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

I think I have some new UAD-1e's with Neve plugins licensed to them. If you're interested in getting more, I can sell them for that price. The only problem is the shipping to Europe will be a lot.

 

[OldLouisvilleRecords]

Follow up questions on this. If you purchase a used UAD-1 pcie, and you do not already have an authorized system, are there any plug ins that will work automatically with the card without authorization? A link on gearspace says you can access the plugins that were included in the specific Pak the UAD-1 pcie shipped with. While commentary on these forums say you will not be able to use the card without an authorization file. At $36 for a used card, it would be worth it even if it only came with the 1176ln. Would the card not being authorized impact its communication with the computer and offboard DSP processing?

 

[ozark2001]

For the cards I purchased, the plugins that were included upon purchase seem to be authorized on the cards themselves, so no extra auth file needed. I think 1176SE was always included on any card, plus depending on what PAK the card was sold as some more work ootb. If the owner has any reg or auth file that they can send via email, those plugins registered within should become authorized by simply dragndrop on to that small uad meter/monitor window, so no online account transfer or check needed.

Im not sure if there were any cards sold with absolute Zero plugins authorized to begin with, otherwise buying any old uad-1 should give you always some minimal number of plugins garantueed to work, just different ones depending on PAK context.

edit: According to those tables, 1176LN seems authorized on the card itself for Ultrapak or Studiopak cards only, while 1176SE, Nigel, RealverbPro and Pultec EQP-1A seem always included, aka authorized on card without need for an extra file.

 

[cheerful hamster]

Does UAD v.6.1 run on later Windows versions? I think mine worked on Win7, but it's been collecting dust in the Win10+ era.

 

[ozark2001]

Does UAD v.6.1 run on later Windows versions? I think mine worked on Win7, but it's been collecting dust in the Win10+ era.

The PC I have the card installed in is an old machine running UAD v6.1 on Win7. Then those UAD plugins are made available (and here run perfectly fine on both a DAW laptop and Win11 DAW desktop) via Audiogridder 1.2 (https://audiogridder.com/ , completely free solution) + DDMF Metaplugin for bridging. That way, one can easily switch out the remote machine to any other machine in the future without the UAD plugs being tied to only one machine at a time.... plus the UAD machine can be put anywhere away from the DAW machine, plus provide those plugins to latest Mac or Win while running old Win or Mac OS itself, as long as it is connected to the same 1GB or better LAN. Basically this setup is a relatively cheap, self-built "UAD1 network satellite".

 

[XL_Erate]

Older cards can be a really funny thing.
I have (3) UAD-2 SOLO cards just sitting around doing nothing looking for a home.
I thought about getting a chassis for them but I really don't need the xtra SHARCs so they are just collecting dust.

 

[KDolan]

The PC I have the card installed in is an old machine running UAD v6.1 on Win7. Then those UAD plugins are made available (and here run perfectly fine on both a DAW laptop and Win11 DAW desktop) via Audiogridder 1.2 (https://audiogridder.com/ , completely free solution) + DDMF Metaplugin for bridging. That way, one can easily switch out the remote machine to any other machine in the future without the UAD plugs being tied to only one machine at a time.... plus the UAD machine can be put anywhere away from the DAW machine, plus provide those plugins to latest Mac or Win while running old Win or Mac OS itself, as long as it is connected to the same 1GB or better LAN. Basically this setup is a relatively cheap, self-built "UAD1 network satellite".

Fascinating..so this way you can mix and match UAD1, 2, x in your DAW?