Using UAD plug ins for mastering.

[Revelation]

I am thinking about staying in digital and not using my Focusrtie Mix Master. I have two UAD cards, and I could use this setup.

Fairchild compressor -Similar in using a Manley or Pendlum MU compressor. Adds a gentle smoothness to your signal and even outs the peaks.

Pultec Pro EQ - A analogish sounding EQ that of course can be used on a stereo bus. This EQ is just a good as a decent analog EQ though of course has it's own personality.

UAD Limiter: Got raves from many that it sounds better than the Waves Limter 2, espcially on the high end.

Right now I have the Focusrite Mix Master which has a 3 band compressor, EQ, balance-width and limiter. The problem is, I have to out of digital to analog, and then back to digital again. That is two extra conversions which of course means you are losing some quality in sound. Granted I have a high end Mytek 2 channel A/D, but I am still using my Behringer D/A in my DDX3216. It would cost a $1,000 to get the Mytek 2 channel D/A so I could route from my RME to the Mix Master.

Though I love my Mix Master, I feel if I can get results that are just as good by staying in digital (at the project studio level), it would be the best thing.

Am I missing anything with my thought process here? Is there any disadvantage with using these tools? The only thing I can think of is that I would not longer be using a multiband compressor. It is nice that if I found a guitar or vocal to loud, I can calm it down with a multiband compressor, while with the single channel I could not.

 

[taylor]

while i am NOT a \"mastering engineer\".. i do do a lot of mastering of my own projects, label, and for other labels..

my mastering chain is all software and usually looks like this (sometimes with things switched places)

UAD CAMBRIDGE
i like this becuase it is a great surgical EQ and i tend to CUT more than BOOST, and i think the cambridge is better for this. i'm not crazy about the cambridge high end boost.. so if the track needs some high end boost i usually use the EQ SAT on my powercore.. it has a better high end

SONY OXFORD COMPRESSOR
hands down the best sounding software compressor i've used. so smooth. of course, it's not UAD, but powercore.

PULTEC PRO
i usually then add pultec, often just \"on\" with no cuts or boosts.. 'cos it sounds so damn good like that.

UAD PRECISION LIMITER
just got this the other week and love it. i use this for slight boosting and just to catch peaks.

SONY OXFORD INFLATOR
loooooove the inflator (again, powercore here).. this is where i add a few dbs of boost after the smoothed out limiter signal. everything thru the inflator just sounds better.


and that's my chain.

i have, but haven't yet tried, on a mix.. the fairchild, which i hear when set correctly can be a nice \"glue\" to a mix... i also sometimes use the LA2A when mastering.. but more often i use it when mixing.. love that plug, too.

hope that helps some...

i also used to have a Drawmer all-in-one mastering box.. it was nice.. but the tiny screen mixed with the conversions back from D->A->D made me want to switch to software.. and i absolutely do not regret the move...

 

[TomW]

You could of course sell your Mytek at a good price and then take advantage of their offer with the 96kDAC at $495? when you buy an AD.

If you sell your box at near to new price it would be a great way to get the full Mytek AD/DA......a bit crazy maybe but hey cheaper than buying the DAC for full price!!

Anyway, I don't think the Focusrite Platinum stuff is that great, in all fairness I haven't heard the Mixmaster, but I have a Penta and I presume its audio path is quite similar.

I have tried the Penta on the main mix but I find it just destroys the definition and makes the sound soft in a bad way....this was with Delta1010 converters so take it FWIW. I also don't think much of its stereo width control which I guss is the same thing in the Mixmaster.

The UAD plugs are awesome for the £ and sound a fair bit better than the cheap DA, Penta, AD chain. I have to say that I much preferred the Sonalksis compressor for mix buss duties. The UAD plugs are a little too coloured. The Pultec is awesome but beware you will sacrifice some natural topend when running it at 44.1k for CD mastering.

All in all a UAD-1, Sonalksis set with maybe some Voxengo for nice linear-phase EQ and you'd be pretty set for in the box mastering at a cheap price.

Cheers Tom

 

[Revelation]

Hi TomW,

Yeah a lot of the Platinum series stuff is only ok. However the Mix Master is really not a Platinum quality to my ears but more of a Green series Focusrite piece. It really sounds great!

I know how the Pultec EQ sounds, do I like it better than whats on the Focusrite Mix Master? The answer is no, but is is not any less of an EQ as either, just different.

Actually I bought the A/D Mytek this past month. I am considering faxing my receipt and getting the D/A. Just don't have the money, but what else is new?

 

[Revelation]

I decided to go the UAD route slowly. First I will get the Fairchild (when I have the money) and try it out a 2 buss. I wanted this for vocals and bass guitar too. If it does a good job on the 2 buss mix, I will then get the Pro Pultec and Limiter. If it does the job, I will sell my focusrite piece on Ebay and use the money I made on a Rode K2.

 

[TheEastGateMS]

i'll run one of your songs through my process for free if you would like to compare your mix master to it. . . and even what you can do on your own with the uad-1.
daved

 

[brian]

While I like the sound of a Fairchild on the master buss, nothing compares to the smooth sheen imparted by the DelayComp plug. Try setting the delay to 3 and the samples slider maxed out. Everything gets crisp and solid, and it brings out some extra depth that I can't access any other way. :lol:

 

[MASSIVE Mastering]

Yeah, but you've got to run the DelayComp through a delay, then a comp, then flange it parallel with a second track that contains the side information only. Stack two Fairchild's on the end of it, one set for lat/vert, one for left/right and squish away. :|

 

[ed1966]

What was that middle part again? :lol:

 

[Revelation]

Fairchild

Well I decided to move forward and I picked up the UAD Fairchild last night. It is very very sweet. I know that I can get a similar result with it as one would with the Manley MU Compressor.

 

[MASSIVE Mastering]

This comes up a lot.. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one... I tried everything trying to get \"that\" Vari-Mu sound.

Finally, I had to settle on the (Manley) Vari-Mu. As nifty a plug as the Fairchild is, and as much as I appreciate it for M/S work, there is just no substitute for a big metal box full of tubes.

Believe me - If I could save $5000 by using a plug and getting the same sound, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Over time, I probably shot that much trying to save that much before I finally took the dive.

Even after - The heat, waiting a half-hour for it to warm up, the maintenance, changing tubes & recalibrating everything two or three times (I'm not much of an electronics whiz) to get it humming along just right, cabling, power conditioning...

I still think it's worth every penny.

 

[Revelation]

This comes up a lot.. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one... I tried everything trying to get "that" Vari-Mu sound.

Finally, I had to settle on the (Manley) Vari-Mu. As nifty a plug as the Fairchild is, and as much as I appreciate it for M/S work, there is just no substitute for a big metal box full of tubes.

Believe me - If I could save $5000 by using a plug and getting the same sound, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Over time, I probably shot that much trying to save that much before I finally took the dive.

Even after - The heat, waiting a half-hour for it to warm up, the maintenance, changing tubes & recalibrating everything two or three times (I'm not much of an electronics whiz) to get it humming along just right, cabling, power conditioning...

I still think it's worth every penny.

Hi there,

I never said it can get a MU sound. That would be a silly comment. However it does a similar thing to your buss. It smoothes the signal, gels it together and controls the peaks. Though the tone is different, it's function can be the same on a 2 bus mix. If I had $4,500 I would get the MU. But to me if it gives you similar results (not the sound, but it's function) and still sounds great, hell for $150 you can't go wrong.

I have already started playing with the Fairchild in mastering compared to my Focusrite Mix Master which I will be putting on Ebay soon. Though the Mix Master mulit band compressor sounds different than the Fairchild, I really could not say it "sounds" better than the Fairchild, just different.
I have not had a lot of opportunity to really use a Manley MU, but I would think it would be subjective to say it sounds better than using the Fairchild. Some may prefer the Manley sound, some the Fairchild. I have heard the MU softens up the bass a little more than some like, so they have purchased the Pendlum MU. (Personally I love Manley sound more).

 

[svs95]

I posted this link in another topic, so if you saw it there, skip it!

In case you haven't already seen this interview with Brian Foraker on this subject:

http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/november/ ... tent3.html

svs95