FEBRUARY 25, 2003
Audio Powerhouse
Version 3 of Universal Audio's UAD-1 works in multi-card configuration and has Direct X support
 By Frank Moldstad
Page 4 of 4

Applying the Plug-Ins
Selecting Pultec EQ for channel 2 in SONAR (click image for larger view).
Each application has a different way of adding plug-in effects. In Cubase, you open VST Send Effects (or Master Effects) and choose the plug-in (UAD-1 or other plug-ins) you want for the selected channel. It’s essentially the same in SONAR and Sound Forge. In SONAR, I right-clicked the FX menu on the desired channel in the tracking window and selected the effect I wanted. In Sound Forge I added UAD-1 plug-ins to my DX Favorites, and then simply selected that menu from the top of the window to apply any UAD-1 plug-ins.

One thing that requires a little careful reading in the manual is about the use of Delay Compensation to adjust for the latency caused by the time it takes an audio signal to go to the card for processing and then return. Without Delay Compensation, audio signals that are unprocessed may be slightly out of sync with those that are processed.
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The excellent manual (see below) suggests activating the Plug-in Delay compensation in the host application. But since some applications may not compensate automatically for plug-ins inserted on sends, groups or busses, a UAD Delay Compensator plug-in is provided with the UAD-1. It can be applied to unprocessed channels in the same way other plug-ins are selected and applied.

Seven instances of RealVerb Pro and two instances of the 1176LN pushed the UAD-1 to its limit, as the Performance Meter shows in this SONAR Console view (click image for larger view).
By the end of April, a new way of using the UAD-1 will arrive with the introduction of the UAD-8 I/O. The card is identical to the UAD-1, with the addition of eight channels of ADAT optical I/O connectivity. This means you can set up a computer as an outboard effects device, sending and receiving audio from a mixing board equipped with optical connections to the UAD-8 I/O.

Pushing the Limits
As robust as the UAD-1's processor is (1006.48 MHz), it does have limits. I tried various combinations of plug-ins to push the limits, using SONAR 2.2 as the host application. For example, seven instances of the processor-intensive RealVerb Pro running simultaneously with two instances of the 1176LN raised the UAD-1 performance meter to 97 percent. With this load, it still sounded fine, but adding one more instance of anything caused a slight distortion to creep in, which became more pronounced as I added more and more plug-ins.

If a single UAD-1 card's capacity isn't enough for you (eight instances of RealVerb Pro, or a project with 32 EQs, 16 compressors and two RealVerb Pros running simultaneously), you can add multiple cards, doubling, tripling or quadrupling your options. Although I wasn't able to snag two UAD-1 cards to test the multicard operation for this review, a number of people have posted on Mackie’s UAD-1 forum and Chris Milne’s forum saying they have successfully added a second card.

The Manual
The UAD-1 comes with an excellent manual, although it’s digital. I printed it out and had Kinko’s bind it for $5, so I wouldn’t have to scroll through pages of PDF screens to find what I needed.

The manual is comprehensive, with a good overview of what's included and how to use it. A chapter is devoted to each of the plug-ins. These include in-depth discussions of parameters, adjustments and features.

Also, interesting history lessons accompany the chapters on the Pultec, LA-2A and 1176LN, describing their origins and heritage. They include a description of the mid-60s odyssey of Universal Audio founder Bill Putnam (father of current Universal Audio CEO Bill Putnam Jr.) in designing the original 1176.
The Verdict
I confess, I went a little crazy with all these new options. The LA-2A's famous silky smooth warmth that makes harsh signals more musical. The 1176LN's signature "Led Zeppelin" compression sound. The Pultec's mysterious ability to deliver big fat tone with sparkly highs. I really liked the enhancement to the audio when simply letting the signal pass through the Pultec with no settings altered – it definitely adds a nice presence.

Some of the RealVerb presets are beautifully done -- deep, wide and sweet. You can alter the room materials, the Resonance, the timing, the positioning to find appropriate reverbs for most applications. As noted above, the upcoming Dreamverb is said to be an improvement on RealVerb Pro. There's Cambridge, a great surgical EQ. Plus, Nigel and the CS-1.

This is a great package, and a relative bargain at a $600 street price ($999 list). If you need to upgrade your DAW processing capabilities to a professional level, you can’t go wrong with this card.



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