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Just got wind of this from UAD. Modeled from an actual Studer A800. They don't mention what tape they are using but it sounds easily as good as HEAT IMHO. No calibration. No need for biasing. Hmmm is it too good to be true?

Comments

BobRogers Thu, 12/02/2010 - 03:20

Their website was slowed to a snails pace yesterday with so many people downloading it.

Still slow this morning. But I found that you get ~24 instances on a QUAD card. Unless I switch from PT, I'm going to wait until they get unwrapped RTAS plugins before another major investment. (Yes, Alice, I WILL pay your tuition on the 20th.)

TimDolbear Thu, 12/02/2010 - 18:18

Hey all

I have been using it for a month or more now, don't ask, and for some sources its is GREAT!!! Some not so much, because the modern sound is not tape. But where it does work and fit style-wise, its a game changer. Rock drums, percussion like timbales, Brass, trumpet specifically...

On the plugin, the preset Vintage 465 15ips +6 (if I remember the new name, because they changed it) is my preset based off of my old Fostex R8. It just nailed it.

To me, this is a MUST have for UAD owners and a reason to by a UAD-2 for anyone with out. NO other Tape sim come close. This one is that good.

FidelityHigh Thu, 12/02/2010 - 22:25

BobRogers, post: 358040 wrote: I have not downloaded it yet. I may wait until my daughter comes home for Xmas. We can play with the 14 day demo while she is on break. I'd love to compare it with other effects on drum tracks. It's a darned expensive plugin - even if you own the card. Still, very tempting.

Indeed, I'm tempted. If it sounds like real tape saturation I may have to sell off some old gear.

Big K Fri, 12/03/2010 - 03:54

It is a very good plugin, as all of the UAD are. But, like a few others, it sounds like it is supposed to and that does not fit all recordings.
I have no trouble to get he right drum / bass sounds I want with the means already to my disposal ( e.g. FATSO ).
The price is still too high for what it could do for me. In a few months and with a Special Price offer I probably will purchase it, anyway.

Can we please remember the difference between tape compression and saturation...
Saturation is not what you want when recording to tape... It sucks...

BobRogers Fri, 12/03/2010 - 04:56

Big K, post: 358082 wrote: ...Can we please remember the difference between tape compression and saturation...
Saturation is not what you want when recording to tape... It sucks...

I'm afraid there are more than a few out there who "remember" tape compression the same way you and I "remember" the introduction of 33 1/3 RPM records by Columbia in 1948.

BobRogers Fri, 12/03/2010 - 05:14

Big K, post: 358082 wrote: It is a very good plugin, as all of the UAD are. But, like a few others, it sounds like it is supposed to and that does not fit all recordings....I have no trouble to get he right drum / bass sounds I want with the means already to my disposal ( e.g. FATSO )...

I think this is a good point. In the end this is just another digital plugin aimed at shaping dynamics and tone, and there are lots of others out there that do very similar things. In the end you don't want to compare it to a tape deck, but to competing plugins and/or outboard units.

Big K Fri, 12/03/2010 - 06:30

LOL, yes, Bob.. Even we are too young to remember the '48s...
Although, with a nasty flew and a dicky knee, I sometimes feel even older...
;-)

I guess, since saturation is such a nice word, it took over the meaning of Tape compression for many.
The danger to mess up your recordings with saturation is very small, these days.. working on a DAW.
But there are a multitude of other accidents that can happen, now, with the "new" digital technology
and that we all experience much to often; ourselves and with mixes coming in for mastering.

I still miss my console :-(

About the A800 plug: if you come into a situation where you have to recreate a genuine tape sound, I guess, this plug will make you very happy. To just de-digitize the sound of a recording the choice of maybe a L2-A2, Neve or Pultec is just as useful and more controlable.
I just quick-mastered a demo, again using the Massive Passive: No matter, how close they really got it to sound like the hardware, it is a superb plugin... That was more of a game changer for me than the A800.

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