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UAD-1 Owners: Reverb opinions

OK, after owning my UAD-1 plugins for a while now, I am very happy with them. The 1176SE compressor sounds pretty good, especially when you crank the input up to max, it just has a nice "character" to it. I'm betting the 1176LN sounds even better.

The Cambridge EQ is certainly my favorite EQ unit, and I put it on almost everything that needs any type of complex EQing, and I can use any of the Channel Strip Plugins for more mundane chores. EX-1 for when I'm not trying to notch out specific frequency bands, etc.

The only problem I have is with the Realverb Pro & the RS-1. For some reason, the Realverb and RS-1 just doesn't sound that great to me. Maybe it is just me, but it just doesn't seem to sound as good as the Waves RVerb or my hardware MX400/200. The problem with RVerb or even TrueVerb is that they are bonafide CPU killers, especially on vocals.

So I usually bus things out to my Lexicon MX400/200 for any kind of reverb. The Lexicon MX series is certainly no match for a good PCM series unit, but it seems to sound better than the UAD reverbs. Is this just a matter of a hardware reverb sounding better them a software reverb?

What are your opinions on the various UAD Reverbs? Dreamverb, Realverb Pro, Plate 140 or even the RS-1? Do you use them at all?

I have the MX200 and i think it is a really nice verb

quote:

Originally posted by Ry Thomas I have the MX200 and i think it is a really nice verb

Oh definitely! I really do like it. I have a MX400 in addition to an MX200 and the MX400 seems like it is supposed to be basically two MX200's in one unit with a few extra features (like surround processing).

It's weird, but the MX400 seems to sound even better than the MX200. I don't really know why, but I can hear the difference.

Anyway, the point I was making with that was that neither of these units can touch the quality of any of the PCM series Lexicon units, which is why the MX series retails in the $200-400 range and a good Lexicon PCM unit will run you about $2,000, so I wouldn't expect the MX series to be able to stack up. Doesn't mean I don't love mine. You get what you pay for, but the MX series really are a great value.

Yeah defo mate, some of the more 'pro' Lexicons are supposed to be untouchable

i don't really like the UAD verbs. imho the reverbs on the powercore are far better.

but currently i'm using the sony oxford reverb and it's awesome. well, it still can't beat the middle lexicon series (pcm) but it's very high quality anyway. imho the best native reverb at the moment by far..

quote:

Originally posted by thecYrus i don't really like the UAD verbs. imho the reverbs on the powercore are far better.

Agreed on that. One of the reasons I went for a Powercore instead of a UAD (not that I wouldn't like both, if I could afford it) was that I knew I'd be using it largely for reverb, and I wasn't as impressed with the UAD demos.

Although I have to say, I still get the best results with SIR, no doubt because it's easy to find impulses from the best hardware 'verbs. It's a CPU killer too obviously, but with a dual-core machine it's probably acceptable to have 2 or 3 of them running, more if you use hardware/DSP instruments.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut [FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=#99CCEE]One of the reasons I went for a Powercore instead of a UAD (not that I wouldn't like both, if I could afford it) was that I knew I'd be using it largely for reverb, and I wasn't as impressed with the UAD demos.

Digi, what flavor of the Powercore did you end up with? Firewire?

wuts this powercore business? is it a pci card or wut? i always thought it was for software virus, didn't know it had fx. bettar than uad you say?

quote:

Originally posted by mysticalninja wuts this powercore business? is it a pci card or wut? i always thought it was for software virus, didn't know it had fx. bettar than uad you say?

TC Powercore is an external DSP processing system, basically the same thing as UAD. You can buy it as an internal PCI card or as an external breakout box.

Check it out: TC Powercore Concept

Since it is simply a DSP processing system, they can design many different types of plugins that utilize the DSP. Effects or instruments, like the Virus Powercore for example, which is just a software emulation of a Virus that runs off of the Powercore DSP system.

Better than UAD? I don't know, since I only own UAD. There seems to be much debate on the various forums. That is why I'm trying to find out from users who own or have used both systems.

Tried out a demo of the UAD Plate and i thought it was ok, just wish i had longer than 2 weeks to try it, still use SIR with the free impulses
Real Verb Pro - wasnt really impressed with that, found SIR better somehow...
Then theres the UAD Dreamverb, might demo that in the next couple of weeks, is it much of a difference from real verb pro Eric???
havent tried the RS-1 yet either

Dreamverb or the Plate would cost me around �125 each, so not too expensive really...

The powercore verbs are supposed to be reeeally nice, dont have enough space in my stupid mobo to install another card tho!

Then someone has mentioned the Sony Oxford reverb, but its about �400 which is a bit on the steep side - anyone know if theres a demo available of this???

quote:

Originally posted by evo8 Tried out a demo of the UAD Plate and i thought it was ok, just wish i had longer than 2 weeks to try it, still use SIR with the free impulses Real Verb Pro - wasnt really impressed with that, found SIR better somehow... Then theres the UAD Dreamverb, might demo that in the next couple of weeks, is it much of a difference from real verb pro Eric??? havent tried the RS-1 yet either Dreamverb or the Plate would cost me around �125 each, so not too expensive really... The powercore verbs are supposed to be reeeally nice, dont have enough space in my stupid mobo to install another card tho! Then someone has mentioned the Sony Oxford reverb, but its about �400 which is a bit on the steep side - anyone know if theres a demo available of this???

i got the sony oxford for around 150� in the bundle.. so it's not really that expensive.

RealVerb is Ok, Dreamverb is not much better than Realverb but Plate-140 is really nice especially on percussive elements. But u still need a convolution reverb to compliment the UAD reverbs. Thats my opinion, u might wanna try asking the same question in the UAD forum :

http://www.chrismilne.com/uadforums...65ffd91c0dca9d8

There is also a thread in the Thrillseekers forum. where it is stated that their favourite UAD plugs is Plate 140, LA-2A and Cambridge EQ. Thats why I bought em

These plugs I own and I really like em all:

LA-2A
Cambridge EQ
Plate-140
Precision Bundle

Gonna add Helios and Dimension D to my collection soon

convolution soft verbs kill lexicon.


But I'm not out for realism, so lexicon will do

quote:

Originally posted by Pjotr G convolution soft verbs kill lexicon.

especially if you use lexicon impulses

or what do you mean?

better to use a cathedral


or your bathroom.

i love the modulations in algo reverbs (lexicon and tc). and this can't be done with convolution reverbs..

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J Digi, what flavor of the Powercore did you end up with? Firewire?

Nah, I have the older Element (PCI). Of course if I were buying one today I'd make sure to get the PCI-E version. The Firewire version is probably fine - I just happened to find someone selling their PCI, so I sprung for it.

I don't think that most of the advantages of a Firewire audio interface really apply to DSP units; for one thing, there are no ins/outs to speak of. But if you've got the extra coin, why not, it's convenient.

i was at my friends the other day and he has the really nice lexicon (dont rememeber the model) with cubase 4 and ...........it was AWESOME....the reverb is the shit!! so much better then using some convolution software and bouncing because it uses all your cpu........and using with cubase 4 he had it so you just use it pretty much as a vst adjusting the amount........i loved it

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut Nah, I have the older Element (PCI). Of course if I were buying one today I'd make sure to get the PCI-E version. The Firewire version is probably fine - I just happened to find someone selling their PCI, so I sprung for it. I don't think that most of the advantages of a Firewire audio interface really apply to DSP units; for one thing, there are no ins/outs to speak of. But if you've got the extra coin, why not, it's convenient.

Well it's not on the top of my priority list, but I'm putting it on the "nice to have" list. Considering I can route just about anything to a hardware reverb using my 24IO, including VST synths, I think I'd be better served to invest in a PCM unit eventually.

actually i think DSP cards are outdated.. the quality difference to native plugins is almost not there anymore. (and more in the range of taste than "better") and processing power isn't really a issue with the current cpus. (especially in comparison to DSP cards)

so you'll only need them if you want some official neve emulations or something where the name roland is in a legal way on a software, ... actually it's more about marketing than anything else.

it's a smart anti-piracy move.

Yes, yes, do we need to dredge up this stupid old debate again? If you're not interested in DSP, don't buy it. You might as well make the same comments about any VA or multi-effect unit.

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