Help me choose some UAD plugins.

I hope to get the new Eventide H9 Max at some point and use it as my main reverb. Cowboycoalminer sent me a track of mine he tweaked a bit for me, and I noticed the verb felt different, and mentioned it to him. He said it was hardware, a $100 used Lexicon piece. Then No Filter Chuck posted his sax track with the H9, and it blew my mind. Can't afford a Bricasti, don't overlook the Eventide.

Hmm.. maybe I'll call Chuck and see if he would mind coming by one day and trying it out with me at my place.

Leaning toward the API 2500 bus compressor. It adds a lot of energy, maybe too much, but when I just tried it on the 2 bus, I got an overall punchier, yet smoother sound than the Manley Vari-Mu, the Waves API 2500, (sucked in comparison), Waves L2 or the Slate FG-X.

Maybe I'll try the Harrison one more time, and then decide..

Not yet. I will try it tomorrow though, because one of my benchmark recordings, (Road to Ensenada), was done with custom Massenburg EQ, compression and conversion, and I think it sounded great. I was messing with the API 2500 a little more, and it's rapidly becoming addictive. It adds a lot of energy, perhaps too much, but it remains incredibly smooth when adding gain, smoother than any of the dozen bus compressors I have.

It may be one of the best UAD emulations yet. It stands to reason they'd get better and better at it. Especially considering other companies like Fab Filter or Slate are raising the bar.

I hope you guys will take a look at it, I'm curious what you hear.

Very cool.  I couldn't agree more.  Something about the Eventide algorithms is just "right" to my ears.  I can see why they have so many fans, and I count myself among them.  An interesting angle is that a lot of their gear is digital to begin with.  So the reverbs are not emulations, per se, just some more of their really good coding.

I did a little while back, and remember it didn't wow me, should I check it again?

I've been playing with the API 2500, and found an interesting thing to do on the 2 bus. I've been loving the 2500, but I lowered the gain that I was adding just a little, and then popped on the Slate FG-X, and really perked the track up even more. I own FG-X, and I don't love it, even though Seven Slate keeps trying to help me out with the settings. But in this context, with two compressors, and the FG-X set to add just a little more, it's really nice.

Tomorrow I should receive a $25 UAD coupon. It's for answering a questionaire So, I'll have either $175 or $200 coupon credit, (I forget exactly). The API 2500 is $300. I'd be very happy if UAD just happened to put the 2500 on sale tomorrow, though I doubt it, because it's new. If I have to put in  $125 more to use the $175 credit, it gives me pause.

As much as I'm digging the API 2500, there are some things I'm interested in that I might prefer to get with $125. I'm not a big pedal guy, but I like the Digitech Mosaic 12 string pedal. It creates a very good sounding 12 string, but all the strings are perfectly tuned, so it's especially nice. Sometimes I want a little something extra on electric rhythm guitars, but don't alway want the full Byrds sound, so this pedal makes it easy use a little or a lot of the effect.

There was a direct comparison done at the UA forum a while back. I don't recall people thinking the waves api sucked but that the newer UA version had more tone and dimensionality.

I've had the Stam piece and just auditioned the 2500. Both are great. The 2500 is going to be more flexible with more options and a blend knob, which is super useful.

Thanks Indie, MonkeyXX. I already have a whole bunch of buss compressors that I don't use, or don't love. I worked with the API a lot yesterday, and like the energizer ad says, it just keeps on giving. I should look at the Massenberg before jumping, but I think I'm leaning toward the API 2500. I think I can wait o the Stam a little longer.

Back in a bit..

It's also bigger, and we all know bigger is better ;-P

Thanks guys, I needed that. I just tried the Massenberg EQ based on John's recommendation I check t out. That thing is SMOOOVE baby! Maybe the most natural sounding EQ yet, but it's closer to the Elysia EQ I already have than the API or FG-X. I still need to work with and wrap my head around the Elysia, because it's good, so I think it's gonna be the API.

Since we use these things a lot, I agree , the GUI is quite important. Once jcoutou mentioned it, I just noticed that with Apple's new screen template update 10.3 and the API I'm more immersed in the process than struggling to navigate. It's subtle, but there is something less stressful about it, and it feels a little more like you're working with hardware when it's so nicely laid out.

Well, I could have waited 2 more days before my coupon expired to try a few other things, but I decided on the API 2500. It rapidly became something I don't want to be without. Two of my mixes came to life with it. It's very expensive, considering the hardware you can find second hand for $400-$750, the $300 might have been better used toward something else, but I had the coupons, so there it is.

I spent $75 cash, plus coupons. I think I'm done with UAD plugs for a while now. Doing this process also helped me realize I need to spend more time with what I have. Thanks to John mentioning the Elysia, it got me to take a look at it again, when it was getting dusty in the "probably won't use again" plug-in section.

$75 seems inexpensive relative to the $300 it actually costs, but I've bought too many plug-ins I thought were good, or rushed to buy because of sales and coupons, that I never use and wish I could offload. So I'm wary of most plug-ins now. Example, I haven't used the Fatso in a year and a half. I'd gladly have sold it for $75 to use toward the API if UAD allowed it.

I realize it's plug-ins we're talking about, but think that just like any real purchase, you should now own it and be able to sell it if you want to. Why should digital be different. I know upgrades are part of it, but we pay for UAD upgrades, so why not let us sell or trade, they could charge a fee to offset some losses. I think in some ways, we've all been had.

One thing I notice anytime I get a UAD plug is how simple and easy the process is. I can buy a plug and have it installed in less than a minute with just a few clicks, brilliant! I've had other plug-in company's products take an hour to work out or take a half dozen emails back and forth with customer support to resolve.

Thanks Jesse. I realize that, I was referring to the kinds of things than can be bought for $400-$750 used. A Stam SSL wouldn't be a huge stretch above the $299 for the plug-in, and you'd have a real bus compressor.

If I had $300 cash for gear to spend, I'd put it elsewhere, like the Eventide H reverb or the Stam SSL compressor, for sure. But with the coupon, I feel lucky to have gotten it. It really sounds good, and I can only imagine how good the hardware must be, yikes.