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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jul 11, 2021 18:16:04 GMT -6
I think the question is now, do I pay for a UAD Satellite (current promo sounds great) or spend that same money on either: 1) native plugins 2) an even better computer or 3) both The big unknown is do I need the extra dsp? With a new Mac M1x will I benefit from the extra processing power or am I fine running everything native (on top of my vsti’s etc)? I don't think extra DSP is the question, at least not the main question. For me it's do you find the UAD processing to be useful or not? I've got a satellite and UAD is basically the main plug platform for a variety of reasons. For one I dig the quality of their stuff... I don't have hardware Distressors but the UAD is on every mix. The 140 plate is still unsurpassed next to a real one IMO and the Lexicon stuff sounds great too. The MXR flanger is the only ITB flanger I've ever liked... the Vari Mu also sees a lot of action to name a handful of things. Another reason is support. #1 with a bullet! As a working professional I find a lot of value in the way the whole system works. I want to demo and then buy something? Totally painless. By contrast last year I wasted time & money with another company that uses the ilok system. Should've been simple, I have other plugs from them but this one never got resolved... Had an album come in for mix where I took the guys whole Logic folder "as-is" and there was one particular plug he used that I didn't have and well, its on sale. For $29 I should just have it anyway... quit the session. Make the purchase. Had problems with the installer. Then ilok wouldn't recognize it. Spent about 3 or 4 hours going in circles which completely derailed the session that day. If your a home hobbyist maybe that's ok. Frustrating yeah but its not like you have deadlines and paying clients in the wings asking when things are going to get done. One of my friends has been with UAD basically since the beginning and through various DAW rigs... complete computer replacements etc over the course of 15 odd years he's rarely had a problem that wasn't resolved quickly. Its been one of, if not the most stable software platforms I can think of. Another factor is that I wanted to keep my new DAW rig lean and mean. Didn't want to get to the point I was at years ago with 2 dozen + different plug in companies which becomes a nightmare every time there's an upgrade or re-install. Its the time & simplicity thing again. Plus yeah, the marketing angle. Brand recognition. As a guy for hire what's better? Do you buy a Neumann or a mic that's probably as good but nobody has ever heard of? Absolutely there's a lot of other good stuff out there. Nobody "needs" UAD or Slate or whatever to make a record. Its not like the world is going to stop spinning 'cause you don't have the latest greatest fake Fairchild plugin... Comments about resale value & cost? I can't relate to those. I view the stuff as virtual outboard gear. A single physical Distressor is $1500. The plug in was like $150 on sale? Maybe? Total bargain from where I sit. I've also never sold a plug and don't plan on it since I don't "collect" them to begin with. How many different virtual 1176 does anyone need?! I've got one. Think its pretty good. So I use it and get on with the task at hand without a second thought. YMMV. I agree with all of this. In other words “it just works.” |
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Post by Guitar on Jul 11, 2021 18:30:32 GMT -6
I agree with all of this. In other words “it just works.” Yes, that's my number one favorite thing about Apollo interfaces, too, they just work. Same thing, allegedly, with Mac computers. You can see why the Mac / UAD / Apollo setup is so popular, with "It just works" as the headline. |
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Post by phantom on Jul 11, 2021 20:15:55 GMT -6
Sure, but many brands just works as well.
Btw, I use both Mac and PC equally, and I totally disagree that Mac has less problems. Not trying to start a Mac x PC war here.
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Post by gwlee7 on Jul 11, 2021 20:33:45 GMT -6
Apollos may just work but they also lost me as a customer when I wanted to upgrade I/O and USB was no longer supported. MOTU FTW and I couldn’t be happier. I still have my satellite but as I have stated already, I would be willing to leave the platform completely if I could sell off my “system”.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 11, 2021 20:40:56 GMT -6
Not trying to be a fanboy here…but there’s absolutely zero way I would be able to use my 2012 Mac mini without UAD. Maybe I’ve just gotten past the financial hit on the front end and I’m not figuring that in…but I routinely use UAD plugs that help offload the workload. And I doubt even a new MM would run all native plugs, Superior, IK B3, multiple omnisphere (whatever) and then 40 more tracks with plugs. So I guess I just kind’ve appreciate it for what it is.
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Jul 11, 2021 21:01:03 GMT -6
So I guess I just kind’ve appreciate it for what it is. Well said. It was quite an investment, but there are still some goto's that are important to me and get used a lot. I haven't added onto my plugin list in a long time. And also consider myself OG for having the Roland RE-201, lol.
Beats the shit out of a lot of other options. Takes many tools and UA is just one of them.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 12, 2021 8:17:23 GMT -6
So I guess I just kind’ve appreciate it for what it is. Well said. It was quite an investment, but there are still some goto's that are important to me and get used a lot. I haven't added onto my plugin list in a long time. And also consider myself OG for having the Roland RE-201, lol.
Beats the shit out of a lot of other options. Takes many tools and UA is just one of them.
Funny you say that. I’ve got the 201 too. Sometimes I use the Arturia 201 and Plate for a little different flavor. |
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Post by svart on Jul 12, 2021 10:17:57 GMT -6
Literally anything else.
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Post by Tbone81 on Jul 12, 2021 11:54:32 GMT -6
Not trying to be a fanboy here…but there’s absolutely zero way I would be able to use my 2012 Mac mini without UAD. Maybe I’ve just gotten past the financial hit on the front end and I’m not figuring that in…but I routinely use UAD plugs that help offload the workload. And I doubt even a new MM would run all native plugs, Superior, IK B3, multiple omnisphere (whatever) and then 40 more tracks with plugs. So I guess I just kind’ve appreciate it for what it is. Hey John, thanks for the feedback. I’m worried too that a new Mac mini M1x wont be able to easily handle all the virtual instruments and native plugins. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 12, 2021 12:10:13 GMT -6
Not trying to be a fanboy here…but there’s absolutely zero way I would be able to use my 2012 Mac mini without UAD. Maybe I’ve just gotten past the financial hit on the front end and I’m not figuring that in…but I routinely use UAD plugs that help offload the workload. And I doubt even a new MM would run all native plugs, Superior, IK B3, multiple omnisphere (whatever) and then 40 more tracks with plugs. So I guess I just kind’ve appreciate it for what it is. Hey John, thanks for the feedback. I’m worried too that a new Mac mini M1x wont be able to easily handle all the virtual instruments and native plugins. I’m sure it’ll be great - and probably could handle most if not all…but I like the idea that I have a way to share resources. How awesome would it be to be able to run 3 instances of SD, B3, etc - or strings - and still have a ton of power left over with the UAD stuff. |
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Post by phdamage on Jul 12, 2021 13:04:55 GMT -6
if i wasn't so heavily invested in UAD plugs and only had the ones you list, i don't think switching/getting out would be too big a deal for me. i do love the UAD comps (1176/LA2A/fairchild/336090-esp), though, and I would truly miss the Ocean Way Studios plug, among some others.
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Post by jmoose on Jul 12, 2021 14:33:31 GMT -6
Apollos may just work but they also lost me as a customer when I wanted to upgrade I/O and USB was no longer supported. MOTU FTW and I couldn’t be happier. I still have my satellite but as I have stated already, I would be willing to leave the platform completely if I could sell off my “system”. What happened there? You might be the first person I've heard of with an upgrade that isn't supported? I know more then a couple people who've been with UAD for years... like a decade or more and never had a problem upgrading. Like my friend I mentioned earlier... 15 odd years, desktops, laptops etc always had a path forward and never lost a bit of functionality. Still has his OG 201 Space Echo too! Sure he's had to buy new hardware every so often... going from UAD 1 on PCI cards to now TB3 Apollo's etc. Part of that is simply keeping up with host computer tech... but there was always a path forward without loss. ?? |
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Post by gwlee7 on Jul 12, 2021 15:52:12 GMT -6
Apollos may just work but they also lost me as a customer when I wanted to upgrade I/O and USB was no longer supported. MOTU FTW and I couldn’t be happier. I still have my satellite but as I have stated already, I would be willing to leave the platform completely if I could sell off my “system”. What happened there? You might be the first person I've heard of with an upgrade that isn't supported? I know more then a couple people who've been with UAD for years... like a decade or more and never had a problem upgrading. Like my friend I mentioned earlier... 15 odd years, desktops, laptops etc always had a path forward and never lost a bit of functionality. Still has his OG 201 Space Echo too! Sure he's had to buy new hardware every so often... going from UAD 1 on PCI cards to now TB3 Apollo's etc. Part of that is simply keeping up with host computer tech... but there was always a path forward without loss. ?? Bad timing mostly. I had just bought a twin usb and a usb satellite and then UA switched to thunderbolt only less than a year after I purchased them. My computer is USB only and so any hope of doing some of the cool stuff that UA did with subsequent apollo configurations is not available for me. I was excited when it looked like they were coming out with hardware that would let twins be the monitor controller for them only to find out that usb twins weren’t included. the plug ins work fine but I am talking more about I/O. You always run a risk buying tech and UA decided to go thunderbolt so, I started looking at products that still work USB. |
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Post by Quint on Jul 12, 2021 15:57:47 GMT -6
What happened there? You might be the first person I've heard of with an upgrade that isn't supported? I know more then a couple people who've been with UAD for years... like a decade or more and never had a problem upgrading. Like my friend I mentioned earlier... 15 odd years, desktops, laptops etc always had a path forward and never lost a bit of functionality. Still has his OG 201 Space Echo too! Sure he's had to buy new hardware every so often... going from UAD 1 on PCI cards to now TB3 Apollo's etc. Part of that is simply keeping up with host computer tech... but there was always a path forward without loss. ?? Bad timing mostly. I had just bought a twin usb and a usb satellite and then UA switched to thunderbolt only less than a year after I purchased them. My computed is only and so any hope of doing some of the cool stuff that UA did with subsequent apollo configurations is not available for me. I was excited when it looked like they were coming out with hardware that would let twins be the monitor controller for them only to find out that usb twins weren’t included. the plug ins work fine but I am talking more about I/O. You always run a risk buying tech and UA decided to go thunderbolt so, I started looking at products that still work USB. I don't know that it has so much to do with UA abandoning USB as it has to do with USB not being capable of doing the sort of things that TB has allowed UA to do with the Apollo ecosystem. The same thing happened with FW. There's just only so much that some protocols are capable of. With the rackmount Apollos, you CAN get different digital cards to swap out from USB to TB, but you're obviously out of luck on a Twin. I feel you. I finally just went all in on TB and I'm glad I did. Also, technically UA had TB first and USB didn't come out as an option until later. Granted, I suppose UA could have indicated that USB wouldn't be capable of doing some of the things that they had planned for TB in the future, but then they would have had to pre-announce to the world what their intentions were, which they are not in the habit of doing. Which I kind of understand. Slate/Stam take the opposite approach and then get to hear complaints for two years before something is finally released. I tend to prefer the UA approach, though it does sometimes put customers into situations like you are describing. |
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Post by gwlee7 on Jul 12, 2021 16:22:27 GMT -6
I don’t mean to come off as “sour grapes” but I would have had to also buy a new computer if I wanted to expand using UA hardware and that wasn’t feasible. There’s no way to know what’s going to be “future proof” and like I said it was bad timing.
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Post by Tbone81 on Jul 12, 2021 19:21:35 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML
I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1…
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Post by lpedrum on Jul 12, 2021 19:57:50 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1… As I've mentioned in other threads, this was my dilemma also--my Mac died a couple of months ago. I got the M1 16gb ram and love it even though much of the software is running through Rosetta until the world catches up. I would recommend the extra $100 for the 3 year Apple warranty though because all of the hardware in the M1 is integrated and can't be replaced separately. |
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Post by Quint on Jul 12, 2021 20:00:46 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1… New power supply? |
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Post by Tbone81 on Jul 12, 2021 20:03:37 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1… New power supply? Could be, it could have overheated too. Could be the logic board too, idk. It shut off mysteriously once or twice over the last two weeks. Now all of a sudden it won’t stay on for more than 3 minutes |
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Post by jmoose on Jul 12, 2021 20:38:33 GMT -6
I don’t mean to come off as “sour grapes” but I would have had to also buy a new computer if I wanted to expand using UA hardware and that wasn’t feasible. There’s no way to know what’s going to be “future proof” and like I said it was bad timing. Nothing in the world of digital and especially DAW is future proof. Not for very long anyway. This stuff has a 5-7 year lifespan... and I feel like when I make it past that it's bonus time. Buying a new computer every so often is a given. I whine about it as much as anyone else, plenty of other things I'd rather spend the moose bucks on but it's unavoidable. Or, at least has consequences if I don't. Only gear that's outlived multiple computer rigs is the analog stuff. Water is wet the sky is blue, eventually the DAW needs to be replaced and Satan Claus? He's out there. Facts of life. |
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Post by ericn on Jul 12, 2021 20:47:30 GMT -6
Can you equal / beat UAD abso- fing loutly ? Hell yes! The only thing is let’s just admit it with the discounts It’s going to be really hard to do it for the same $ ! Your going to make mistakes along the way and you have to include the costs of those mistakes. Audio Crack, I mean UAD delivers, nothing they have put out sucks, that’s a big deal the UAD audio crack ecosystem is probably the best sounding, least risky plug-in ecosystem.
This from a guy who stil exisists in a primarily analog world. If I were going to dive into plugins I would probably go the UAD route because I could get the Softube Console 1 control surface compatibility and know it’s not going to suck! This from a guy who if he really really pushed it could probably remind the Waves guys they owe him big time ! Why is that important? Ask Jmoose, when it comes to plugins those of us who moved product have a pretty easy time convincing the big guys to give us their latest and greatest.
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Post by Tbone81 on Jul 13, 2021 7:10:53 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1… As I've mentioned in other threads, this was my dilemma also--my Mac died a couple of months ago. I got the M1 16gb ram and love it even though much of the software is running through Rosetta until the world catches up. I would recommend the extra $100 for the 3 year Apple warranty though because all of the hardware in the M1 is integrated and can't be replaced separately. How is plug-in compatibility with Rosett? Vsti’s? Any issues there? |
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Post by plinker on Jul 13, 2021 7:19:58 GMT -6
As I've mentioned in other threads, this was my dilemma also--my Mac died a couple of months ago. I got the M1 16gb ram and love it even though much of the software is running through Rosetta until the world catches up. I would recommend the extra $100 for the 3 year Apple warranty though because all of the hardware in the M1 is integrated and can't be replaced separately. How is plug-in compatibility with Rosett? Vsti’s? Any issues there? I've run a few non-AU plugs and they are seamless. In fact, I can't tell (performance-wise) what software is using Rosetta or not. It all just runs quickly and smoothly. I haven't tried running a bunch of non-AU plugs, simultaneously, though. |
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Post by indiehouse on Jul 13, 2021 8:06:25 GMT -6
So…my computer just died. It won’t stay on for more than 2-3 minutes before shutting down, as if it lost power…could be fixable but I fear this is the death knell…FML I was hoping to wait until the M1x comes out…but I might have to pull the trigger on a new M1… Contact Apple support chat, and they can walk you through some troubleshooting steps. Worth a shot. |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jul 13, 2021 9:30:53 GMT -6
Can you equal / beat UAD abso- fing loutly ? Hell yes! The only thing is let’s just admit it with the discounts It’s going to be really hard to do it for the same $ ! Your going to make mistakes along the way and you have to include the costs of those mistakes. Audio Crack, I mean UAD delivers, nothing they have put out sucks, that’s a big deal the UAD audio crack ecosystem is probably the best sounding, least risky plug-in ecosystem. This from a guy who stil exisists in a primarily analog world. If I were going to dive into plugins I would probably go the UAD route because I could get the Softube Console 1 control surface compatibility and know it’s not going to suck! This from a guy who if he really really pushed it could probably remind the Waves guys they owe him big time ! Why is that important? Ask Jmoose, when it comes to plugins those of us who moved product have a pretty easy time convincing the big guys to give us their latest and greatest. This is part of the "it just works" for me. None of it sucks so I don't really have to put much thought into the quality of the tech, just the flavor or use case of the plugin. Right now I don't use an LA-3A type compressor for example in hardware or software land... but if I decided that was a flavor I wanted to start adding to my toolkit I would probably just demo the UAD version to make sure I really like LA-3A type compression and the buy it when it goes on sale. Very little mental energy wasted, keeps my focus on making music. I also don't buy a lot of plugins so that's a factor as well. My GAS kicks in, when it kicks in, on stuff I can touch. Never really had much trouble avoiding endless software purchase cycles so that kind of makes it easier. (Although something about Harrison Mixbus always tempts me every so often I must admit. But I'm able to dodge it by reminding myself how much I hate learning new DAW's.) |
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