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Post by recordingengineer on Sept 5, 2022 14:39:01 GMT -6
UA's LA-3a hardware is nothing like the original UREIs. I’m curious what makes them different. I had an original for 15-years. Got a pair of Stams and the 50dB switch gain was not right. A single resistor changed the entire thing! I no longer miss the original! |
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Sept 5, 2022 14:56:23 GMT -6
I bought mine in 1969 after hearing one at a friend's studio. I got my second in 1972. I was shocked by how bad the ones in studios sounded during the '80s.
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Post by ab101 on Sept 5, 2022 20:53:21 GMT -6
For many reasons, including all the comps I own, I do not want to believe that a plugin can be as good as hardware. But then I worked with the TDR Molot GE. Wow wow wow. It is the first time I really felt like I had digital hardware that sounded like a hardware unit - like there were tubes and transformers in that software. And it can do that sort of la2a type thing and actually sound very rich. I have not used the kotelnikov much, but need to check it out more. I used the free Molot on a lead vocal last week, and damn was that thing useful. Can you tell me what the GE adds to the party? Not sure. Dan may know. When I bought it I only saw this GE - Gentleman's edition. I did not find the standard edition. |
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Post by yewtreemagic on Sept 6, 2022 16:42:45 GMT -6
You'll probably find this Dan Worrall video tutorial useful, especially as it includes quite a few audio examples of what both models can do:
Differences are described from 6:17
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2022 20:43:51 GMT -6
For many reasons, including all the comps I own, I do not want to believe that a plugin can be as good as hardware. But then I worked with the TDR Molot GE. Wow wow wow. It is the first time I really felt like I had digital hardware that sounded like a hardware unit - like there were tubes and transformers in that software. And it can do that sort of la2a type thing and actually sound very rich. I have not used the kotelnikov much, but need to check it out more. I used the free Molot on a lead vocal last week, and damn was that thing useful. Can you tell me what the GE adds to the party? The free Molotok is just very good. Molot GE is one of the best plugins around. 1. Insane mode makes fast attack actually work. Always turn it on and take the CPU hit.
2. Controllable secondary release to make it hug the material better.
3. Instant/relaxed further timing controls. 4. Feedback which should always be on imo.
5. The limiter which is a cool soft clipper.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2022 21:08:26 GMT -6
Oh and controllable saturation. btw, you might want to high pass filter and use a high shelf after heavy molot saturation. it sounds amazing and doesn't fucking fart like decapitator and presswerk for the secondary release, try to search forums and stuff and figure out what the presets are and tweak from there edit: saturation is modeled after zvukofor tanhx hardware saturator but molot never sounds as big as the demos or as in other gear that clips huge. the demos make this sound like vintage warmer in hardware big: |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2022 21:15:03 GMT -6
its been mentioned twice in this thread: kotelnikof doing sorta la3a. can you please guide me to some starting settings? what i love about the cla3a is, its almost one knob operation. but i am open to try kotelnikof and hear how it sounds in comparison. you need ge and to turn on inertia. honestly not using as both peak limiter and leveler in one go is kinda missing the point. kotelnikov is inherently not two knobs like an la2a or la3a; it's much more flexible and faster and more powerful than any optical compressor. optical compression is basically dark age technology compared to it. turn on insane watch some videos and hit go and sausage some stuff. it's not as hard as unisum or presswerk
lagerfeldt does it better than dan worral
and read the manual for this stuff. you can get insanely clean or insanely cool behavior out of the tdr comps. rare to find in anything digital.
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Post by notneeson on Jan 15, 2023 16:56:35 GMT -6
Hmm, I’m digging the LA2A with my UAD Spark trial. That and the Dimension D. Not sure it’s enough for the monthly fee though.
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Post by junior on Jan 15, 2023 17:24:04 GMT -6
Hmm, I’m digging the LA2A with my UAD Spark trial. That and the Dimension D. Not sure it’s enough for the monthly fee though. I'm wondering what plugs will be next to be ported over? Hopefully, we'll find out this week. |
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Post by Ward on Jan 15, 2023 17:25:43 GMT -6
In all honesty . . . there isn't one that comes to mind, at least not any of the plugs I've tried. The Waves 3a and 2a are pretty ok, for dynamic control but you'll find yourself EQing them to make them sound right. Extend that to include the CLA ones as well . . . and some of the other ones that come bundled from UA and others. They miss that very broad midrange lift centered around 900 to 1000 hz. They add harshness to harmonics.
There's a realignment of midrange in the hardware that makes material sound better.
There's a realignment of midrange in the plugins that make material sound worse.
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Post by thehightenor on Jan 15, 2023 18:15:28 GMT -6
Nobody does a good 3a. Or at least, not an 'authentic' 3a. The UA one is downright bad. The CLA waves one is *ok* (better than UAD). The Black Rooster one was kinda 'meh'. It's not unlike the hardware: there's just something about the real thing that seems damned near impossible to replicate (though the AudioScape 3a is pretty damned great). The 2As that UAD makes are good; i particularly like the Grey model. The Black Rooster one -- VLA 2A -- is also quite good...not really a 1:1, but it nails the tubey opto "feel". I've always considered all my UAD plugins to be very good, especially the LA2A MK2 and 1176 MK2 collections which are close enough to the hardware that during a mix I'm happy with them. Therefore when I bought the UAD LA3A and found it really boring I concluded LA3A's must be really boring? It's the one UAD emulation I'm not familiar with as hardware. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 15, 2023 19:05:05 GMT -6
Nobody does a good 3a. Or at least, not an 'authentic' 3a. The UA one is downright bad. The CLA waves one is *ok* (better than UAD). The Black Rooster one was kinda 'meh'. It's not unlike the hardware: there's just something about the real thing that seems damned near impossible to replicate (though the AudioScape 3a is pretty damned great). The 2As that UAD makes are good; i particularly like the Grey model. The Black Rooster one -- VLA 2A -- is also quite good...not really a 1:1, but it nails the tubey opto "feel". I've always considered all my UAD plugins to be very good, especially the LA2A MK2 and 1176 MK2 collections which are close enough to the hardware that during a mix I'm happy with them. Therefore when I bought the UAD LA3A and found it really boring I concluded LA3A's must be really boring? It's the one UAD emulation I'm not familiar with as hardware. It's a bit of a dud. Same goes for their 160. Both rare examples of a Waves plugin besting a UAD offering. |
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Post by ragan on Jan 15, 2023 20:52:13 GMT -6
They’re also both pretty old code, right? When I was in UAD land those hadn’t ever been MKII’d. I haven’t ever heard anything about them being updated since.
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Post by copperx on Jan 15, 2023 21:19:15 GMT -6
Hmm, I’m digging the LA2A with my UAD Spark trial. That and the Dimension D. Not sure it’s enough for the monthly fee though. I'm wondering what plugs will be next to be ported over? Hopefully, we'll find out this week. The great UAD sale ends tomorrow; I'm hoping they announce many UADx plugins given the unheard-of prices ($1,200 for all UAD-designed plugins). Of course, I'm just speculating. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 15, 2023 22:30:33 GMT -6
They’re also both pretty old code, right? When I was in UAD land those hadn’t ever been MKII’d. I haven’t ever heard anything about them being updated since. Yeah, that's correct. |
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Post by thehightenor on Jan 16, 2023 1:25:05 GMT -6
I've always considered all my UAD plugins to be very good, especially the LA2A MK2 and 1176 MK2 collections which are close enough to the hardware that during a mix I'm happy with them. Therefore when I bought the UAD LA3A and found it really boring I concluded LA3A's must be really boring? It's the one UAD emulation I'm not familiar with as hardware. It's a bit of a dud. Same goes for their 160. Both rare examples of a Waves plugin besting a UAD offering. I’m watching the Puremix MHB Brauerizing reveal video and he has a pair of UAD LA3A’s on his piano tracks! He seems to make them sound ok. Mind you sheesh his template is very very complex (at least it is to me) though I find I have every plugin he uses which is encouraging. I’ll keep my hardware on my stereo mix bus - but I’m going to give this Braurizing thing a spin on a couple of test mixes (if I can figure out the template) and I guess I’ll try the UAD LA3A’s on my piano channels. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jan 16, 2023 14:25:38 GMT -6
Even though I use UAD's LA2A, I don't love it. The thickening is a bit too obvious.
I recently got UAD's 176 in a holiday offer for around $55. At least it's clear that it's a color box. So if you like that color, it's great, if not, don't use it. I kept it on a recent mix for a friend. It added a touch of the old school "sounds like a record" thing.
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Post by the other mark williams on Jan 16, 2023 14:34:32 GMT -6
The Black Rooster Audio VLA-2A has improved significantly IMO with the release of the MkII version. In addition to the original time constant, it's got a different time constant based on a different opto cell. More usable to me now.
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Post by kcatthedog on Jan 16, 2023 16:08:26 GMT -6
New Uadx plugs
Oxide and and Century Tube Channel Strip.
If you are on the sub or own the uad2 plug, supposed to be in people’s accounts tomorrow.
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Post by junior on Jan 16, 2023 16:52:18 GMT -6
Haven't used Oxide, but Century is pretty cool.
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Post by copperx on Jan 16, 2023 17:11:39 GMT -6
New Uadx plugs Oxide and and Century Tube Channel Strip. If you are on the sub or own the uad2 plug, supposed to be in people’s accounts tomorrow. Ah, speaking of opto compressors. Nice. |
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Post by junior on Jan 16, 2023 18:44:02 GMT -6
Yep, and it's supposed to be based on the LA3. Seems this thread has come full circle.  |
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Post by kcatthedog on Jan 16, 2023 18:49:38 GMT -6
I’m confused, what are we talking about now ?
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Post by junior on Jan 16, 2023 20:35:49 GMT -6
The compressor in the Century channel being based on the LA3A.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2023 22:47:19 GMT -6
There are none but the Tupe Optos are cool as is the preset in Molot. You’re better off with just giving up and using the MDWDRC2 to level or Kotelnikov GE if you want some overshoot and smack.
The Apogee Opto 3A LA3A emulation that comes with the Symphony Desktop has a thin sound but let’s the transients pass totally through. It doesn’t even sound like a super slow optical compressor overshoot like a ART VLA; it sounds like a commercial plugin from 15 years ago, ie gross.
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