UAD FAIRCHILD MKII

No more $$$$ to UA until aax. It's very simple for me - I can't go back to PT10. Can't do it.

Well, yeah...I hear you...but I don't have $30,000 laying around. Plus, I've been using the MkII LA2A's and 1176's and really, really digging them. There's still a huge difference between the punch you can get mixing with a room full of hardware and a console and ITB, though.
As I've mentioned before, I liquidated an extra UAD-2 Quad and all of my plugins (kept a duo), but found that since I haven't upgraded my authorization to a newer UAD version, I'm still able to...ahem...use all of the aforementioned plugs. So, it was going to take a really good plug to make me re-buy a lot of the plugs and upgrade. This one is really making me think twice.

But then again, no plugin compressor is going to make everything sound the tits. Maybe I should just save up for a pair of hardware something. Plugs are just so damn convenient...

I know i'm like a broken record, but i'm just trying to help, i think you can do it for around $3K or so.

www.dripelectronics.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=38

Unfortunately, 10.6 is no longer officially supported on a Mac, although it seems to run without problems. Anybody tried it?

Hi levon, aren't we all 8)
good luck with your hunt buddy

The UAD LA2 plugs have 3 iterations of the LA2, and they're all superb, also, UAD includes a couple of different model 1176's with their emulations. The Slate VBC has an SSL style compressor tweaked with some Neve parts, a Focusrite Red, and a hybrid MU compressor. So, I have all these choices available now. I'm not inexperienced as a musician, recording artist or producer, but am still fairly new to the engineering side of it all. I had a small home studio in the late 80's, 8 Tk. & 2 tk tape, a Neumann mic, lexicon verb and delay, DBX compressor and a Ramsa board. It was quite minimalist in a way, but I used them on almost everything, and it sounded good enough to make it to broadcast of dozens of commercials I produced at home. (I did the bigger jobs in first class studios).

So, now there's a Fairchild emulation, and I gather a Fairchild is the holy grail of compressors, tubes and all. I've barely got my head wrapped around the plugs I do have, so I certainly won't be rushing in to buy another one. Cowboy has posted some mixes using the Fairchild, and then using his Sta-Level. When listening by itself, the Fairchild track sounds really good, (no doubt partly due to cowboy's general high quality level), but to me, the Sta-Level was in another league. Now, if I had no compressor plug-ins, it would be worth exploring these and perhaps picking a favorite, if I could afford only one. But at $300, I feel something like this is a luxury, and you'd have to absolutely love it and find it a must have for it to be worth bothering with.

Because I'm on a schoolteacher's budget, I look at the limited funds available for any new audio product from an overview. Which thing gets me the most improvement for the money. Having so many compressors already, the only thing I could see really making much difference, would be to get a real one. $300, could go a long way toward a $400-$600 used UAD satellite, or a Cascade Vin-Jet ribbon mic, a new Toontrack drum kit, a capsule upgrade to my Blackspade U17, a cheap 12 string guitar, or toward a better guitar amp, if I sell the one I have.

After jumping in the deep digital waters 18 months back, I'm getting my bearings now, and it's gonna take something more bad ass than another compressor emulation to drag those dollars out of my wallet. Slow down boys, take your time with these new plugs. I sure as hell don't need another $300 plug I don't use much after having it for a while.

Yeah.

That 'a for the cross grade, those who don't already have the Fairchild pay $299.

At $149, I'd buy it., as I have a $50 coupon for a few weeks.