Comparing Universal Audio Plug-Ins To Their Hardware Counterparts

[@louderthangod]

I think it's more important to match sounds rather than settings...nobody cares about the end settings of a mix like the do the final sound. As an in the box guy I care if a plugin can get the grit, depth, dimension and harmonics of the hardware.

[@LokoTheChannel]

In the final mix the hardware gives a more 3d sound, but the plugins work incredibly well.

[@martinziet7157]

Biggest difference seems to be in the drums, they actually sound more compressed with hardware - the ride and the bleed sound much louder. This alters the mix balance quite a lot in the final mixdown. Check 5:07 and then 5:27 - it sounds almost as if one of the drum ambience tracks got muted in the software, and was again enabled in the hardware.

[@jorgefrias7889]

Your Mic placement and source decisions will make far more audible differences. I'm listening on Genelecs and augspurgers and can no longer justify the cost of hardware plus maintenance over these minute differences that clients will never be able to tell. This comparison was very well done, cheers!

[@dspoet1]

HARDWARE is smoother, sweeter, colored, richer, fuller and wider. I achieve that with some stereo widener and tube plugins on the mix buss.

[@erokraider1690]

Hardware sounds more open. Got to decide if that openness with worth all the extra money.

[@louisian101]

Well done Vintage King-folks! There is more "life" and excitement to the hardware examples I feel. The plugins are great but hardware is the greatest! Louisian

[@jopamusic]

Thanks for the comparison. Very nice. I would, however, like to hear this mixed by ear and not settings. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Cheers!

[@GeorgeGoire]

I liked the low end better on Hardware but the hardware mix sounded more compressed. Hear how the acoustic guitar is more dynamic and open on the software mix compared to the hardware mix. Definitely not a difference a regular client will care about or even notice.

[@fuzzupuzzu]

agree with u felt the same way

[@therealrussellsmyth]

Wow , software actually fared well in this particular setting, impressive

[@jdonyc]

Great shootout Dave, thanks for taking the time to make it happen!

[@bradyp3096]

good video!...can you guys now make a video to see if there is any difference between rack units and their 500 series counterparts.

[@LeDemiChef]

For the sake of this mix and how these particulars settings are put in place, I would go with a hybrid mix. Specifically hardware CL1b on bass, hardware 1176 on vocals for more attack and grit on the high mids, software Neve compressor on the drums, software limiter on guitars and finally real Neve 1073 on the organ, as long as you lower that thing down by a few db, it's killing me ahah

[@hotjamsm07]

I use UAD. I wanted to the UAD to sound as good or better. IMHO, the hardware had more warmth, saturation, and harmonics throughout, especially the midrange. That said, the plugins sound really good, and given my constraints, will give me really good results, just not top of the line.

[@symph1744]

Its getting so close now compared to years back, in some cases even neglectable. Save a lot of money on maintenance and electricity bills of all that expensive hardware gear and invest it into a great mic and preamp. Mix with software and use a mastering service that uses hardware will get you that pro finishing touch. Even Andrew Scheps is mixing in the box these days, that should tell you something!

[@livetorock1844]

The hardware has an edge here with the rich harmonics, but this can be modeled as well. As an experiment, I recorded the two versions of the mix into my DAW. On the plugin version of the mix, I added Slate Digital VCC (the virtual mixbus plugin set to Brit 4K E), a touch of Slate's "New York" plugin from the Virtual Tube Collection (on the "console" setting), and a touch of Slate's "Revival" plugin. After this treatment, the two versions of the mix are virtually indistinguishable to my ears. Give it a try. The analog-style saturation tools developed by Slate and other plugin developers have advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years, and are helping to close the gap between hardware and software.

[@saurabhsonic]

Thank you for this comment. I have so much to learn.

[@flyjohnson711]

LOL the plug ins are so close. All these people saying the HW blows it away are crazy, Right off the top the Neve 1073 and the 1176 are so close it is barely noticeable. Those 2 are spot on. The Tube Tech, Zener and Neve compressors are a little more warm in hardware, but I would like to see some settings tweaking on plug in before saying they are better, and on all 3 it is just a little better......no fan of the music will be able to tell -fact.

[@billyhughes9776]

Great vid. On the drum bus you can clearly hear the difference between the plugin and hardware. Hardware provided more width, punchier lowend and detail on top. Next closest was the acoustic guitar -- bass and vocals were a wash to my ear. Some slight differences. Overall mix was close but still the edge to the hardware. For what I do my Apollos and plugins will have to bare the brunt of the load when mixing.

[@Achase4u]

Hardware mix sounded like it moved more and went deeper/wider. Though, the software is pretty good. I use UAD a lot.

[@atxplankspanker]

Wow, the hardware did it for me. The plugins were great but the hardware was warm, open and vibrant.

[@DerekWhitaker]

Wow this was great and really showed me that as far as plugins have come they sound pretty good but still aren't quite there yet to match the hardware.

[@Andrew-vr9hr]

This is awesome thanks so much. The hardware does sound better, more dynamic. I bet you could match that sound with automation and eq on the plugins

[@Emcfree2084]

Excellent video, thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Was both useful and fascinating and I actually preferred the software as it sounds clearer to me, this was the opposite of what I was expecting.

[@watergraffiti]

HARDWARE smoother, sweeter, coloured, richer, everytime. plugin - does an excellent job.

[@PetersPianoShoppe]

This video is the greatest sales pitch for hardware gear.

[@MrChrisKnight]

Crazy how close it is!

[@LVBRock]

What a great video with great sound! The differences are bigger than i expected. No doubt that in the near future plugins will reach the exact same sound as hardware. Now please make the exact same video but with the settings matched by ear.

[@Also_Ran]

This is really well done and fairly done, the differences do come through even on KZbin, A and B are very well matched, and not all comparison videos take the time to do that. I do think it's overall very squashed, esp the 33609 and would be easier to hear if it wasn't so, and It would be easier to follow if there were captions but, thanks for taking the time to make the video it's very helpful.

[@tonstudiometzingen]

hardware sounds better, thats obvious .Software is still so good, I would work also entirely in the box without a question. But for me, the workflow I get with hardware has a big impact on my end result, so I take that route.

[@MrZambooni]

Wow. The hardware is so ALIVE! Huge difference.

[@markbmedia]

A great comparison vid and clearly the hardware wins. To your earlier point, could you please do a video where you try to tweak the settings of the plug ins more to match what the hardware sounds like naturally to see what the results would be. Peace

[@andrecarvalhomusic]

Great video! By the hardware price (which goes up every day more and more) it becomes clear that UAD plugins are exceptional! Saving money here to buy an Apollo for me.

[@weses2]

Hardware sounds warmer, although it's probably compressing a little more. Hard to get a perfect match but the software still sounds good

[@monkeyxx]

The difference was more subtle than I expected. I 'almost' preferred the software mix. Also I want to specifically mention that the 1073 shootout was a complete tossup for me. Absolutely no reason for the hardware to be used on that channel. In the final mixdown I heard a tiny difference overall in the openness of the top and bottom end, with the hardware having lets say a 5% benefit. Anyway, nice video, even if it did get off to a rocky start with the Neve compressor unmatched comparison.

[@victorhugod387]

The hardware is a little bit better, feels more "human", more "alive". But I can fix that and save money. Nice video guys. 😊😊

[@TaiChiRehab]

the differences are tiny, amazing how many audiophiles claim the difference is large its as if they are trying to show off their incredible dog like ears. Differences are small, and overall the buying market i.e the people who buy the mixes dont give a shit in general. Its the audiophile engineers that seem to think the differences are large. But they arent, they are tiny!

[@riktascale4]

Excellent☺☺☺ There was a difference but, both sounded great and he also said he could have matched the plugs to the hardware if he wanted. Isn't this great?

[@lcarrasco212]

They definitely did a great job of making the plugins sound like the hardware! Only difference i can tell is the hardware feels a little more open spaced

[@luckystrke]

1176 software sounds good enough for me. Im thinking of buying UAD just for that

[@dudeofficialchannel]

Hardware mix jumps out of the speakers and sounds more detailed and three dimensional and yet smoother. Expect to wait another decade or so for plugins to sound indistinguishable.

[@tygersounds2311]

wow thank you so much for making this video! it was a huge help! such a good idea to AB the final mix from software to hardware, what a cool experiment.

[@johnglenn4433]

I've said it many times and I will say it again. I have yet to see anyone emulate a plug-in into a hardware piece and there's a reason for that. I'll take hardware every time. Ironically, yes I would agree that the 1176 plug-in is the closest sonically to the hardware piece and yet it's the closest to my least favorite 1176. The 1176LN. There is a reason why I have 5 racks of hardware in the control room. I use plug-ins sparingly and try not to use them at all. Good job with this shootout.

[@ultimativePwnage]

Wow. I couldn't believe the difference of the Zener Limmiter vs the plug in...it's a completely different world of depth and clarity, richness and overall appeal. Too bad I'm still a broke musician. lol.

[@jermainesmith6315]

I just got Apollo 8 waiting for my Mac before I could set it up. I m even more happy I did after watching this video. To me it too close to justify spending 2k and a piece of hardware vs a $200 or $400 plugin.

[@mededmoon6265]

On the final mix the hardware sounded deeper and more natural. And that's my assessment just listening on laptop speakers on a 10 years old computer. If he thinks the software is no different than hardware than why does he keep $20,000 in hardware laying around that he doesn't need? That's other evidence to consider.

[@HansBaier]

Hardware sounds more 'alive'

[@Bronwyn031]

This like my 4th shootout video between digital versus analog processing. May be I'm just odd but I prefer the brightness, clarity and sharpness of digital. Analog sounds warmer, flatter and duller in it's highs.

[@mickelachlan]

ITB users will be able to almost match the OTB sound but it requires more processing/plugins, which comes at a compromise soundwise. HW for the win, again. Plugins are amazing value though. Good shootout, thank you!

[@danielkisel5661]

Nice could you also make updated video with cl1b mkii vs hardware?

[@TWEAKER01]

The hardware sounds fuller / bassier - and very slightly louder, in every example. Listen carefully. What also makes a *hugely* significant difference is headroom and input levels relative to equivalent 0VU. For example: are they *all* +4dBu = 0VU = -18dBFS?

[@fuzzupuzzu]

man this is great, perfect video, this is the video I always wanted to see and the best thing u did was not talking this time while doing the A/B from what I heard I want the damn hardware, they def have that little something that the plugins are missing, for one i think they sound thicker and have more lows and low mids, and they felt like they took up a more 3d space compared to the more flat space the plugin sounds take, I might be imagining all this but thats what I thought while watching

[@losangerouge4927]

The biggest difference betweeen plugin and hardware is on the bass. Tubetech fills the room with the warmness of the low end.

[@MrHARDtaHANDLE1]

I like these types of comparisons... but to me I felt like the vocal sat into the mix just a tad bit better on the hardware and felt like it had more energy all around, the software sounded more clean, prim and had more cohesive over heads that sit right in strangely....both sound good just in different ways; just my opinion...and enjoying reading what others heard as well

[@Кий-у3ч]

Hardware sounds nicer and gives you that 80-s feel. Reminded me of White Snake.

[@c.y.n.1637]

Hardware is so smooth. Plug-ins I can hear some spiky sound hits my ears.

[@keithrowe1007]

Thank you for this. It would have been very interesting as a blind test and make us guess which is which. To me the mids sounded different. It seemed as though there was a bit more “edge” to the hardware...maybe. But i could never pick it out without a/b comparisons. Certainly won’t be chasing my tail by ever buying 10 or 15k in hardware.

[@colaboytje]

The Neve on the drums wasn't even close. The hardware sounds so rich and smooth. There is a reason the equipment is so expensive. There is a reason why a professional recording studio delivers such a better result. However, using plugins in a creative way at home, can result in amazing recordings.

[@Audiojunkk]

Excellent video. Thanks for more GREAT content guys!

[@xXxAmadeuzxXx]

Hardware sounds smoother

[@reggiedillard7731]

lets b real hear guys. the difference is so small that the average joe would NEVER hear it. like 90 percent would NOT no the difference at ALL. thats a lot of money he has locked in those racks but a very small difference at the end. get a good mic and good pre and uad plugs will have u in the GAME!!. save your money. the future of recording is HERE!!

[@vicdmise]

Terrific video. Please, far more of this.

[@kevinlong4657]

My first impressions: Drums sound better w/ plugin because they are over-compressed w/ hardware. Organ: no appreciable difference. Acoustic: Close, but I'll give this one to the hardware, nicer harmonics. Vocal: no apprecieable difference. I too would like to have all that hardware, but I'm pretty happy with my UAD setup and a few preamps

[@patrickdinnen9237]

I hear the difference perhaps the most in the drum compression track and second most in the vocal. Both are very close approximations but there is a difference. I wonder how far the plug-in tech has come since 2017? fwiw i actually prefer the drum plug in sound over the hardware sound, and vice versa for vocals.

[@zimouspero]

I ONLY ear the saturation more clearly on the hardware

[@daniellllll]

Yes, I agree with the comments below. Hardware sounds more ‘real’, whilst software sounds just like the computer screen. Flatter and dimensionless. UAD still sounds great for software though. Ever since I got UAD I can’t get myself to use any other plugins. UAD is the closest to hardware, even with my comments from above.

[@jonathanfurtado7611]

Cmon the difference is massive, totally justified

[@Marcin79W]

Hardware seems to have a slightly bit more of depth - but in the end - listener will consider if song is good, not if there is 5% of more depth in the mix I think.

[@verstaerker]

I'm a big hardware fan ... but here found it just subtle better on the single tracks... alltogether I couldn't decidewhats better hardware always shines if you push it bit into the extremer settings

[@amazeus1980]

Hardware wins...especially if you ''abuse'' it! :D

[@NineInchFailz]

I love hardware. I think hardware units are just beautiful to look at and they seem inspiring to work with (i can't afford them) but DAMN those plugins sound good. Hardware definitely is slightly smoother... but only slightly

[@claudianreyn4529]

They sound similar. The hardware is way better in tone. It's very subtle but there is a difference. Some hardware is impossible to simulate though. Shadow Hills Compressor/Vandergraph or Fairchild. The problem is, these little differences add up when you use a whole chain of plugins or hardware.

[@rh666]

Zener limiter hardware beats the plugin by 1000 miles (with the same settings) on that guitar track. You can hear very obvious differences when the guitar slides, the hardware gives you a really smooth slide while the plugin doesn't.

[@MariJu1ce]

The hardware sounds more 3D and more saturation

[@FdUpNews]

Nice studio man!

[@Don_nell]

What I've learned is that I don't ever want to use plugin software, unless it's the very last resort, as the hardware sounds much better and more warmer and more depth and integrity of the actual sound, while software sounded sorta thin, and brighter and software processed and less detailed.

[@neotropeusa]

Obviously what "you hear" will vary based on your speakers setup and bitrate listening to this stuff online -- both sound good on my FOCALs -- but funny how some stuff sounds better on the software and some on the hardware in this shoot-out (organ sounded better to me on software, for example); but very first example better in hardware -- although not apples-to-apples, as he admitted diff. models and not 'ear balanced' -- still, I think in some cases a $200 plugin vs $2000 hardware can be good "approximation..." ...

[@adamthomas1246]

For some odd reason..when you use the uad plugins at say 96k or 88.2 they sound more 3d like the hardware..go figure...

[@davidrieley5251]

Hey Michael, I am a big fan of mixing at 96k for a similar reason. The UAD reverbs are amazing at 96k.

[@Josediazowl]

Nice ! Thanks!

[@thomasfokas]

Not a fair comparison. Hardware had more make-up gain and hit the compressor harder

[@janosgrausza8790]

I wonder what would be the result of a blind test?

[@haramaschabrasir8662]

I think it was a mistake to match the settings rather than the sound. But I understand that matching the sound is quite an effort that takes time. Other than that: We shouldn't view the UAD plugins as replicas of the original hardware but as high class plugins. They often don't sound the same as the hardware but they do sound better than other plugins on the market. I buy them not to replace the hardware but to get highest class plugins.

[@MusicaMercy]

It is worth buying the apollo twin mkII, since there are thousands and thousands of dollars difference between plugins vs hardware sounds.

[@orbituary]

Lol what did we learn here today, everybody? Analog gear will sound better, every time.

[@a.v.pstudios8468]

On the individual tracks the hardware wins for me the whole mix the software wins for me

[@Кий-у3ч]

I like vocals going through the hardware. You want to listen to it again and again, whereas with the software it's just a clean and cheaper sound.

[@jeffreyscottking]

nice shootout bruh

[@janukomski6728]

Hardware version sounds a lot better though imho if you use ITB compressors with less reduction you can get good results :)

[@whitewizzardllc2348]

The 1073 is so close it’s crazy. That and 1176 are the closest. The vocal and organ on both full mixes really don’t change. Tube Tech hardware was smoother (that bass tone soloed was horrible) the drums sound fuller with the hardware which effects the mix. My take-the 1073 and 1176 are so good you can let go of your hardware versions. The other 3 the hardware is clearly better. Still all those 3 are close, and I guarantee the fans won’t know the difference. UAD and Pro Tools is the ultimate set up IMO.

[@cankucuk17]

Only the 1073 sounded similar to my ears. In the others, the differences were obvious.

[@gtrman9342]

its really interesting to hear the differences . good vid but yo could of used a better Organ sound . or maybe different settings on the 1073 . The Cl 1B is almost untouchable . the general vibe i am getting here is all the Hardware has far more presence overall in the bottom end . I think a lot of people struggle in that lower area . maybe thats the lesson here guys . BOOM up the low end and sound like real Hardware ha

[@lamasteve6905]

Mix is the key !

[@bangtherapy8321]

Simply in my mind there are emulations and then the real thing. They come close but one is always the slightly better and the smallest details in mixing I find make the biggest impact.

[@richyhoya8832]

I think knowing how to tweak with uad plugins you can get a very professional sound because you already get a clean sound with uad plungins.. the hardware sound good but still dirty..

[@Markpianist1]

The tricky thing about listening is listening to the exact same area of the example. In other words if you are just listening where it changes it is not doing you any good. Listen to the same exact area by marking down the time. It won't be so drastic. Then think about does it have the same characteristics because if you A/B two different pieces of hardware it will sound different especially on older gear.LIke Frank Filipetti says if it sounds like a Pultec it's a Pultec!

[@Tyla_C0]

being completely honest, ive been producing for over 10 years, i watched this video with a really crappy set of earbuds, and honestly i couldnt tell the difference. (im guessing with a decent set of speakers i probably would have had more to say) but if youre making the type of music that people will only listen to on crappy earbuds, is it worth shelling out for the hardware??

[@radhakrishan7384]

thanks sir

[@gahgahgahd00]

big jawbreaker fan i see

[@andrewbello983]

The outboard gear has a warmer sound at the same plug in setting but if the mix levels are different and you can still get that warmth for far less less dollars plug it in plug it in! the difference was very slight even to a trained ear. If you think the average radio listener can tell the difference then The Beastie Boys would have never sold a record.

[@naturecollision]

what the software lacks in sound, it gains in versatility and let’s not forget about total recall which is a killer feature analog hardware struggles to match.

[@JohnLaFosse]

With software use your ears. With hardware use your ears. Mixing in the box is a hell of a lot better than using a 4 track recorder from back in the day. Very few people will ever have access to hardware that million dollar recording studios, I see the plug-ins or any in the box mix as a thumbnail that can be re-worked when funds become available to mix with a bigger budget and buying hardware is not an object. Love UAD...want ...drool.