UAD Capitol Mastering Compressor Unbiased Review

[@mixbustv]

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[@demonkoryu]

Small Monitors link not working

[@joesalyers]

I think it might be the oversampling UAD use, if you work at any other sampling rate outside of 48K it will cause a narrowing because the low pass filter is in the wrong spot, in reality the problem is, even at 192 or 96 or 88.2K they are oversampling from 48K internally. All you have to do to see this is open a session at say 96K and analyze the plugin it will have a hard oversampling low pass filter set to 24K not 48K which would be the proper place for a 96K session. I always thought it was to conserve DSP usage on the Sharc chips they use but even their Native plugins do this. This is how UAD have built their plugins for over a decade now. Their is no reason for this arbitrary low pass filter to be there in a native plugin, and at higher sampling rates which some people use it is even more noticeable. For some weird reason they don't account for anything outside of 48K as a sampling rate. I'm not saying higher sampling rates are better or anything like that, what I am saying is that UAD are not implementing their oversampling algorithms correctly and it really is the issue with their native plugins and its a shame because no one is talking about this. Plugin doctor or the Free bertom's EQ analyzer will show you the bad oversampling filter they use.

[@bontempo1271]

This is interesting. Shrinking the stereo field is something i have often heard in plugins over the years. From now i will lookout for potential causes like that

[@BattleAngelSound]

Interesting and bit concerning. I just started using UAD (la2a and 1176) and fortunately so far I didn't hear any side effects of antialiasing filter in 96k sessions. ToneBoosters EQ is doing the same in "HQ" mode btw, which I was able to notice.

[@joesalyers]

@@BattleAngelSound I've spoken to Jerrone the Developer from Toneboosters when I noticed the same thing a few months ago and if you send him an email he will explain that the HQ mode is only meant to be used at 441 or 48K and should be turned off at any sampling rate above 48K because it is unneeded. The older UAD plugins like the Legacy plugins do not have the wrong low pass filter but the new'ish ones do. This started around 2014 around the time of the revamped Fairchild compressor and new 1176 and LA2 bundle. The issue with the UAD plugins is there is no way to turn it off unlike the Toneboosters EQ and MBC. Cheers.

[@BattleAngelSound]

@@joesalyers thanks. I'm not using HQ mode since I spotted it. With UAD... Oh well, 1176 and la2a are the only plugins that I always wanted from them. For me la2a is worth it in some applications even with this filter, over any other plugin. With 1176 I'm yet to discover if it will beat other plugins. I really don't understand why filter is forced. Maybe it's a remnant of their UAD DSP and they will eventually fix it one day (I don't think that they have it high on their priority list tho).

[@joesalyers]

@@BattleAngelSound That was might thoughts as well but they justify it in the back of the UAD plugin manual. So hopefully it gets fixed someday! Cheers!!!

[@jochenh.7428]

Fantastic mastering compressor. The best ITB comp I've ever seen. Magic Death Eye is not even in the same ballpark. I don't know what you hear on your speakers, but I could prove it anytime that I am right. I think the CMC should be treated just as a part of the mastering chain. You will get stellar results for every music style. I also think that David leads you guys in a wrong direction in this case.

[@mixbustv]

😂😂 you go girl. Can I hear your masters?

[@jochenh.7428]

I'm not a Go Go girl. I am a professional with over 30 years experience and I tell you guys this thing is awesome. You have work with it and you will see how it makes your productions sound expensive.

[@mixbustv]

@@jochenh.7428 Sure

[@jackflynn-oakley1937]

I agree so much with plugin installers, I loathe them. My main machine died last week, so I had to go and get a new one, installing plugins was so long. Companies like FabFilter, Sonible, Tone Projects and Denise are just the goats for installing… Download, copy the license key, done - it’s a breeze. Izotope, Softube etc with their installers just took so much longer, even having to update their installers is long. Then the ilok guys… The less said about them the better, I had to wait a full day for my ilok licenses to be ‘available’ again as I had to list my old machine as unusable, wouldn’t have had that if I was a pirate! Anyways, sorry for rambling lol but I agree 100% and needed to vent

[@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST]

I agree! It's such a draining mental chore even if physically, we just have to click and click and click.

[@connorharris1900]

Yep. UAD doesnt sound as great as they want us to think. Not for modern music.

[@peppercrybeatz]

I like uad, but maybe I’m bias. After all I did spend thousands on them! 😂

[@JoeyFTL]

I like UAD but I don't like it enough to put up with UAD Connect

[@peppercrybeatz]

@@JoeyFTL what is this uad connect? Is it a new thing? I haven’t updated in a while I can’t remember if I have it or not!

[@ernestbuckley8671]

I have loads of UAD plugs but I think I use PA stuff more. Especially their channel strips.

[@AndrewCCM]

I mastered a song using this last night and noticed the same thing you mentioned. Narrowing. I liked the plug-in….but that narrowing bugged me. I think I’ll continue to use outboard gear for this function, but will give it another chance with different genre. The song last night was more of a 90s Rock track. Appreciate your review.

[@joesalyers]

It's the oversampling they use, if you work at any other sampling rate outside of 48K it will cause a narrowing, in reality the problem is even at 192 or 96 or 88.2K they are oversampling from 48K internally. All you have to do to see this is open a session at say 96K and analyze the plugin it will have a hard oversampling low pass filter set to 24K not 48K which would be the proper place for a 96K session. I always thought it was to conserve DSP usage on the Sharc chips they use but even their Native plugins do this. This is how UAD have built their plugins for over a decade now. Their is no reason for this arbitrary low pass filter to be there in a native plugin, and at higher sampling rates which some people use it is even more noticeable. For some weird reason they don't account for anything outside of 48K as a sampling rate. I'm not saying higher sampling rates are better or anything like that, what I am saying is that UAD are not implementing their oversampling algorithms correctly and it really is the issue with their native plugins and its a shame because no one is talking about this. Plugin doctor or the Free bertom's EQ analyzer will show you the bad oversampling filter they use.

[@AndrewCCM]

@@joesalyers very interesting. My source files were 96k. Thanks for the info!

[@joesalyers]

@@AndrewCCM That makes sense as to why it felt narrowed since the anti-aliasing filter would have cause frequency clashing in the audible range. A 24K low pass can effect harmonics as low as 500 hertz butI'm sure you already know that. I noticed it after doing a session at 96K at the artist's request with the UAD hardware and found the low pass, then when they launched the native plugins I tested it again and the same oversampling scheme was used. It's just strange that they build plugins this way. But that is most likely the culprit.

[@JoeyFTL]

@@joesalyers would you care elaborating on this (narrowing effects of the filter/frequency clashing)? Or sharing the source if it's too much to write down? Thanks!

[@joesalyers]

@@JoeyFTL Adding low pass filters in the incorrect frequency for oversampling will cause phase shift in the audible range. This can be perceived as narrowing but it is actually aliasing distortions and phase distortion which causes frequency masking in the upper range from about 2K and up depending on the type of effect. Hope that explains it without sounding overly complicated. Cheers!

[@JankoDzambas]

It's counter-intuitive, but the "gain" knob on the bottom is actually the clean output. The "output" knob on the right pushes the level to the "saturation" circut. The distortion, when you drive the "output" heavily, actually sound really good and heavy. For mastering - subtle is better, of course. To be able to actually hear the "sound" of the unit, you should try that out. Good video nontheless, cheers :)

[@vertigopulse]

How does this compare to unisum mastering compressor? In my opinion unisum is one of the best in the box mastering compressors.

[@mixbustv]

Unisum is a masterpiece, as per my review kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqbJe3ppqJqeZ68

[@gh0stransist0r]

I think this thing can't even beat the MJUC. Let alone Unisum on Vari-Mu mode.

[@TheReal_E.IRIZARRY]

Maybe I'm retarded, but the ITB AMEK Mastering Compressor gives Unisum some competition. Both are great, but their algorithms use calculus/x,y, z-plane mathematics differently to achieves awesomeness.

[@Rhuggins]

Its nuanced and has a unique box tone, as well as curve- so I do appreciate that UAD captured that. I do think i prefer the magic death eye in most cases though

[@Simeon_Harris]

the sweetwater demo of this has it's problems (no level matching), but i thought it sounded quite good in the first example where it was set to mid/side, which could solve the narrowing issue, i guess...

[@jaroplichta]

Waves can't sell a plugin for 29,90 and these freeloaders want 191 at 50% discount ha ha

[@osheadavis]

Have you tried plug-in alliance Xtressor

[@rocklobsterval]

No "wow effect", I'm not impressed :-) Nothing sounds really better in it

[@IntheDAW]

I love uad stuff especially the products and plugins they make over the 3rd party stuff. But the hitsville series isn't really meshing with me. The reverb was meh. The eq was okay but super heavy on the dsp chips and cpu. And this is good good really is made for 1 genre of music.

[@jaroplichta]

I can't help but dislike this compressor

[@mataya909]

I'll return to this video just for the music. Hip hop Grime, Dance mix, Reggae ...wow. Compressor is a vanilla with a drop of Tabasco.

[@TzoHill]

That reggae mix was TOUGH man.

[@amazeus1980]

Did try it but I’m not a fan of gentle compression …useless plugin like most plugins to me. Uad 1176 and la2a is all I really use…Townhouse bus compressor besides uad and khajerhus master limiter is my beloved plugin …recently I use more often uad ch. stips, neve and ssl… Generally, we fall into so many technical details about making music…I’m not really bothered. I like tape compression, btw…UAD Studer. Happy with what I have…uad Pulltec, uad api eqs, uad maag eq…I love Capitol Chambers reverb plugin … That is all I need…plus good samples, that is more important to me…

[@donnas8408]

@amezueus - you need samples? Try learning to play real instruments to make real music and not be wannabes with the hundreds of thousands of people that think they’re musicians by using samples it’s beyond laughable and a disgrace to the real artists of the world.

[@tabodee]

I found the upload installation an extreme headache!!! UAD plugins were so much simpler before M1 and Spark….

[@jayfromdaa_apk]

I will confirm that I am having similar problems. I have not been able to load the Capitol Mastering Comp demo into pro tools.

[@dannyblau3850]

I now keep it defaulted in my mastering chain with two other compressors (the shadow hills and weiss for when I need something clean). Since i'm generally compressing so light in that chain, they are honestly more "tonal flavor" boxes at that point. It doesn't win out a lot. Every once in awhile though, it's the right flavor.

[@SimonasB]

Damn, you mixing a lot of amazing music!

[@MAXSEL]

So when you say you are listening for the color, what exactly do you mean by the word color? And how do you listen to it? Is it a broad term to describe a certain function? As always thank you for sharing your knowledge David.

[@andrewrice9383]

My experience with this one is it acts a lot like a saturator with a bit more of a squeezing effect. That’s without turning the saturation on. Good for a very specific kind of sound, probably although I don’t know exactly what situations I would use it in.

[@ctatrains]

I've been playing with this all day and really wanted to like it but it just doesn't knock me out and I found I have to fool with it too long to get what I want out of it. I have the Massenburg MDWDRC2 and I'm spoiled by it. I don't think this touches it.

[@joezazasin7]

It sounds like it's a pattern blueprint for a specific genre of music and recording. Not so familiar with these but, it sounds very old school especially in low-end frequency area

[@FerowOfficiel]

Hello 👋🏼 in minute 23:00 what do you mean when you say that its "more sticky than gluey"... I didnt get what you actually mean by that 😅 Besides of that, as always nice review!! Very detailed and helpfull! Thank you very much🙏🏼

[@mixbustv]

Sluggish and slow as opposed to glue things together like a Mu would do

[@1loveMusic2003]

What is the NEW MOON song? Been looking everywhere!

[@MrSchoerschken]

Bei diesem Compressor empfiehlt es sich, Sidechain abzuschalten. Stellt den Schalten fürs SC mal nach rechts, dann geht gleich mehr ab. Das Filter greift einfach zu weit ins Signal ein.

[@rundajulesproductions7735]

I thought the saturation sounded great. Funny you mentioned the Fairchild and STA-Gates bc I heard that this compressor was based on a combination of those designs. I couldn't find a way to demo through Spark, but I have already done the demo for the whole service. So, you wouldn't have run into that problem if you never tried Spark before. Thanks for the info!

[@baselinesweb]

The saturation button is what makes the magic on this plugin.

[@VCVRackIdeas]

good finalizer it's all I can say ;-)

[@friendofthechannel-i6i]

Where’s the song? It & the lyrics are fire!!

[@billyhughes9776]

I'm a big fan of the UAD stuff -- but, hard pass on this one.

[@aleksamrkela831]

Aside from the subject, I really like the new lights on the white wall. Really brings out the blue! :D

[@friendofthechannel-i6i]

“Mystery”, her voice is incredible!!

[@savagecalibre5178]

Vegeta On The Mix!!!! Lets Go!!!

[@c4n0]

i heard this in an old f7 adams system (i feel they are fairly accurate with not very dense mixes) and i def liked what it did on the mid/high range when injecting it gently, doesnt seems very versatile as you say, very useful review man

[@MKD371]

Like most analogue pieces of equipment, it does one thing well. In this case, it's, handling mostly acoustic music coming out of a good acoustic environment off a top mixing console. Does it fit every genre? Used with minimal settings, it does. As a mastering compressor, used in this way, it is designed, ironically, to not colour the sound too much. When it does very little, most people are like, why does it not do anything? It's nuanced, mastering is nuanced.

[@mixbustv]

Most analog pieces are actually very versatile, with probably 20-30% being very peculiar and not as versatile

[@MKD371]

@@mixbustv Even if a LA2a is very specific, through its use, it can be super transparent and versatile if used with the right application. Distressor is very versatile, however having multiple plugins without a budget for racks of analogue gear, makes plugins handy and versatile in that way. A one trick pony doesn't make it peculiar, it simply means it's brilliant at doing specific things, such as the 1176, or the Fairchild. Even the biggest studios in the world have a limited supply of 1176's, so if the engineer needs ten 1176's, with crazy side-chaining options, I worked at the BBC, we did that for a show once, and we moved over to UAD plugins, out of the four hardware units we had. So it depends on what versatility is. A pultec is great, however, some people like all that mono stuff, and mid-side stuff, I guess, in the plugins. Personally that can be overkill with the mid-side stuff on a pultec, each to their own :)

[@cycleofficial4744]

STA Level - ish sound...love it

[@infojunkie4989]

Does anyone make a ‘modern’ clone of this one - or is a plugin the only option today?

[@mixbustv]

Magic Death Eye

[@infojunkie4989]

@@mixbustv found them. Thanks. Seems even harder to get hold of than an Overstayer MCS!

[@MadDogE134]

lol

[@Dune]

What’s that dance song?

[@mixbustv]

Not released yet, I'm finishing mixing that album right now

[@tommymai3062]

Is this suitable for electronic music ?

[@mixbustv]

It wouldn't be my first choice

[@sub-jec-tiv]

You could use it on a group of mids. Like synths or textures. Could give some magic to a group without so much transient bang

[@JohnWuMastermind]

I think one issue that never gets mentioned in reviews, is that many times we home studio owner that don't have a lot of high end gear, we get tricked by reviews coming from high end studios were the sound is already excellent clean warm and crisp and the plugin that is being reviewed makes things sound even nicer and almost excellent.. When we purchase n add it on our sounds that are not that good sounding compared to high end studios we get disappointed and keep chasing the next plugin for fixing our sound. I believe instead of spending money on these expensive emulations we should just save and get the real analogue hardware. What are your thoughts on this understanding? Am i wrong?

[@mixbustv]

I've been saying for a long time that plugins aren't the same as analog, but today people get offended for that :D also analog has better resale value too. With that said, a review can't trick you unless is purposedly deceiving (some are) because a good review is, just like this, simply show and tell and then you have the reviewer *opinion* on the thing. But in the end, you should be able to tell if the plugin fits your taste, methods and whether is worth or not the money they ask for it.

[@ayokiff1073]

@@mixbustv I finally listened after two years of spending so much money on plugins. I am good with MDWEQ, MDWDRC2, crave eq, and SSL native and 4kb strips. For analog sounds I have my wa273, heritage successor and running through my SSL six mixer. Then of course your unique tools like soothe2, dseq, spliteq, and honorable mention of Weiss plugins. Truly appreciate all your insights and thanks for saving me money on this plugin that I think I am not a fan of lol

[@JohnWuMastermind]

@@mixbustvOf course I didn't mean that you trick people with the reviews, was just trying to say that what we hear coming out of a high end studio is not what we hear when we apply the same plugin in our own home studios cause the sound is not treated with the same equipment so we don't get the same results when we use the plugin that is being reviewed of that makes any sense

[@fulviobennato]

UAD what about some SSL eq instead

[@mixbustv]

I wouldn't know, I have real SSL-E eqs in the racks

[@musicman8942]

David: I thought your 'smaller' monitors were LSR308's? The description shows LSR305's. That being said did you go back to them after you mentioned switching over to your mains to hear the bass? As to not showing up in PT did you look in the folder that has your aax plugins? Was it listed there? I too have Blue Cat Patchwork but one issue I have on a Mac is I don't see the plugin's own presets.

[@mixbustv]

My small ones are the 5's not the 8's, I don't listen to bass on those, I don't really listen to anything on those other than a quick switch because they expose too much low mids very quickly.

[@musicman8942]

@@mixbustv Thanks for the reply/clarification.

[@wickstorm_records]

Windows sucks

[@mixbustv]

Does it? Because everything else works just fine lol

[@peppercrybeatz]

@@mixbustv a video on why you don’t like mac would be cool… or at least pros and cons of mac vs windows system

[@lewbaldwin]

@@peppercrybeatz why? just make music

[@peppercrybeatz]

@@lewbaldwin I’m curious I like to learn. You have a problem with that?

[@marklholloway]

I have a Mac and a PC. Don’t get hung up on the tech. Especially Mac vs. Win. BTW, my Threadripper Pro runs circles around any Mac all day, ever day.

[@madlopherliy]

Wow !

[@stupendousmusic4190]

Great as always David