UAD Lexicon 480L REVIEW & STOCK REVERB COMPARISON (Is it worth it?) Universal Audio Reverb

Universal Audio Lexicon 480L Digital Reverb Plugin just was released and we’re reviewing it, and comparing it to stock reverb plugins from Digital Audio Workstations like Logic, Protools, & Fl Studio. The Lexicon 480L reverb is a flagship digital reverb, used on thousands of #1 Billboard hits and used in every major recording studio around the world, by top mix engineers.
Universal Audio has meticulously recreated the Lexicon 480L. So in this video we cover:
1. History-When it came out, how much it was, and why it’s so widely used
2. Tutorial-explanation and demonstration of main functions
3. Demonstration-Going through some stock presets
4. Comparison-Comparing the UAD 480L to stock reverbs that come with Logic Audio
5. Vocal demonstration- A few examples with vocals
6. Famous engineers custom presets- A quick run through of a few of them
7. Review and Conclusions
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Presented by music producer/engineer Arty Skye of SkyeLab Music Group (Eight #1 Billboard Hits, 14 Gold/Platinum Records, Grammy Nomination)
“As a music producer and engineer, I’ve spent decades in recording studio mixing on analog gear, and I've brought all those mixing techniques over into the digital world. I hope you can learn a few things here about thinking a little differently about mixing, as we all have our own unique approach" -Arty Skye
Here is a link to download a free 14 day trial of Universal Audio's Lexicon 480L Plugin.
www.uaudio.com/uad/downloads/
Just download the software, and when you boot up your DAW and select the 480L plugin, just select 14 day trial. If you choose to buy it, please let UAD know you saw this review! We appreciate it.
Vocal demonstration by ALIIZA on the song "Dangerous Love" produced by Arty Skye for SkyeLab Music Group, NYC
Follow ALIIZA AT m. Aliiza-1539059...
Links to help improve your voice:
Singing Success Program.
We've seen singers improve tremendously in a very short time. It's expensive but it really works, if you put in the time to practice!
Affiliate link:
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Thanks for watching, and we hope you love the video, and we'd love to hear what you think. If you have any mixing or music production tips to share, please post them below, as we can all learn from each other here.
If you'd like to work with music producer Arty Skye and the SkyeLab Music Group, NYC, and hire us to produce or market your music, please contact us at [e-mail]
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[@lo-phi-music]

Great review! I'm especially happy that you are willing to admit that it's not 100% true to the original sound, because honesty really matters to viewers like me. No doubt, even at ~90% accuracy, the plugin sounds fantastic. I also really appreciate the fact that you recreated some sounds on the Logic plugin. You achieved some very impressive results! Keep the videos coming--there's a large audience for the opinions of established professionals, and the fact that you're willing to communicate with your audience and give your honest opinion on things is fantastic. Your channel will take off in no time at all. Have fun! :)

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Thanks so much for that review of my review! I really appreciate those comments. :)

[@oledahl.]

Lo-Phi I couldn't agree more! 👏👏👏❤️

[@jdigital1]

Thanks for helping me make my decision with all the reverb plugins on the market its nice to have those classic hit making additions from companies like Universal Audio!

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

It's really a great reverb, but just eats up a lot of DSP.

[@hollandbamboo764]

Amazing Review!! Thank you Skye. Appreciate your honesty

[@ansonstiles]

Thanks for the demo and explanation!

[@honkytonk2010]

Respect your honesty and for that! I will subscribe to your channel and thank you for sharing your awesome! It was very helpful

[@NinjaKnuckleJoe]

Wow, that reverb sounds great! Definitely gonna pick that up.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

You can even just download the trial and play with it for 14 days. If you love it, get it! :)

[@tkelong3569]

Thank you! Great video! Just got a Twin yesterday and picked up the 480L today. Very exciting unit. Pristine.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Nice! Enjoy it! 👍

[@studiohornborga]

Thank you for a great video!

[@conanliquid]

Great video brother. Thank you. I used the 480L a lot back in the day and found different units sounded slightly different, just like all hardware. I liked that fact. I see plugins the same way. Do I want a plugin that sounds exactly 100% the same as a hardware unit? No. I like that it sounds a bit different and has its own individual character. I use in the box 480s from a bunch of different companies and they all have a slightly different flavour and I like that just like the various 1176 compressors I use in the box. The UAD 480L is excellent and a bargain at the price considering the original hardware price. Also UAD are always doing deals so it’s rarely RRP. If you want that 80s sound you need a 480L.

[@riktascale4]

Wow..those vocals are sweet man!

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Thanks! Working on her next track as we speak.

[@SeanWyseman]

I'd love to learn how best to use this piece. I spent some pretty good coin on it but not feeling the love yet. Maybe this vid will help me with that.

[@vankofrank8267]

Great review, I live in china, that's very good video for me to the music production.

[@CarstenGoeke]

Sure. It´s an awesome plugin. But the comparison between the Chromaverb is also interesting.

[@nuistudiomusic.2723]

Wowww !

[@dondonaudio8191]

I hate having too many plugins. That's why I like the 224 and the 480 for my only two reverb units because they are so easy to operate and sound fantastic. UAs price policy upsets a lot of people, me included, but if you earn your money with those tools, 349.- is not too much IMO

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Yah, I concur! Although I also love the AMS RMS16 for some things, and the Waves IR is great for strings and pianos, when you're trying for a realistic hall.

[@benhaim2098]

Do I need extra reverb since I really like Chromaverb? I use pure Plate from UAD also. Will lexicon make the difference ? What will you choose between Chromaverb and Lexicon 480 ?

[@horstlemke9591]

Ich gebe Dir in allen Punkten recht, habe selbst das Original 480 L seit 30 Jahren. So wie sich die Musikindustrie in den letzten Jahren entwickelt hat, mit den Umsätzen, Budget und Produktionskosten, sind 90% als Emulation mehr, als die meisten Konsumenten überhaupt hören. In einem komplexen Playback wird man die restlichen "fehlenden 10%" wohl kaum benennen können...smile Beste Grüße, Horst Lemke, Musikproduzent, Germany

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Hi Horst, I'm hoping what you're saying is nice. :) Thanks for the comment.

[@darrenbarley]

Hi I want to get this plugin but when I try buy it.... I get a message saying I need to own a uad-2 device to purchase it.

[@trapptunezz4512]

For vocal 480 or 224 ?

[@YEE941]

So using the mach button on the hardware allows you to use different reverb? does this mean the 480 L has 2 instances or just one?

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

The hardware can operate as 2 distinct reverbs, with separate ins and outs. Most of the time that's the way I used it. But with some of the more complex patches, it requires more DSP, so you can only use one instance.

[@JayTheLane]

Nice but so expensive. The Relab 480 Essentials for £30 on sale will do me.

[@astrologia.tradicional]

Which DSP do you use? I'm considering use it, but only if i can run at least 4 of them together, but I need to know if a na octacore is enough to run it, as well as 16 channels of tape simulator. Thanks

[@dirface]

Octa will run plenty. Use busses instead of single channels of tape if you run out of CPU.

[@astrologia.tradicional]

@@dirface I use busses, but up to 6 different busses at the same time. It's nice to combine many different algorithms togetherand also have some different algorythims to piano guitar, toms, snares and wind instruments.

[@tommymai3062]

How does this compare to the pcm native lexicon bundle

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

I haven't tried it so I can't comment. Anyone else compare it?

[@tarasyashin]

PLS Last track in video - i waaaaannnnttt!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@VoyageOne1]

I prefer the layout of the Relab plug

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

I guess it's a matter of preference. I am used to the hardware 480, so the UAD is better for me. Thanks for commenting :)

[@Bhatt_Hole]

A guy in a previous comment wrote: "... you have to keep paying to keep the plugin updated!" Is this true??? Are they like Avid in that respect, continually re-charging you to use the software you already paid for, by way of "updates" which are cleverly designed and timed for maximum profit as opposed to truly addressing important software issues? I was actually considering this company, but I hadn't done much research yet. This is possibly a real deal-breaker.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

I don't think so, unless you want updates after a certain amount of time. But you can still use it as it is.

[@telebreno]

I found Relab LX480 a better recreation of 480L, you can use the A and B engines together, better price, and is native. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan and user of UAD, but in this case Relab is just better.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

You might be right. I tried the Relab when it first came out, and wasn't knocked out, but I never gave it a thorough test. But like you say, there are advantages. I'll have to revisit it. Thanks.

[@MrLawrence0071]

All due respect, but I strongly disagree. I AB'd them too. The UAD is simply way better in my humble opinion. It's worth the price. After all, a real 480 still costs about 4 to 5 grands. The UAD Plug sounds exactly the same. Differences are not audible in a full mix. Here's an A/B test of the UAD vs the Relab: It is a WeTransfer link with 3 files: Relab, UAD and screen shot showing the mixer set up to prove all levels and settings match. I only used the first preset but soundwise the same conclusion counts for all other presets: the UAD is simply noticeably better in my humble opinion. It gives better brightness, wider image, more depth. we.tl/t-nXsRG4OH3s. File is a Contact 5 piano with no plugins on it. No EQ, no compression, nothing. Just some piano with a pretty wet 480L plug in mix. The file names reveal what is what. The screen shot shows the settings are all leveled. The plug-ins were put on an Aux track using a send. Both send levels are matched as you'll see.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Thanks Lawerence. Im going to check that out and post back here.

[@telebreno]

@@MrLawrence0071 Hi Lawrence, my point isn't about the audio, since Relab LX released many Lexicon 480 users did tests like yours (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH-ngq18ibWWoJo) and most people agree is about the same, to match perfect you need to configure in setup de noise and resonance. My point is Lexicon 480L is 2 machines combined together, is 2 Lexicon 224XL, and UA doesn't , UAD 480 is 224XL, Relab have 2 machines at the same time and you can routing a to b like original lexicon 480, if you compare the UAD plugin 480 to original Lexicon hardware you will note the sliders is not the same range, UAD did more colourful to win this comparisons.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Hi Breno and Lawrence. I just A/B them, and I still feel the same way I felt about the Relab years ago. It's a good reverb, but for me, it's not my Lexicon 480L. I like the way everything is laid out on the UAD like the original, same patches, and for me, a better sound. Maybe because I spent so much time with the Lexicon that I'm bias. But I really wanted to like the Relab. But everyone has different ears and different opinions and both are valid. We're talking 2 great reverbs either way. But Relab wins when it comes to price, and not having to use UAD hardware (and a big chunk of the DSP) For me, the UAD wins for those that grew up with the Lex, like me :) I appreciate both your opinions here, thanks. :)

[@contactblaxound7040]

What's thé fréquence of your daw ? Because at 192khz thé 480 sound's better...

[@BlakeKross]

Uhm no. It doesn’t.

[@michaell.8938]

You have to consider the cost of their hardware as well. You can't use this plug in without owning their hardware, which is damn expensive. That's why I will just stay with my Logic Pro X stock reverb. I have others that are incredible as well.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Totally understand that. That's why I did the A/B comparison with the stock Logic reverbs, matching up a few of the sounds. And I'll probably continue to do that for some of my go to sounds, because I will save the DSP from the 2 UAD chips I have.

[@rt-uh6mt]

UAD isn't exactly cheap but a vintage 480L costs several thousand dollars, you can get a UAD satellite and this plugin + many other plugins for a fraction of that.

[@frankpaws]

480 has the plume over logic

[@charlespiper9291]

Have any of you people ever owned a high quality digital reverb? In the 80s the Lexicon PCM 60 was 1,500.00 a 224 was 8,000.00. In the 90s the 480L was over 10 grand! PCM 90s and 80s were a bargain at just under 3000.00. The Eventide H3000s or 4000s didn't have a deep clear verb like a Lexicon.An EMT 140 was a one trick pony. you had to connect a 1/2 track recorder with varispeed for predelay and use a channel from you mixing desk to eq some of the low end out of in input. Why are complaining about a 349.00 plug in! What do you think it cost to have a real studio back in the day of tape? Not some entry level converter and a laptop.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

You are right in your comparison, and I had a PCM60 and 70. But it is a different day and age now, and one thing you have to consider is that all the hardware units still had/have a resale value. Not only do the plugins have no practically no resale value, but you have to keep paying to keep the plugin updated!

[@henrikpetersson3463]

The industry looks completely different today thanks to the advancement in technology. Because of it the economics have also changed and that's why people consider $350 to be a lot of money. Most of the people who buy reverb plugins don't make much money from music, they aren't big studios from back in the day.

[@mrmemyselfandi9609]

Yeah...I love UAD plugs but they charge an arm and a leg to get the plugs and THEN they take up so much damn DSP that they screw you AGAIN to get more power to run them. It's ridiculous that in this day and age where we have hella fast computers that they won't let us offload them to our CPU's. OR that they just don't USE BETTER AND FASTER CHIPS! But lets be honest...it's all about them controlling piracy. That's fine but make the hardware cheaper or better UAD! UAD is the apple of plugs. GREAT...but overpriced...AND you can get an android that will do everything they can do for a LOT less. Waves etc. Klanghelm makes a hella good compressor for 27 bucks!! It just depends if it matters to you. I save my DSP for the UAD stuff I HAVE to have...like the Tubetech compressors...Chandler stuff...Trident EQ which I SHOULD have purchased direct from Arturia so I could run it off my cpu and save the DSP. I would NEVER buy the brainworx plugs from them for that reason. I don't have enough DSP to use them the way I want to, so it's plug in alliance FTW! Same plugs..same great sound..and problem solved. Especially for the stuff that I don't need to print with from the UAD console coming in. The AMS verb is cool too. But at the end of the day I just use the Valhalla and other plugs to get close to what I want. Some of them most popular songs I've ever mixed were done on simple systems and free plugs etc. UAD needs to beef up their DAMN DSP CHIPS ALREADY! Give me a jizzoctamillion DSP interface that can run every damn plug in they make on 128 tracks and the entire internet while automatically producing Chers next hit while she sleeps just from her "sound print" and we'll be good. End of Sermon.

[@izvarzone]

139$ on sale

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

Definitely worth it for that price, if it's still on sale. Thanks.

[@easymix8109]

No comparison. I honestly dont know how you dont hear. same thing comparing hardware to native plugins. Hardware and also UAD/TDM/powercoreDSP plugins gel with the source like no native plugin can. And in a busy mix that's essential!!! you can have reverbs much louder without stomping into other things!

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

If I was sitting there A/B ing it against the analog, I'm sure I'd hear more of a difference. But not having used the analog in many many years, when I heard this plugin it blew me away, because it was all the same patches and sounds I remembered and loved. And there is definitely a deeper wider field then I get with many other plugin reverbs. And I absolutely agree, I love the way analog hardware reacts and colors. But here we are. And if a Schepps 73 is gonna get me 75% closer to my old Neve 1073 the other plugins, I'm all for it! Thanks for the comment 👍 Arty

[@blancodeplomo]

$349 hahahahah

[@slamcrank]

an instant buy for some of us, but I understand that the price can be a bit staggering for some. Absolutely worth every penny, though.

[@SkyeLabMusicGroup]

It was just about the most expensive reverb ever. But UAD is having a 12 days of Christmas sale so there's ways to possibly get it for less...

[@henrikpetersson3463]

With the current sale you can get it for about 80 bucks if you buy a bundle of four plugins.

[@derekirons2615]

Exactly! UAD is all greed! Gtfo UAD!

[@GabrielXDrums]

Derek Irons or save up? Lmfao but I bet you’ll spend it on weed or alcohol just as easily.

[@alainthiry114]

promotionnal video