UAD Pultec - Still the King - Let's Compare to Hardware and Plugins

[@southpau]

The comparison starts at 9:15.

[@johnhahn1877]

Thanks for the comparison Barry. Please don’t take this as another, know it all (I’m not) trying to rain on your comparison, video, but as I understand it, the magic sauce of the low end section of the Pultec is that after you gain the desired frequency, you also blend in the attenuation, which affects the EQ curve causing a scoop in the low midsection which is supposed to be the magic. It does not appear as though you have any attenuation applied. I would suggest trying that as well. Thanks for the vid!

[@nicholasbohannan1673]

I’m completely ignorant in this topic but one thing I can speak from experience is that I have been sucked into many plugins due to great marketing. After spending way too much money on so many other plugin manufacturers, the first UAD plugin I purchased, I was introduced to a whole new world. I haven’t looked back since. If an engineer had the plug-in alliance bundle, Fabfilter bundle, UAD bundle and some sound toys (for fun), I believe that would be a STELLAR audio tool box with infinite possibilities.

[@BarryJohns]

I got all those in my box, my tools are really happy.

[@delmixedit]

Huge volume difference. Louder is always better. Can we get the files level matched please?

[@arturflor]

Barry, love that you've been giving UA a fair chance lately after blasting them a few months ago. It really speaks to the sincerity of your channel. Appreciate you!

[@talenwaver]

Acustica Audio's Pultec Purple3.5 Suite....I have the UAD Pultecs and have tried the Apogee and many others and Acustica is my overall fave.

[@jamesmorris9816]

The UA Pultec makes everything sound bigger and better.

[@chandeleerjet5637]

I did a couple of these tests with my hardware and after two days of testing. The Neve 1073, Avalon and Manley VoxBox were a lot better with the hardware on just the preamp but the eq’s on all tests were very close. When it came to the api5500 stereo eq, the vision strip UAD 550 is exact. Even better on some sources because of the stereo field. It was so close I returned my api because I couldn’t justify it with the uad being so good. The 1176ln hardware was far better on the hardware especially when pushing into the red, same case when pushing all the preamps. I feel like compressors and preamps are a lot harder to get down than eq. All eq’s I tested were almost identical on Avalon, VoxBox and especially api but all the preamps and compressors were noticeably better on hardware.

[@pb25193]

This man has drank the truth serum!

[@DavidSaiyan]

I have the real API 2500 and the UAD plugin, and it's actually insane how close they got it. The real one is just a very tiny amount smoother sounding.

[@douglas2963]

Analog Obsession plugins are worth a comparison.

[@lightafluident.9950]

I own the LIN76 from Lindell Audio. Tracking through it gives vocals the magic that's desired.

[@housebandthexenos2569]

Barry, I enjoyed this video alot but I have one suggestion for you. Next time you do an EQ shoot out with a compressor in the chain it's so much more helpful to have the EQ post compressor not pre. I can watch the different gain reduction amounts based on which eq you are running, so basically the 2500 is hitting differently for each one. This effects not only the resulting tone that makes it through but also the compression from both the API and the plugins. Youre basically adding different variable amplifiers before a gain sensing and reduction device that will react differently to each one. EQs wont react to compressors (even with these one's inherent compression) anywhere near as much as compressors react to EQ changes. That brings me to a key point here. Pultec plugins add saturation and compression just from existing in a chain and it's a big part of their sound. Hell, alot of times I'll throw on a Pultec plugin and don't even touch it just to get that saturation/compression, then I eq with a nice graphic eq like Ozone to get the precision I want. To hear a (colored) EQ plugin's tone hearing it on top of a compressor it's much more obvious where that tone is from and its easier to hear. You might say, well I always eq pre compressor and thats why its like that in this test. Everyone can do things how they want but EQing pre comp is IMO not good for mixing. Everytime you make an eq change you will have to adjust your compression. Makes it almost impossible to go back and forth between tracks. The only time I EQ pre compressor, is low frequency filtering reducing signals that contain too much bass that will over trigger the compressor, and then my real mixing eq is still post. The Uad is the brightest and thinnest here by a large margin, funny how different it sounds. The Tubetech is the closest to what I'd want from an EQ like this. Thanks again.

[@LeonardoLima-nk4fv]

Nice! UAD its all around good, speacially now with chance to take for 49, bundle with other uad in plugin boutique, should test the Rule Tec, by noise Ash, its very very good, it gets dirty easily but the nice thing I like you can dial back or up the input to get more or less harmonic, so I calibrate to my taste and make it default...

[@TomCawoski]

Cool video Barry!!! Very interesting comparison. I'm glad you made the comment and are aware about the volume change between plugin being bypassed vs engaged. It makes a difference!!! I agree that the UA sounds great!!! I am curious as to how you are making out with Nuendo. I look forward to your Nuendo review and I would be interested in knowing why you chose Nuendo over Cubase. Thanks for the videos!!!

[@SonnyGreenwichJr]

Curious if you've had a listen to the Pultec emulation built into Logic Pro? I love the thing! Big howdy from grey and sorta weirdly back to normal Ireland! ☘☮🤘🏽🤠👍🏽☮☘

[@earlludwig3614]

I've been raving about the Logic Pro version Pultec for some time now! Love that thing, especially when I first heard it. Quite an experience!.

[@icaris78]

i use the uad pultec plug in alot . contemplating spending the 4k on the real deal soon

[@1loveMusic2003]

API makes the eq stand out more for sure. Sounds good.

[@mixlikenix]

Best channel on youtube NO BS straight to the point, ive been wathcing since 1k subs keep it up

[@edwardx.winston5744]

To my ears (albeit through crappy speakers and YT’s audio compression) the UA sounds *slightly* cleaner. That said, in practical terms they are *ALL* useful, and a hit hit single could be mixed using any one of them. There is something wonderful about the spongy low mids that come out of Pultec-style plug-ins. Very JJPuig-ish, which I love.

[@paspallum]

Barry... That's a really awesome piece of music

[@BarryJohns]

That’s not mine, it’s from Produce Like A Pro, I use their stuff so I don’t have to worry about copyright.

[@oVeRuSoLo]

Thank you for this comparison! One big question, why it sounds in mono?

[@BarryJohns]

Probably because I'm an Idiot....I have to record the outputs from the DAW out through my Interface, to another interface to record what you are hearing in Nuendo.....I forgot to pan then once back in.....Like I said, an idiot, but learning.......

[@oVeRuSoLo]

@@BarryJohns you're making great videos and one mistake doesn't make you are an idiot! IT JUST A MISTAKE) And because of this, I hear you're hardware pultec make some phase difference between chanels. With big and great thanks for you Barry

[@SXTWLVE]

nice video. what camera are you using?

[@REALEXIT]

I would like to upgrade But i don't know Which one should i upgrade My mic is Behringer b1 and the interface is M-audio 192|4 What should i get Rode nt2a or apollo solo Is it really worth it the Apollo solo ??

[@TheLiquidEdge]

Hi Barry. Just came across your channel and I really enjoy your content. Question for you: I am seriously contemplating adding a pair of EQP-WA units to my hybrid mixing setup. There are a few clones on the market. Wuddaya think?

[@BarryJohns]

Today I’d go with Audio-Scape.

[@edwardx.winston5744]

I see you’re still experimenting with the visual look of your videos. This set-up is one of your very best: The framing, with you on the left and angled 45° inward, is perfect for this video. The shallow depth of field is great. The lighting overall is a bit more subtle than your usual videos … less color saturation and a bit darker overall. The look communicates an elegant understatement. You are usually modest about your video production knowledge and skills, but you’re freaking nailing it now-one of the most visually pleasing, professional music production videos I’ve ever seen. Incredible.

[@BarryJohns]

Thank you very much, I was also very pleased with it. I spent all morning yesterday, pulling all my lights down, which are on a grid rigging up in the ceiling, and redid them all including the DMX controller. As I’m doing this more and more I’m learning about positioning placement ease-of-use for moving things around etc. At some point I’m gonna document all these things, as I also want to share my KZbin journey. I just need to find time.

[@edwardx.winston5744]

@@BarryJohns: now that you’ve reached a very professional video level, you can just focus on content. Your unpretentious, down-home, folksy style of presentation is very engaging. 99% of your audience will be “poors” like me who will NOT be buying SSL or Neve consoles or Manley outboard gear any time soon, so your practical reviews of lower to mid-grade equipment/software are very helpful, as are your industry insights and studio gear priority discussions. Of course, not everyone will agree unanimously with your opinions, but at least you give evidence from your own experiences to back up your assertions. I hope this channel goes viral. 100k subs by Christmas would be nice.

[@BarryJohns]

@@edwardx.winston5744 Thanks for your kind words, I truly appreciate it! I don’t know about 100 K by the end of the year, I just got my fingers crossed for maybe 20K?

[@SinkaneTV]

Were you surprised by the Klark in a very good way? Like… would you recommend buying a pair?

[@FRANKRICECOLD209]

I Am Glad You Are Likeing Steinberg Nuendo I Am a Cubase User For Over 20 Years Watch You Are Going To Say To Your Self Why Did I Not Do This Years Ago

[@JamesJones-th3ml]

The Cheap Analog EQ was WAY above them plugins. Is that your point? Thats what I heard LOL The Klark Technique? Sounded Clearer WAY more low mid frequencies and much fuller sound... I got most of them plugins. I am looking for outboard gear myself.

[@delvenhamric1200]

Once again, SPARK like LUNA is just a pipe dream for us Windows users! Over the last couple of years, UA has dropped Windows support and put all of their support into rewriting all of their software for the new M1 chip. UA has promised both LUNA and SPARK support for Windows, real soon! But, I'm not holding my breath, since they also dropped Windows Thunderbolt also. Nice comparison though.🤪

[@musiccreation1198]

Fwiw, I switched from UA Pultec plugin to Plugin Alliance's Bettermaker EQ232D

[@alexanderstuartpetty485]

Try Reaper Barry. You'll love it.

[@frankpaws]

Nuendo is great. I mixed a record on it back in 2004. Recorded on an Euphonix R-1 digital recorder (bad ass converters), transfered via AES31 which Nuendo could import. Nuendo has gone through some trials. It had a lot of support up to v4, but dongle calls were slowing things down. Small period of quiet but I I think SB has been able to get the audiences attention again with Cubase and Nuendo. It use to be that Nuendo license could run Cubase. Still the case or that they completely separated the license line?

[@mikaellanden7218]

Good video! I’ve had the warm audio pultec that sounded really good, after I sold it I was looking forever for a plug-in version. Tried them all I think and the one that behaved and sounded like the hardware the most was Acustica purple. But I bet UA is more stable though

[@JoshSmith-xm4gz]

The UAD is more open and transparent. Much closer to analog. Not sure how they achieve it but seems to be the case across their range. Have listened to numerous comparisons between Waves and UAD. UAD win out every time.

[@hostilekeldon]

Anybody tried the old OvertoneDSP pultec?

[@leftofcenter4]

Well geez I was hoping you would have used the warm pultech hardware unit also cause I am thinking of getting 2 units when my cash is right. How would you compare the warm hardware to the UA pultech?

[@Fartinhalerr]

I'm in the same boat, I'm going for hardware.

[@alexandre7634]

I'm using the apogee 💖💖💖💖 I love it but it lacks a volume button, which really really sucks because it also adds a ton of gain, so don't be fooled by the level

[@jorgedejesustejedavaldez5283]

I really hope to see your thinking about Nuendo and Studio one. why Nuendo?

[@housebandthexenos2569]

Maybe I can help. I've used Cubase and Nuendo for over 20 years, but as of the last few years I've been using Studio One. First I'll start with the Cubase comparison because Cubase and Nuendo are really the same program with Nuendo having things added on for audio for video. Cubase is a much more mature product than Studio One with almost never ending features. It's been being developed and added to since the 90s! There's options upon options, and many ways to complete the same task. It contains better midi sequnecing and editing, its mixer is freely re-sizeable, it has a great feature called timewarp which lets you freely adjust the bars and beats to audio that has fluctuating timing, without having to effect the audio and the grid fluctuates instead. There's lots more, like DIY midi CC panels for hardware gear, etc, etc. It can even send to different external midi channels and ports for individual midi notes on a single drum track. Cubase and Nuendo do an ok job streamlining the workflow to house all it's myriad features without making the program to cumbersome. Nuendo ads many audio for video features like surround sound formats and plugins as well as ADR (automated dialogue replacement) and other post production tools. Barry is very into video and probably why he went with Nuendo over Cubase. Studio One contains most of what the majority of people would use from Cubase. It doesnt have the endless options on everything but still does a real lot. It's got a few unique tricks up its sleeve though like pipeline xt which is a tool for sample accurate hardware processing (compressors, eqs, etc) roundtrip and reprinting. It's plugin browser is the best in the business allowing you to organize both VST3 & VST2 plugins in your own folders and subfolders and make your own easy to see thumbnail pictures of the plugins to browse and drag and drop them anywhere they could go. It also contains a whole different work area called the "project" designed for mastering multiple songs simultaneously and getting them consistent. Studio One is very fast to get around. It's also cheaper to buy and you can subscribe to everything Presonus makes for just $15 a month which gives you more plugins and content then Cubase or Nuendo does stock. It's precisely this cheap $ to entry why I started with Studio One but I stay for the drag and drop picture broswer!

[@davidasher22]

Is the audio supposed to be in mono?

[@bco0t6]

UAD is the closet to the hardware yet it overcompensates a bit, waves is a nice try and the tube tech is probably the most warm and analogue sounding you can’t beat circuits in the hardware though.

[@Avatar7x7]

The Klark Teknik was the worst which was surprising.. Hardware usually sounds better than software ! The Universal Audio and the Tube Tech were pretty close with the waves coming in at number 3 ! I thought the eq plugs reacted differently to the API buss compressor plug and didn't translate well over KZbin, it made stuff sound smaller to my ear !

[@leonardocaminati6432]

I'm surprised there isn't the acustica audio pultec plugin in your video. That's by far the best sounding one.

[@BarryJohns]

I tried with their version, I think it’s called purple. I had nothing but problems with it. Adjusting even a few settings gave me a lot of issues. Not sure what’s going on, but know that I did try.

[@leonardocaminati6432]

@@BarryJohns that's a bummer...I have a new mac studio and it works perfectly in studio one. That plugin is far superior to anything else available as far as pultec emulations. The top end is super clear and silky, whereas either uad, waves(especially) and softube have some sort of aliasing that makes them sound a bit gritty on the very high end. Plus the low end transients are also mellowed and smeared a bit due to the aliasing issue. The acustica is not as clean as a good hardware unit, but it's really really close. I can't mix without that plugin anymore.

[@bobdhoffnar]

I’m enjoying your channel ! Thanks for all the hard work. When it comes to pultec it would be nice to have a real one in the comparison somehow. Plug ins are great but they sorta don’t do the same thing as a real one.

[@BarryJohns]

I wish I had a pair, we both know they would destroy everything though.

[@bobdhoffnar]

@@BarryJohns Including the bank account !

[@1loveMusic2003]

Softube sounded amazing. All softube plugins do though to be fair.

[@icemike2c2h]

Rule Tec is the best.

[@fangan4770]

Your test doesn't include the IK Multimedia T-Racks EQP-1A

[@officialdiomer]

I have it and think it’s terrible. Which for me is disappointing because I wanna slowly move away from UAD

[@fangan4770]

@@officialdiomer I have both the UAD and IKM EQP-1A and in my opinion, the IKM is far superior in sound and results. I'm mainly using it for the "low-end trick" though.

[@southpau]

Seems like the waves version thins it out a tad. The rest are very usable! Cool comparison. Great job

[@larrytan73]

klark is not bad!

[@OrangeMicMusic]

Cool comparison, but in all fairness, if we would compare 3 real Pultecs, they would also sound different to some degree. Then, a comparison between a plugin and its hardware counterpart, shows that someone may actually find a hardware unit that can sound like the plugin, right?😁

[@BarryJohns]

Yes, and I made that point in the video.

[@OrangeMicMusic]

@@BarryJohns Yes. That's why I used a rhetorical question with the big grin at the end. Your videos are making some light in this maze of audio world🎸🤘🤘

[@johne1961]

9.16 before the comparison starts come on Barry lifes short man, even shorter now ha

[@RobinZV1]

recent fan and loving your stuff so thanks for your time and effort in your videos! one thing to note, the KT clone isn’t what it says it is. SpectreSound does a gear review of this unit and i’ll just say, the ending involves a sledgehammer. this guy isn’t a snob, either.

[@BarryJohns]

Yep, that’s why they have been just sitting in my rack. They were free, and they look pretty I guess….maybe eventually I’ll give them away on my channel.

[@MatthewAasen]

A giveaway would be dope 😉

[@asymmetrymedia9838]

​@@BarryJohnssam pura talked about modding them and how great they sound after. I don't know what he did exactly but can be worth investigating if you have them anyways!

[@Victormormusic]

Tube tech won this one I guess

[@baxterstanley6347]

Hold on. Much respect to you.. but isn’t that mix like pretty ass? Super crowded and muddy..

[@BarryJohns]

I said it’s not a mix, all it has is just faders balanced and panning there’s no plug-ins or EQ on anything. It’s not my tune, it’s just multi tracks from produce like a pro to avoid copyright stuff.

[@baxterstanley6347]

@@BarryJohns thanks for the clarification, and I meant no offense

[@BarryJohns]

@@baxterstanley6347 None taken, all good.....

[@Mikas_Emil]

Gain match, edit the breaks out where it goes back to nothing.. I really did not like the rambling and no editing of this video. Very hard to get any kind of meaningful experience out of this for me. But thanks for the effort none the less.

[@staffan_hemmingsson]

Uad won.. destroyed the audio the least

[@mrmorpheus9707]

Barry....to much talking

[@BarryJohns]

All good, but it’s called Studio Talk, not offended if it’s not for you, find your best path forward.