The Manley Massive Passive EQ Powered Plug-In represents UA’s most complex hardware emulation to date. It is also the most CPU-intensive plug-in in the UA library, and for good reason: The behavior of the transformers and inductors, called hysteresis, was modeled, as well as the tube stage behavior. In this article, I’ll talk about the challenges UA faced while modeling this iconic piece of hardware. And then you can hear the results in the accompanying video.

This month we’re looking at two studio legends: the 1176LN Limiting Amplifier and Teletronix® LA-2A Leveling Amplifier compressors. Each one is quite different from the other. We’ve done articles and videos in the past showing how they work, but one little-known compression secret is that they can be used together on the same track.

The LA-3A compressor made its debut at the 1969 New York AES show. Brad Plunkett designed the LA-3A and also played a major role in the development of the 1176. Essentially, the LA-3A is a solid-state version of the LA-2A; it retains the same simple control set (Gain, Peak Reduction, Comp/Limit Switch) and, of course, the all-important T4 electro-optical panel module (ELOP for short).

For those who don’t already know, the Trident A-Range console was developed in the early 1970s by a team of audio engineers led by Malcom Toft, the chief engineer at Trident Studio in London. These engineers wanted a console that sounded the way they thought it should, right down to the fixed frequencies in the EQ section. Almost 40 years later, working in partnership with Trident Audio Developments, UA scrutinized and painstakingly reproduced the EQ section from one of these extremely rare desks.

 This month we are taking an up-close and personal look at the EMT 250 Electronic Reverberator Powered Plug-In for the UAD-2. Since its release in July, 2009, it has received praise from all over the audio engineering industry. Industry veterans who know the original hardware are in awe as they hear the same coveted and unique reverb sounds they have grown to know and love. Engineers who have never used the hardware marvel at how easily the EMT 250 sits in a mix.

Some people don’t really know the best way to use the FATSO. It is a pretty deep plug-in, especially the FATSO Sr., which adds Dave Derr's own custom mods to turn the original FATSO into an unbelievable tonal-shaping powerhouse. The FATSO Sr. offers a “Tranny” saturation control, sidechain filtering and deeper compression parameters including Threshold, Attack and Release.

When Universal Audio partnered with Germany’s Sound Performance Lab (SPL) to produce this plug-in, we knew people would appreciate the way its Differential Envelope Technology can shape the dynamic response of a sound. Don’t let the simple control scheme fool you; this thing is well known as a secret weapon mix tool for world-class engineers like Joe Chicarelli, Ross Hogarth, Michael Brauer, and many others.

This month, we’re spotlighting Universal Audio’s Precision Mastering Series plug-ins. Introduced a few years back, these four powerful plug-ins remain very popular, combining UA’s spirit of innovation with our knowledge of vintage analog gear. The Precision Mastering Series consists of the Precision Limiter, the Precision Multiband compressor, the Precision EQ, and the Precision Maximizer.

This month we’re talking about the much-celebrated UAD 4K plug-ins: the UAD 4K Buss Compressor and the UAD 4K Channel Strip. And we’re also taking some time to tout the manual that is installed with the UAD software. The UAD manual is a PDF document that is loaded with a wealth of information about not only what a control does and why it does it, but also helpful hints and the history of the unit that we modeled.