The Precision Mix Series

The Precision Mix series is an incredibly flexible and all-original lineup of plug-ins from Universal Audio. This series includes (in order of introduction) the Precision De-Esser, the Precision Buss Compressor, and the Precision Enhancer kHz. All three perform unique and valuable functions in your DAW-based studio, and they also are quite DSP efficient. The Precision Buss Compressor gets 10 mono and 9 stereo instances per UAD card, while the Precision De-Esser yields 24 mono or 16 stereo in normal mode (you get 16 mono or 11 stereo in split mode — more an that later). The Precision Enhancer kHz boasts a very impressive 54 mono or 33 stereo instances per UAD!

Precision De-Esser

The Precision De-Esser was the first of the Precision Mix series plug-ins, and was released in September of 2007. It was also our first “1U” height plug-in. Many UAD customers were blown away by its ease of use and effectiveness. It is DSP-efficient enough to use wherever you need it, and flexible enough to handle just about any de-essing job. Based on the technology of the Precision Multiband Compressor, the Split feature lets you hone in directly on the sibilant range.

The Precision De-Esser was featured in the October, 2007 "Plug-In Power" article, and has garnered some pretty high praise since its release, as you can see from the following quotes.

"I must say, beyond a shadow of a doubt the Precision De-Esser is easier, smoother and more natural sounding than the others.”
— tkingen, UAD Forum

“After using the UA de-esser, I sold my SPL hardware de-esser. That's some pretty high praise. The SPL de-esser was my preference over all others.” — Animix, UAD Forum

“This is the best plug-in de-esser I have ever tried, very musical and easy to use.” — peter a, UAD Forum

“I had to fix some excruciating 808 cymbals in someone's mixdown the other day. PDEss was the only thing that did it to an acceptable standard!” — Macc, UAD Forum

“I like the de-esser, it did very 'transparent' de-essing, I've never heard before with any plug-in.” — Matous Godik, Gearslutz forum

"The big difference between the Precision Buss Compressor and the rest of the UAD compressors is it's our first buss compressor model."

Precision Buss Compressor

The Precision Buss Compressor was the second plug-in in the Precision Mix series, (OK, it was first introduced as a Precision Mastering Series plug-in — don’t ask!) and it also answered the call for a high-quality compressor that had adjustable attack and release controls, and had something a little different to offer. The big difference between the Precision Buss Compressor and the rest of the UAD compressor is it's our first buss compressor model. It also features a high pass filter that reduces the sensitivity of the compression to lower frequencies while retaining them in the output signal. We tested and measured many hardware buss compressors (including the SSL G-Series Buss Compressor) and came up with the design for the Precision Buss Compressor algorithm after we were convinced that we had created another benchmark of software compression.

The Precision Buss Compressor was featured in the December, 2007, "Plug-In Power," as well as in "Ask the Doctors" from the same month. But enough of us, how about hearing fro some happy customers?

“UAD Precision Buss Comp is the best I have found on my long journey.” — Sirocco, Gearslutz Forum

“Amazing on vocals. Perfect for big-vocal type material such as country, ballads, even jazz (but watch your threshold). Just an amazing plug-in and I agree it is very modern sounding. It almost sounds like tubes but without the hazing of the LA-2A or the edginess of the 1176. Big and clear.” — Middleman, UAD Forum

“Hugely useful comp. If I had to have just one out of the UAD catalogue specifically for rock, it would be the Precision Buss Compressor.” — jr123, UAD Forums

“Really like the Precision Buss Comp for gluing things together without coloring. Highpass filter is very useful for techno tracks, 'cause the kick will be still very punchy while the rest gets compressed.” — adl, UAD Forums

Precision Enhancer kHz

The Precision Enhancer is the third Precision Mix Series plug-in, and our second “1U” height plug-in, But it sounds big, and its highly addictive properties mean you need to be careful how many tracks you use it on. It can give any track new life, in just a couple of mouse clicks. It's also the most DSP-efficient plug-in of the bunch, so getting carried away is easy when 20 mono instances still leaves you with almost 60% of your UAD CPU resources free!

Precision Enhancer kHz was featured in the March and April, 2008, "Plug-In Power" articles.

For more tips and tricks on using the Precision Mix Series plug-ins, check out the video below:

This and other videos are available on the Universal Audio You Tube channel.

Music courtesy of Til Willis, http://www.tilwillis.com/

— Dave Crane