Ocean Way Studios
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Welcome to Ocean Way Studios — the world’s first dynamic room modeling plug‑in.
Developed by Universal Audio and Allen Sides, the Ocean Way Studios plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces rewrites the book on what’s possible with acoustic space emulation.
By combining elements of room, microphone, and source modeling, Ocean Way Studios moves far beyond standard impulse response players and reverbs — giving you an authentic replication of one of the world’s most famous recording studios.Record live or mix through Ocean Way Recording’s legendary Studio A and Studio B
Use “best of the best” vintage microphones from Allen Sides’ world-renowned collection
Choose among Allen Sides’ favorite room positions with 8 source types, for stunningly accurate sound dispersion behaviors
Position, blend, and process three mic pairs (Near / Mid / Far) in real time
Retain mic bleed, proximity, and other naturally occurring behaviors for realism far beyond other reverb/ambience plug-ins
Re-mic loops and soft synths to bring them to life
Take a Listen
Learn how to Add Ambience to Close-Miked Drums
Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather) and the Ocean Way Studios and the Neve 33609 Compressor plug‑ins.
The Legendary Rooms of Ocean Way
From the opening of Bill Putnam’s United Recording in 1957, to the annexing of neighboring Western Studio in 1961, to their reinvention as Ocean Way Recording under Allen Sides — the famed “Studio A” and “Studio B” at Ocean Way Studios have shaped the sound of countless classic records. From Ray Charles and the Beach Boys, to the Rolling Stones, and Radiohead, music creators have sought out the sound of these beautifully balanced rooms for more than five decades.
Dynamic Room Modeling
Ocean Way Studios reinvents ambience processing with UA’s proprietary Dynamic Room Modeling technology, an exclusive combination of signal processing and advanced measurement techniques. Whereas standard convolution reverbs only provide a sonic snapshot, Dynamic Room Modeling offers the full spectrum of a studio’s ambience possibilities. Specifically, Dynamic Room Modeling provides the unique dispersion properties of various sources, as recorded through various vintage microphones that can be positioned in each room — in real time — via a simple click-and-drag interface. This technology gives the Ocean Way Studios plug-in a shocking level of sonic realism.
An Unrivaled Microphone Collection Under Your Control
With virtual access to $250,000 of hand-picked, vintage microphones, Ocean Way’s microphone setups and Distance controls are the centerpiece of the plug-in. The setups capture the ideal microphone selections and placements for each room and source type.
Up to three vintage microphones pairs (Near, Mid, Far) are available in each setup, allowing for creative sonic blending. Click-and-drag the microphones to position them in the room, then EQ and filter their sound as desired — complete with mic bleed and proximity effects.
Transform Tones With Reverb and Re-Mic Modes
Ocean Way Studios offers two modes of operation: Reverb mode, using send/return paths to mix wet and dry signals; or Re-Mic mode, to fully immerse the original source audio within Ocean Way’s rooms. Re-Mic mode is by nature “fully wet,” and can be used to entirely replace your original room and microphone sounds with the fabled sound of Ocean Way.
“Ocean Way Studios instantly adds incredible depth, size, width, and vibe to your music. It's like owning a re-amp box for one of the best sounding studios in the world.”
– Jeff Juliano (John Mayer, Shinedown, Train)
“The Ocean Way Studios plug-in sounds so good and has the right amount of flexibility. The workflow mimics the actual choices at the studio very nicely…it sounds authentic and rich — like those rooms with those mics.”
– Joey Waronker (Atoms for Peace, Beck, Other Lives)
“The Ocean Way Studios plug-in lets me mix with a new sense of space, adding a whole new level of depth to my mixes.”
– Andrew Dawson (Jay-Z, Fun.)
“Every session I've done at Ocean Way has been an unparalleled experience with amazing results. The plug-in offers an incredible opportunity to realistically add those sonics to any musical project with stunning realism.”
– Richard Chycki (Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater)
“It’s great to finally be able to add a real room vibe to sounds that otherwise didn't have one. The Ocean Way plug-in helps bring a mix together with depth and space.”
– Ryan Hewitt (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Avett Brothers)
“I assumed the UAD Ocean Way Studios was a reverb, but it's way more than that. I've been down the rabbit hole since I installed it and I'm not ready to come out yet.”
– Andrew Scheps (Adele, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Duke Spirit)
“Hearing drums through Ocean Way Studios plug-in is like being transported to Ocean Way! The true sound of Studio A or Studio B applied to anything I want.”
– Chris Dugan (Green Day, Iggy Pop, U2)
“The Ocean Way Studios plug-in allows me to get the tone of two great Bill Putnam rooms, with the ability to customize the mic choices and distance options. It’s the next best thing to actually being there.”
– John Paterno (Robbie Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Bonnie Raitt)Watch The Reviews
5-Minute UAD Tips
Ocean Way Studios plug-in
Customer Reviews
D. Gonzalez
May 25, 2022
AWESOME FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES
Not only does this works well for reverbs and space, but I recently had a client who wanted a better sound from his LIVE performance at a bar. With the remicing option, this did the trick....
Read MoreG. Castle
April 24, 2022
Great Room Sound
Great plug-in for giving your mix a recorded in a professional studio sound.
Read MoreJ. Mengis
April 8, 2022
Essential for remote drum sessions
My name is Joe Mengis and I playe drums for the band Eels. When the band is not on the road, I do a lot of session drumming and have a home studio for remote sessions. I have built an...
Read MoreE. Anthony
April 7, 2022
STRING MACHINE
I send my string tracks that I perform for film scores to this plug-in and it makes the ensemble sound incredible. 10/10 recommend for people with limited space in their studio room.
Read MoreM. Schroer
March 21, 2022
For Strings
At the moment I use Ocean way studios mainly for strings and they sound incredible, but I will try other instruments later.
Read MoreB. Bachhuber
March 19, 2022
OW Studios are so far away and yet so close
It´s such a pleasure adding those famous ambince sounds to the mix. Love it!
Read More -
Key Features
Breakthrough acoustic emulations of Ocean Way Recording’s legendary Studio A and Studio B
Dynamic Room Modeling combines room, microphone, and source models for unprecedented realism
Incorporates sonic profiles of vintage microphones from Allen Side’s world-renowned collection
Includes mic bleed and mic proximity effects for stunning accuracy
Choose from eight instrument / vocal source types with unique dispersion patterns
Position and blend between three vintage mic pairs (Near / Mid / Far) in real time
Use in “Reverb” mode, mixing wet and dry signal; or “Re-Mic” mode, replacing your original room and mic sounds altogether
Preset mic selections, placements and creative direction by Ocean Way’s Allen Sides
Requires UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Card or Apollo Interface, available from authorized dealers worldwide
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Customer Reviews
Ocean Way Studios
D. Gonzalez
AWESOME FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES
Not only does this works well for reverbs and space, but I recently had a client who wanted a better sound from his LIVE performance at a bar. With the remicing option, this did the trick. Sounded like a totally NEW space when mixed well.
G. Castle
Great Room Sound
Great plug-in for giving your mix a recorded in a professional studio sound.
G. Levermann
Latency and worse than 25 - Waves Abbey Road Chamber
Did you know rhat every UAD Plugin introduces 12ms Larency? And most plugins have 0ms latency.
I think UAD is great for recording vocals with a processed, realtime headphone signal And for pure mixing.
For the creative process of writing and production uad plugins are useless due to latency and totaly overpriced. A money machine due to its closed system. Not a fan.J. Mengis
Essential for remote drum sessions
My name is Joe Mengis and I playe drums for the band Eels. When the band is not on the road, I do a lot of session drumming and have a home studio for remote sessions. I have built an isolation room that sounds fantastic with the x8p. Ocean Way has been essential for delivering drum set and percussion tracks that need an added great sounding room. When I have delivered tracks with and without Ocean Way, my clients have chosen to use the tracks with Ocean Way every single time.
E. Anthony
STRING MACHINE
I send my string tracks that I perform for film scores to this plug-in and it makes the ensemble sound incredible. 10/10 recommend for people with limited space in their studio room.
M. Schroer
For Strings
At the moment I use Ocean way studios mainly for strings and they sound incredible, but I will try other instruments later.
B. Bachhuber
OW Studios are so far away and yet so close
It´s such a pleasure adding those famous ambince sounds to the mix. Love it!
P. Cavanaugh
Unbelievable!
Incredible plugin! Everything sounds great with Ocean Way! Once you figure it out, it's easy!
B. Stephens
Ocean Way brings that something
Have only used it on drums so far, love what it brings. Makes my snare happy and my kick thick. UAD is quality you can hear.
h. kim
최고의 사운드를 안겨준다
다른 회사에서는 감히 넘볼 수 없는 강력한 플러그인이다.
E. Blake
It’s a dream
It gets me in a creative place where I know anything is possible.Beautiful backing vocals behind me sung be me.If you want to truly create then I’d recommend Ocean Ways.I already have top flight mics too Cheers
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Great for rock
Very usefull on drums and guitars gives a nice subtle ambience pleased I got it for 80 at Xmas . I would recommend, even though it's old it's very good still
J. Loureiro
Sound like the Pros environment
The Room the i was waiting for a long time to put drums sound like the Pros. not everyone can record in great studios with great rooms , and now with this plugin, mixing drums, strings even keys, like if they were recorded in a good environment its like be in another level...
n. binns
Impressive
Impressive space. Really lovely bit of kit.
G. Merino
Great room! But..
Increíble useful plugin. You can create amazing spaces in your mixes. I use a lot on drums, but you can put anything on it.
Unfortunately, the GUI is not up to the sound, is tinny, old and low resolution.
UAD please update your graphics and make them resizable, we’re in 2022!R. Cremasco
I’m a believer
I really thought this plugin was a waste of time. Tried a few times and never loved it. Last time I tried it on an aux and spent proper time and attention. I fell in love. This is not a reverb plugin but a room plugin. I love tracking with it now and use it on every mix.
B. Hamann
Amazing!
I especially love what it does on keys, synhs or strings. Recommendation!
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My new short reverb!
It's rare to hear a room emulation with a short punchy sound which also sounds authentic, but this plugin delivers exactly just that. Fantastic!
T. Taivalaho
Ocean Way 2 go
Naturally best in high class! Easy to use in bus reverb. Thanks again!
R. Little
Wow
I've used a lot of plugins, but never one quite like this. In remic mode, the quality of the mic emulations alone is worth the price of admission. The ambience of the room is superb and can be dialed in a number of different ways. Really special.
