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Ocean Way Studios Deluxe
Step inside the studio that made history, emulated in perfect end-to-end detail.
- Place your vocals, drums, guitars, and more inside Ocean Way Studios' legendary rooms
- Bring your sources to life in Bill Putnam Sr.'s original reverb chambers
- Transform any track with Ocean Way's original hit-making re-mic setups
- Shape your sound with the analog consoles and outboard gear heard on hundreds of iconic recordings
- Put yourself in the control rooms of a world class recording studio with enhanced retina graphics and user interface
- Also includes original Ocean Way Studios plug-in for Apollo and UAD hardware
A Renowned Recording Studio in Your DAW
What They Say
Darrell Thorp
Beck, Radiohead, Foo Fighters
Allen Sides
Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Green Day
Joey Waronker
Beck, R.E.M, Atoms for Peace
Frequently Asked Questions
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe is worth it if you want one of the most thorough and historically accurate room modeling plug-ins available. It goes well beyond a standard reverb: you get faithful models of Studio A and Studio B rooms, three original Bill Putnam Sr.-designed reverb chambers, vintage analog consoles, outboard gear, and re-mic setups using Allen Sides' personal microphone collection. If you want your tracks to sound like they’re inside a real space rather than adding a synthetic room effect, nothing else comes close.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe uses Universal Audio's Dynamic Room Modeling technology, which captures not just the acoustic signature of a room, but the entire signal chain that made those rooms famous. Where most reverb plug-ins generate a space algorithmically or sample an impulse response, Ocean Way Studios Deluxe lets you route your source through the original Ocean Way Dalcon console and Rupert Neve-designed Focusrite console, add outboard compression from Fairchild, LA-2A, 1176, and dbx 160 units, then place the signal in a room mic or reverb chamber. It's a production environment, not just a reverb effect.
Dynamic Room Modeling is Universal Audio's technology for capturing how a room, its console, and its microphones interact as a complete system rather than a static snapshot. A conventional impulse response records a single moment: a speaker fires a signal, a mic captures the decay, and that decay becomes the reverb. Dynamic Room Modeling captures how the room responds differently depending on what you feed it, so placing a close-miked vocal in Studio B sounds different from placing a room-miked drum kit there — just as it would in the actual space. That responsiveness is what makes Ocean Way Studios Deluxe sound like tracking in a room rather than adding reverb to a track.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe replaces the original with a significantly expanded feature set and a fully redesigned, high-resolution interface. The Deluxe version adds three reverb chambers, multiple re-mic setups using monitors and a full mic collection, analog console and outboard routing options, and an expanded set of curated presets. Ocean Way Studios Deluxe also includes a license for the original Ocean Way Studios plug-in, which runs on Apollo and UAD-2 hardware.
If you already own the original Ocean Way Studios plug-in, the upgrade is the right choice. If you're new to Ocean Way Studios, you want the full version. Both give you the same full feature set — the upgrade is simply a discounted option for existing owners.
No, Ocean Way Studios Deluxe runs natively on your Mac or Windows computer with no UA hardware required. It installs through UA connect and requires an iLok account for license management. If you already own Apollo or UAD-2 hardware, your purchase includes a license for the DSP-accelerated version.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe runs natively on macOS (including Apple Silicon) and Windows systems. Full system requirements are available on UA's Native UAD System Requirements page. An iLok account is required for license management; an iLok USB key is supported for portability but not required.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe works as a standard plug-in across DAWs on both macOS and Windows, including Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Studio One, Cubase, Reaper, and LUNA. Because it runs as a native UAD plug-in, it behaves like any other VST, AU, or AAX plug-in in your session.
The three reverb chambers in Ocean Way Studios Deluxe are faithful models of the original physical echo chambers designed by Bill Putnam Sr. Unlike convolution reverbs or algorithmic effects, these chamber models capture the ongoing acoustic interaction between source, room, and microphone position. You can dial in subtle depth on a lead vocal, natural warmth on strings, or a full, open room sound with genuine acoustic character.
Re-miking has long been a core part of Ocean Way's production workflow: a track is played back through studio monitors into the live room, then recaptured with a microphone to add natural room character. Ocean Way Studios Deluxe recreates this by routing your source through models of the UREI 813 coaxial monitors or Altec A-2 theatre cabinets, then placing it in front of mic positions modeled from Allen Sides' personal collection. The result adds an organic, physical quality that's difficult to achieve any other way.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe works well across instrument types but excels at drums and vocals in particular. For drums, the combination of Studio A or B placement with the chamber-enhanced room sound can add the kind of size and decay associated with classic large-room drum recordings. For vocals, the closer mic positions and chamber options let you add depth without washing out intelligibility. The analog console and compression routing options respond differently depending on the source, so exploring presets by instrument type is worth the time.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe works as either an insert or a send effect. As a send, you can return multiple sources into the same room for cohesion, which works well for buses or full mix applications. As an insert on a single track, you get more direct control over placement, mic position, and outboard routing for that source. Most users combine both approaches: inserts for key elements and a shared send for glue.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe is primarily a mixing tool, though its flexibility makes it useful at any stage. During mixing, it gives you fine control over room placement, chamber depth, and analog processing character to fit sources into a coherent space. In a tracking context, you can run the DSP version as a realtime monitor effect so performers hear themselves in the room while you track — though the native version’s CPU load makes realtime monitoring less practical without Apollo or DSP hardware.
UAD native plug-ins run on your Mac or PC without requiring Apollo or UAD-2 hardware, which makes them accessible to a wider range of studio setups. The native platform also lets UA deliver deeper modeling, like the multi-stage signal chain in Ocean Way Studios Deluxe, that wouldn't fit on a DSP card. If you already own Apollo hardware, native licenses work alongside your DSP plug-ins, so the two formats complement each other.
Yes, Ocean Way Studios Deluxe is included in the UAD Spark subscription, which gives you access to a growing library of UAD native plug-ins for a monthly or annual fee. If you want a permanent license, you can purchase the full version outright — or the upgrade if you already own the original Ocean Way Studios plug-in. Both give you access to the same full feature set.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe is one of the more versatile options for vocal reverb precisely because it isn't just a reverb — it's a placement system. You can set a lead vocal in Studio B at a close mic position with minimal room pickup for subtle depth, or open up the chamber return for longer, more ambient tails. The analog console and compression routing in the signal path shape the character of the reverb in a way that interacts naturally with the vocal rather than sitting on top of it. For group vocals, the shared room model helps multiple tracks sit together in the same space without sounding artificially glued together.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe is a different kind of tool from algorithmic or convolution reverb plug-ins. Algorithmic reverbs generate synthetic spaces and are good for flexibility and creativity. Convolution reverbs capture a real space via impulse response and are accurate but static. Ocean Way Studios Deluxe gives you a specific, meticulously captured real space with the full signal chain intact — rooms, chambers, consoles, outboard, and microphones — and lets you work within that environment rather than simply applying its sound. For productions where historical accuracy or the character of a particular room matters, that specificity is its main advantage.
Ocean Way Studios Deluxe and Capitol Chambers are both UA room modeling plug-ins anchored to legendary physical spaces, but they serve different sonic territory. Capitol Chambers models the underground echo chambers beneath Capitol Studios in Hollywood, with a tighter, more focused sound associated with mid-century pop and orchestral recordings. Ocean Way Studios Deluxe covers a broader scope: two full studio rooms, three chambers, analog console routing, and re-mic capabilities from a studio whose sessions span Ray Charles through Radiohead. Many engineers reach for both regularly, using Capitol Chambers for classic reverb character and Ocean Way for placing sources in a room environment.