Apollo
Native
A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer
Your secret weapon for legendary mixes.
- Hear the iconic Air, Excite, and Expand effects used on vocal recordings by Queen, Stevie Wonder, The Cars, Fleetwood Mac, and more*
- Add sparkle and texture with the only “end-to-end” A-Type emulation, compatible with any DAW or audio interface†
- Engage Crush and Gated modes to get gritty analog tones or classic ’80s gated effects on drums and instruments
- Go far beyond the original hardware with the circuit mods panel, giving you custom expansion to transient shaping, subharmonic effects, and more
Get Your Hands on Authentic A‑Type Sound
What They Say
Richard Chycki
Rush, Evanescence, Skillet, Mick Jagger, Aerosmith, Dream Theater
John Paterno
Gov’t Mule, Robbie Williams, Andrew Synowiec
Billy Bush
Garbage, Dolly Parton, PaulMcCartney, Neon Trees
Reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 102 Total 4 star reviews: 10 Total 3 star reviews: 1 Total 2 star reviews: 1 Total 1 star reviews: 0
98%would recommend these products
Slide 1 selected
114 reviews
- FBFrank B.Verified BuyerReviewingA-Type Multiband Dynamic EnhancerI recommend this productRated 5 out of 5 stars2 days agoFantastic plugin!
I put this on everything. A real gamechanger for me!
- WOWalter O.Verified BuyerReviewingA-Type Multiband Dynamic EnhancerI recommend this productRated 4 out of 5 stars1 week agoDynamic Enhancer
Very usable
- WWwill w.Verified BuyerReviewingA-Type Multiband Dynamic EnhancerI recommend this productRated 5 out of 5 stars2 weeks agoGreat plugin
Really digging the air mode.
- JAJonathan A.Verified BuyerReviewingA-Type Multiband Dynamic EnhancerI recommend this productRated 5 out of 5 stars1 month agoAdds the perfect amount of sparkle.
Absolutely amazing when using it as parallel processing. Only need about 5 to 10% and makes a huge difference!
- GVGuy V.Verified BuyerReviewingA-Type Multiband Dynamic EnhancerI recommend this productRated 5 out of 5 stars1 month agoEasy to find the right setting to achieve a good result
Fast and effective tools
Frequently Asked Questions
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer is worth it if you want to add presence, air, and top-end sparkle to vocals and instruments with a sound you can't get from a standard EQ or compressor. It's the first and only end-to-end emulation of the vintage multiband “compansion” processor heard on countless classic records, so you're getting a specific, hard-to-replicate character rather than another general-purpose tool. Between the five modes and the expanded circuit mods, it covers everything from subtle vocal sheen to explosive drum treatments.
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer works by modeling multiband "compansion," a process that compresses and then expands separate frequency bands to bring out detail the way the original studio hardware did. Most brightening tools add high-frequency EQ or harmonic saturation, but the A-Type reshapes dynamics band by band, which is why engineers reach for it to push a vocal to the front without making it harsh.
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer includes five modes: Air, Excite, Expand, Crush, and Gated. Air, Excite, and Expand recreate the presence and top-end effects heard on generations of classic vocal recordings, while Crush and Gated add grittier, more aggressive dynamic textures. Air adds open high-frequency sheen, Excite pushes forward presence and detail, and the Crush and Gated modes are great for drums and instruments when you want attitude or that classic gated character.
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer is neither, exactly, and that's the point. It's a multiband dynamic enhancer, which means it works on both frequency and dynamics at the same time, so it can brighten and add presence like an EQ while shaping level like a compressor. That dual behavior is what gives it a musical, dimensional quality that a standalone EQ or compressor can't match.
“Compansion” in the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer refers to compressing a signal and then expanding it, done independently across multiple frequency bands. The original hardware used this process to encode and decode master tapes cleanly, and we modeled every stage of it, from the compansion curves to rare cartridge mods. The result is an obsessively accurate emulation that adds detail and presence rather than simply boosting frequencies.
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer brings vocals forward by adding presence and top-end sparkle in the exact way the classic hardware did on hit records. Reach for the Air or Excite mode to open up the high end and add sheen, so the vocal sits on top of the mix without you having to crank an EQ into harsh territory. Because it shapes dynamics per band, it keeps that presence consistent from quiet phrases to belted lines.
Yes, the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer is built for drums and instruments as much as vocals. The Crush and Gated modes add gritty analog character and classic '80s gated effects, so you can make drums explode or add texture to guitars, keys, and percussion. Air and Excite also work beautifully on acoustic guitar and electric piano when you want to add shimmer and detail.
The circuit mods in the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer let you push the sound well past the original hardware. The panel adds controls the vintage unit never had, including multiband gains and crossovers, Ratio, Knee, and Attack, plus sidechain filtering. With these you can fine-tune transient shaping, dial in subharmonic effects, and customize the response for exactly the sound you're chasing.
No, the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer runs natively on your Mac or Windows computer with no UA hardware required. If you own an Apollo interface or a UAD Accelerator, you can also run it accelerated on that hardware to save your computer's processing power. Either way you get the same sound.
The A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer works in any DAW that supports VST3, AU, or AAX plug-ins, and with any audio interface. That covers the major recording software people use every day, so you can drop it into your existing sessions without changing your setup. There's nothing proprietary standing between you and the plug-in.
Yes, the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer runs natively on both macOS and Windows computers. You can also run it accelerated on an Apollo interface or a UAD Accelerator if you have one. Check our current system requirements to confirm the specifics for your operating system version.
Yes, the native and accelerated versions of the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer sound identical. The difference is only where the processing happens: the native version uses your computer's CPU, while the accelerated version offloads the work to Apollo or UAD Accelerator hardware. You choose based on your setup and how much processing power you want to free up, not on sound quality.
You can get the A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer as an individual UAD plug-in, or get it along with the full library of UAD native plug-ins through a UAD Spark subscription. If you want to try before you buy, a 14-day demo is available. Buying it outright gives you a license for both the native and Apollo/UAD-2 versions.