UA 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

I purchased a UA 6176 last spring, and have been working it with tremendous results on every project since. I’ve also used the 1176LN plugin for several years, with really excellent results. So, when I saw these new 1176 plugins, I wasn’t sure if I was as interested as I’ve been in other UA offerings. I was dead wrong.

These plugins are simply amazing. I have found their combination of attack and release variations to work with an incredible variety of musical material, and each of the different models has distinct characteristics that make it amazingly easy to find one that has worked with whatever I’ve put into them, from a great variety of instruments, to vocals to full mixes.

And then there are the different sonic colors and various distortions that you can get from the different models—they each truly have their own character. From brighter to darker and moodier, from a little thinner and tighter to fatter and more complex, I have found that these models deliver in ways that has me looking forward to each new track I put into them. Thanks again, UA. I’m a huge fan.

A spectacular bump from the old plugs, amazing depth much more in line with the Fatso. I'm loving using these sans compression mode for the amp/trans section's distortion characteristics especially. Really these are bargain and one of UAD's best offerings to date. Hoping they do the same now with the LA-2A and LA-3A! :)

Got the new plugs the day they came out. Thankfully still had little voucher sitting in my account.
I'm in the middle of finishing up a mix.. I'm brave or stupid. Most people I think would wait till they are done before playing with something new.. Not me.
I started one by one listening to these new comps where I had the old 1176LN.
I think first was Ld Vocal then the Bass.. Then Acu then I went to Snare.

You can't really set them the same they are different units. And right away it was like listening to hardware. There was feeling to them. of course they use more power :(
But the trade off is they sound so awesome.
On vocals and bass it has a grit in it like hardware where you can feel it more.
and on snare and kick it had a nice punch and on both kick and Bass it retained it's lowend much better then the older versions.

This song has a Acu gtr that's not really the focus it lays under Elec gtrs and Wurli.
But it's more like a texture. Had I had it sounding pretty good.. I can't remember for sure but I think I had the LA2A on it. and it was fine.. But I put the new LN on it and squeezed it pretty good to just even out the strumming under the whole track.. Then I could actually push it back more..yet still hear every note. It felt great and the client loved it.
so this tune I ended up with the Rev A on Ld Vocals and LN on Acu, Bass, Kick and snare.. I know I use more but can't remember and I'm not in front of my DAW. Didn't use the limited edition one this time.. But hate to say it. But I guess I'll be buying the new version of LA2 and LA3 or Fairchild whatever if they all have this sort of vibe going on. It's pretty cool how close the plugs are getting. I like it.. I had doing recalls and this sort of thing makes it so much easier and keeps you from reaching outboard.

Absolutely, top notch plug ins. So close to the original and actually in some situations better. Its great as well because I can put one on every channel if I felt like it....hahaha.
Great job with these classics.

Finally, a blue stripe emulation that actually sounds like a blue stripe 1176! Thank you thank you thank you for not "making it better" than the originals! You copied it to a tee. Great work UAD! Love the black face and the UA reissue also. I have a UA hardware reissue blue stripe and this one is a really great digital version. ....and yet....all three still sound different from the original UAD plug in 1176. Can't say any are better than another...just different. Having all 4 is so amazing....I'm covered.
Joe Zook

The previous 1176 plugin was already amazing. When I tested this collection, I was stunned once again. The distortion of the blue stripe Rev A with compression off made me want to wake up early to go back into the studio! The AE works like magic on vocals - cristal clear transparency and warm sound.
And the Black Face Rev E got even more flexible and realistic with the multi ratio combination.
The only problem is, I'm loosing my sleep.

Simply tremendous!! I like the bluestripe better than the analog version I had used in the past.

I thought the original UAD 1176 Limiter plugin was great, these are something else!!!

I've been using them for all types of application, drums, bass, vocals, heavy guitars and even piano. The presets are a great starting point to save time, then just a few tweaks and the sound is great.

If you think they can't be much different than the original plugin, try a demo and you will notice the difference doing an A+B.

Well done UAD.

Stephen Ford
Musician and Engineer

As a home hobbyist, I have to admit my ears can't tell the difference from one UA 1176 plug-in to the next (but they CAN tell the difference between the UA version and other companies' versions, and I have tried many). However, the good news for non-power users like me is that the presets alone are worth the price of this bundle. Unlike so many other drop-down menu presets in other plug-ins I own, these really do immediately make dramatic improvements in the instruments they claim to be for, and each version of the compressor has two or more choices (all by working pros) for most common applications, from bass to acoustic guitar to lead or background vocals. Talk about speeding up workflow and helping me get it right! I was initially hesitant to spend the dough since I already owned the previous 1176LN plug-in (plus the LA-2A, LA-3A, and Fairchild compressors) but I am so happy with how these new versions sound using just the presets that I'm really glad I went ahead and got them!

The 1176 Classic Collection are just amazing !!!.... The sound off them are very similar to the original hardware... We want to say thanks for this incredible release of Universal Crew !!!.
Andres and Aneiro.

Why only 5 stars on a 20 star product . This is how you re-introduce a classic and make it a future industry standard ! 1176 Rev A is on everything I'm doing at the moment . The dirty parallel compression setting alone is a great starting point for my drum bus and putting some added stank on my mixes . Add more stars for the review!

Thanks

Dean Coleman

SO AMAZING!!!! Can't stop using it :) Thanks a ton!

Josh / The Glitch Mob

This is something that you have to hear i compared it to the other compressors its hard to explain what goes on but its the right kinda of glue for vocals such a quick attack and release you can understand everything that is coming out... i would shoot this plugin next to some hardware its just that good. I found my go to for a software compressor. I love it. Demo it if you can and just purchase it!!!

You have to hear them to believe. Absolute essentials I could not do without, plus some super presets from those very good chaps. Thank you.

It's very cool you can bypass compression altogether, and simply run stuff through the analog signal path model. The compression clipping is interesting and there's some fantastic input and output preamp modeling, including clipping if you like to creatively abuse stuff (and don't we all?). The distinct personalities of these three show how much went into the modeling, and I like them all!

Count Me In! I always grab for the 1176, I never owned the hardware or even used it but after using the 1176 LN/SE it made sense to give these classics a whirl.
After purchasing them I went to some mixes that I'm working on and sprinkled them here and there to audition their character - WOW I really love them. Each Revision unique and some great presets as well. You can't go wrong, this is the real deal.
They are a must have. Glad I got them. Thanks UA you guys rock.

In short: unbelievable! I actually got confused with the sound.. It was not only the real deal, it was beautiful.. As the real deal is..

It's now so amazing that UA perfectly emulated all the most revered versions of the 1176's and i can't believe the details that have been captured in the vintage units. The modern Anniversary edition is so stunning and another landmark version of an already classic piece of outboard. Don't think twice about getting these, they are gonna be on everything you do....... Thank you so much for doing these, i can't believe i can have racks full of pristine vintage 1176's now in my mixes. - They're not a 10, They're an 11!

Just shot it out against all 1176 modeled plugins (you know the ones) ... I also rent a lot of these so i know what to expect.

These plugins are simply the best compressor plugins I've used to date. Like the hardware, your setup is as fast as ever and the tones are true to life. The blue stripe is absolutely a vocal monster. The AE sounds absolutely polished and the updated LN is exactly what you'd expect from a standard kit 1176. The types of tones available with these guys are going to shape the future of digital audio I'll be the first to admit.

The ONLY difference I've ever noticed with certain hardware pieces is the dark character of some of the rentals i've used... not that it was a good thing. However, these are much warmer than any other plugs you can try so you simply won't have any harshness to worry about.

These are exciting times for young producers/mixers and a well deserved congrats for the developer.

This is the first plugin I bough without knowing anything about it. I have other UAD and when I saw the possibility to have 3 more versions of the already fantastic 1176 plugin I already use on just about everything, I jumped.