UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection
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The Bill Putnam-designed tube compressors that changed recording.
Introduced in the early 1960s, Universal Audio's 175B™ and 176™ compressors were the first audio compressors purpose-built for studio recording and mixing music. Often cited among the crowning achievements of audio pioneer and UA founder Bill Putnam Sr., the 175B and 176 are prized for their rich tube gain reduction character, fast attack, and sonic flexibility.
With only roughly 1,000 units made, vintage 175B and 176s easily command well over $5,000 on the vintage market today, and they can be found in the racks of some of the world's finest studios. Now, you can track and mix with the only authentic plug-in emulation of the original UA 175B and 176 compressors — exclusively for UAD hardware and UA Audio Interfaces.Now You Can:
Track and mix with the only authentic emulations of Bill Putnam Sr.'s most coveted compressor designs
Add vintage tube gain reduction character and detail to vocals, drums, guitars, and more
Spice up any source with harmonically rich tube amplifier and transformer emulation
Creatively control or enhance the dynamics of your most important sources with 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and 12:1 ratio controls
Harness plug-in-only features like Dry/Wet Mix parallel processing and Headroom for user‑customizable operating level
Mix with artist presets from Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits), Carl Glanville (U2, Bruce Springsteen), Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, Beck), and more
Take a Listen
A Pioneering Limiter
With its breakthrough fast attack time and independently variable Attack and Release controls, the UA 175B and 176 went far beyond all previously available broadcast limiters. They were quickly installed in the early 1960's at both United/Western and legendary Sunset Sound studios, where a rack of 176s still reside today. As an all-tube predecessor to the famed 1176, the 175B and 176 compressors have lent warmth and character to thousands of seminal recordings — from the Rolling Stones and Elton John, to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Aretha Franklin, and Miles Davis.
Emulating a Masterpiece
Based on a pair of UA's 1960s golden units, the UA 175B and 176 Tube Compressor Collection plug-ins expertly capture Putnam’s tube-based gain reduction designs, as well as the tube amplifier's ultra-musical harmonics and rich, low-frequency transformer saturation. Putnam’s feedback compression circuit is key to the 175B/176 mojo, yielding softer compression at lower input levels and harder, nearly brickwall limiting at higher levels.
All-Around Champ
Sonically, the 175B and 176 compressors are often compared favorably to a Fairchild compressor, albeit with more versatile controls. As such, they're perfect for vocals, drums, guitars, and more. The UA 175B and 176 Tube Compressor Collection plug-ins give you all the character and juice of the originals — indistinguishable from the target hardware in blind listening tests.
In Action
Delicate when you need subtle control, but colorful when slammed, these plug-ins can add depth to room mics or a drum bus, give your guitars definition, park a bass in a mix, and inject vocals with energy. You can even turn off the compression completely and use the 175B/176 plug-ins as a "tone box," lending rich tube amplifier and transformer textures galore.
“You can count on the UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection to shine the right light on almost any source. It puts motion in a track that I want to dance with the pulse of the mix.”
– Joel Hamilton (Pretty Lights, Sparklehorse, Rival Schools)
“The 175B and 176 compressors sit in a magical place in between the LA-2A and 1176, creating something unique while revealing new layers of sonic opportunity.”
– Carl Glanville (U2, Billy Joel, Counting Crows)
“I’m into gear that was used to create music in the ‘60s and ’70s, and the UA 175B and 176 were a big part of it. Now with the UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection, I'm able to have both pieces with as many instances as I can handle!”
– David Isaac (Marcus Miller, Luther Vandross, Eric Clapton)
“Once you load a preset in the UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection, you're instantly rewarded with a smooth sonic richness — the signature sound of these rare hardware units.”
– Steve Levine (Culture Club, Beach Boys, Ziggy Marley)
“The UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection will thicken and warm up harsh vocals, and just like the hardware, the plug-in versions overdrive in a very pleasing way.”
– Peter Mokran (Christina Aguilera, The Flaming Lips)Customer Reviews
Á. Gústafsson
January 11, 2021
175B & 176
I have found that the 175B is amazing on male vocals with a deep voice (my own) The 176 is brighter and works really well on instruments. There´s some magical warmth in these, if you...
Read MoreM. Ricos Casajuana
January 10, 2021
176 = My new fav
I tried these two the other day and I was surprised about the 175B and it’s character, but the real deal came with the 176. I tried EVERY SINGLE UAD COMPRESSOR on a piano track, and this...
Read MoreM. Ricos Casajuana
January 10, 2021
176 = My new fav
I tried these two the other day and I was surprised about the 175B and it’s character, but the real deal came with the 176. I tried EVERY SINGLE UAD COMPRESSOR on a piano track, and this...
Read MoreP. Jacobsson
December 27, 2020
Wow!
These tube compressors are just amazing. I use it on bass, drums, guitars etc - sounds great.
Read MoreN. Wearne
December 15, 2020
Yummy
This plugin is finding its way onto many, many tracks in my sessions. It's amazing paired with my Coles 4038 on vocals. Loving it
Read MoreB. Ward
December 13, 2020
175B & 176
Great units that can bring tracks forward in the mix with simplicity and elegance.
Read More -
Key Features
Painstaking circuit emulation of Bill Putnam Sr.'s rare and iconic 175B and 176 tube compressors
Models the entire circuit path and control set of the original hardware units
UA 175B features a fixed 12:1 Ratio, 176 features four selectable Ratios: 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and 12:1
Exclusive plug-in features include Sidechain Link, Dry/Wet Mix parallel processing and Headroom for user-customizable operating level
Includes artist presets from Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits), Carl Glanville (U2, Bruce Springsteen), Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, Beck), and more
Requires a UAD-2 DSP Accelerator or UA Audio Interface, available from authorized dealers worldwide
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Customer Reviews
UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection
Á. Gústafsson
175B & 176
I have found that the 175B is amazing on male vocals with a deep voice (my own)
The 176 is brighter and works really well on instruments. There´s some magical warmth in these, if you like the vintage sound this is the real dealM. Ricos Casajuana
176 = My new fav
I tried these two the other day and I was surprised about the 175B and it’s character, but the real deal came with the 176. I tried EVERY SINGLE UAD COMPRESSOR on a piano track, and this was definitely my favourite.
The 176 is SO TRANSPARENT in the compression, you don’t feel like the compressor is destroying the signal, it’s just controlling it, but instead of that smashy compression character you get that valve warmth that honestly, made me WOW. It’s just a different compressor, and used correctly, it will make your too-dynamic tracks into something big, natural, without that agressive compression. It’s unbelievable reducing 4dB of gain in the 1176 and in the 176 and hearing that the 176 just feels controlled, not compressed, but real, alive!
The 175B has too much character and I still have to find myself using it, but the 176 is gonna be my main compressor!M. Ricos Casajuana
176 = My new fav
I tried these two the other day and I was surprised about the 175B and it’s character, but the real deal came with the 176. I tried EVERY SINGLE UAD COMPRESSOR on a piano track, and this was definitely my favourite.
The 176 is SO TRANSPARENT in the compression, you don’t feel like the compressor is destroying the signal, it’s just controlling it, but instead of that smashy compression character you get that valve warmth that honestly, made me WOW. It’s just a different compressor, and used correctly, it will make your too-dynamic tracks into something big, natural, without that agressive compression. It’s unbelievable reducing 4dB of gain in the 1176 and in the 176 and hearing that the 176 just feels controlled, not compressed, but real, alive!
The 175B has too much character and I still have to find myself using it, but the 176 is gonna be my main compressor!P. Jacobsson
Wow!
These tube compressors are just amazing. I use it on bass, drums, guitars etc - sounds great.
N. Wearne
Yummy
This plugin is finding its way onto many, many tracks in my sessions. It's amazing paired with my Coles 4038 on vocals. Loving it
B. Ward
175B & 176
Great units that can bring tracks forward in the mix with simplicity and elegance.
M. Apata
Fantastic Tube Comp
Great to add colourful compression to a lot of different sources
R. Burggraaf
Latency
Latency with Logic
p. durrell
my best compressor!
I tried theses on the trial and ended up buying them.. both work great on drums and they are also good for recording..
w. Hwang
Just sweet sound!!
Vocal and drums really colour with this plugin. Amazing plugin.
K. West
Fantastic
Anyone who would give these 1 star is just not right. And you certainly have not heard a Les Paul Standard being tracked through them! Fantastic and Awesome is all I can say.
Dial them in and use the presets as a great place to start. All I know is there is a ton of tone I can get with very little work.C. vonSneidern
It adds mojo
The distortion and other non-linearities in the 175-B are helpful in getting vocals to leap out, for instance. It's one of those addictive compression tools, you want to try it on everything and say, "that sounds better." I use it only on things that need the extra mojo, distortion, hype and help.
J. REYES
awesome
great plugins and closed emulation GREAT*****
D. Marais
Phenomenal
What a brilliant emulation!
By the way, UA, I think you have a little troll posting recently on all your reviews called R. Mahjoub - giving one star reviews on every single plugin, with utterly nonsensical reasoning. Clearly a fake and a troll from a lesser company...?D. van Haarlem
Big Vintage Smooth Compressor!
Vocal, bass and drums really shine with this plugin. So big, so smooth with a nice vintage presence. I especially like the 176, although the 175 is no slouch either. To me the 176 is more pop and the 175 a little more vintage. It’s a must have.
R. Mahjoub
Hate it
Nothing but creating noise
M. Drozhzha
Great one! I like it on my drums and 808's
I like it to give colour to my drums set and make the right space in my mix. Amazing plugin.
G. Hudson
Just sounds great
Nothing more to say, well done UA.
K. Didvalis
Very Good.
Sound amazing...
C. Paschall
Instant Vibe
Instant bass vibe!!
