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
R. Polson-Lahache
September 14, 2019
Swirl...but also has dirt!
First, record your mix dark and commit. Then place this compressor on the master and the stereo field widens...then put on the Chandler Curve Bender in mid-side mode and just add some sweet...
Read MoreB. Bradley
September 13, 2019
Powerful Compressor!
I love all the LA2A UAD models I own and use quite a bit. This 176 is a great addition to go with my 1176's and LA2A's! Very BIG compression. Great for guitars and vocals! Can't wait to...
Read MoreJ. Moreland
September 7, 2019
Mmmmmm
First off, shame on UA for not releasing these babies sooner. Second, thank you so much for taking the time to get these perfect. I’d always heard that the 176 was the bridge between the...
Read MoreS. Parikh
August 27, 2019
UA 175 & 176 Tune compressor
I used for mostly vocal and really nice
Read MoreB. Schulz
August 25, 2019
This one makes a huge difference
I have many 3rd Party compressors in my DAW, but this one is the only one that brings out the musical dynamics of a song I was longing for so long. I found no mix that doesn't benefit from...
Read MoreM. Hunter
August 24, 2019
Must have compresser
Really like these, I use them a lot on vocals annd drums
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
R. Polson-Lahache
Swirl...but also has dirt!
First, record your mix dark and commit. Then place this compressor on the master and the stereo field widens...then put on the Chandler Curve Bender in mid-side mode and just add some sweet blossom to the frequencies. Boom.
B. Bradley
Powerful Compressor!
I love all the LA2A UAD models I own and use quite a bit. This 176 is a great addition to go with my 1176's and LA2A's! Very BIG compression. Great for guitars and vocals! Can't wait to try on bass. Easily worth the asking price.
J. Moreland
Mmmmmm
First off, shame on UA for not releasing these babies sooner. Second, thank you so much for taking the time to get these perfect. I’d always heard that the 176 was the bridge between the LA2A and the 1176. No, these are much warmer than an LA2A and can be even more aggressive than the 1176. Both of these units can be used for almost anything - but that 175b turns a DI bass into something akin to a Justin Chancellor/Tool bass sound in seconds. And while I love the flexibility of the 176 as a compressor, you can use any of your other favorite comps for Drums, Guitar, etc. and then add it at the end of a bus chain (switching the 176 attack to OFF). It will change the character of anything run through it to something from a bygone era. Just like any number of “Analog” summing boxes/plugins but gooier and more dimensional. And while I can’t find it in the manual, I am 99% certain that when using the 176 for this purpose, switching between 2:1 and 12:1 ratios will result in different distortion brought forth (2:1 warmer/12:1 brighter). These are just awesome, beautiful sounding coloring tools.
S. Parikh
UA 175 & 176 Tune compressor
I used for mostly vocal and really nice
B. Schulz
This one makes a huge difference
I have many 3rd Party compressors in my DAW, but this one is the only one that brings out the musical dynamics of a song I was longing for so long. I found no mix that doesn't benefit from that vibe.
M. Hunter
Must have compresser
Really like these, I use them a lot on vocals annd drums
K. Swaby
Just stunning!!!
Warmth, weight, depth and character for days........
An absolute must.T. Platt
Dynamic - Literally!
These plug-ins retain all the subtlety of their hardware parents whilst introducing a quality of their own. Already they are taking over as my absolute favourite for a wide range of instruments. Most importantly they reflect and enhance the dynamics of the performer rather than "controlling" them.
M. Diaz Velez
Warm and beautiful
This HW emulation makes the things better, warming the audio with just few movements... amazing!!! Thanks UA!!!
H. Bendall
Another fantastic addition.
These are just beautiful. Harmonically, dynamically amazing and smooth as anything else ever made. Using them a huge amount. Thanks for these!
M. Jewell
What’s old is new again
I was mixing a song and had reached for everything, outboard and in the box and nothing have me that thing I was hearing in my head. Then I realized I hadn’t started my demo on this.. wasn’t expecting much. Literally piped it in and mouth dropped wide open. What tube tech, 1176, La2a and others couldn’t do for me this plug did. I would give it 100 stars if possible. Thank you UA!
G. Loopez
smooth and warm
I slapped these on some drum busses and vocals .. I just love how this 175B sounds
D. Marais
The best things were made many decades ago
What a wonderful addition to the suite.
Thank you for these iconic processors.J. MESSINA
Winner combination
Early in my career, I was a cutting engineer at A & R studios. It was a minimalist room with a very manual, mono Neumann cutter, and a simple tube console. My outboard processing consisted of a Pultec EQP – 1A and a Universal Audio 176 Compressor. It was always enough to get the job done.
I love the version of the EQP – 1A that UAD has produced. It has the silky, smooth top end as the hardware version. I use it all the time. Since the software of the UA – 176 has come out, I’ve used it on vocals, drums and guitars, and it’s awesome. It’s ironic, that after all these years, I’m once again using some of the same processing I used in my days at A & R with continued success.
M. Haverly
Wow
From now on this will be one of the first plugins I reach for. The limiter is what I have closed my eyes and imagined a limiter to do for quite some time, yet for certain sources, never found the ideal solution for. This is a gem. It is a feather in the cap added to UA's own amazing heritage.
D. Taylor
Amazing
You can really appreciate this great piece once you hear it, simply remarkable.
O. Lamas
Man!!!!! Don't Believe the Sales Hype!
I downloaded a trial expecting this to be another hyped plugin.
Well, It's not. This is totally new to me. The flavor, the smooth grit and vibe is amazing in rock vocals. So, do not believe the hype. Try it for yourself, another great flavor from UA.M. Boltz
Very nice color
Very smooth and adds a nice color to tracks. I went back to a few tracks that were mixed and added this to vocals and some synths and it really improved the way they sat in the mix and gave the track a gorgeous vintage tube vibe.
C. Knox
At Last!
Finally...and with this update and download UAD get it right for the customer as well! props UA...now damn..the..torpedoes!
S. Smith
From clean to warm to crunchy--but always sweet!
Responds to everything the way you'd expect the hardware to do. Depending on headroom and gain staging, you get tone that goes from clean to warm to crunchy, but always sounds sweet! Hard to make it sound bad. The compression aspect leans to the soft side on the 175, and at 2:1 on the 176, so don't be afraid to see it moving the GR meter a lot! Besides with the MIX knob, you can cheat some original dynamics back in. This is in a very sweet spot in the UA line-up in terms of usefulness and aesthetics.
