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
M. Keilhauer
January 17, 2020
Analog Compression
Unfortunatly I‘ll never be able to get my hands on the real gear. But that‘s the way it should sound. Close your eyes to imagine sitting in front of the hardware in your rack.
Read Mores. yang
January 16, 2020
Thank you for making it again. UA175B & 176 !!
I haven't actually tried the UA 175B & 176 compressor hardware. However, since I believe in UA, which has excellent reprint technology worldwide, I was not hesitant to buy this...
Read MoreR. DIAMOND
January 8, 2020
Best compressor yet
My favourite Uad compressor yet,nice warm vibe
Read MoreC. Manchester
January 7, 2020
Unbelievably good
Obviously I have never used the real thing, but who cares. These are solid compressors with a warmth to die for. I love really pushing them hard with 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
D. Yudin
Very good!
I use it on bus channels, I am very happy with them.
M. Keilhauer
Analog Compression
Unfortunatly I‘ll never be able to get my hands on the real gear. But that‘s the way it should sound. Close your eyes to imagine sitting in front of the hardware in your rack.
s. yang
Thank you for making it again. UA175B & 176 !!
I haven't actually tried the UA 175B & 176 compressor hardware.
However, since I believe in UA, which has excellent reprint technology worldwide, I was not hesitant to buy this plug-in.
Currently I use this plugin for a lot of work.
UA 175B & 176 Both plug-ins feature rich colors.
In particular, the UA 176 compressor delivers a very pleasant low end.
When used strongly, it is used very shallowly because it affects elements a little, and you can get very good harmonics simply by plugging in.
Compressors have a lot of influence on the person who makes the music.
You need to study carefully the characteristics of the compressor you use, as it also influences the direction of the direction of music.
I'm thinking of putting the UA 175B & 176 compressor into much of my music by 2020.
Thank you to UA for always providing good quality.N. Antonio
使いやすい
2台ともサチュレーションなど違いが分かりやすくいろいろな音源で試しています。
R. DIAMOND
Best compressor yet
My favourite Uad compressor yet,nice warm vibe
C. Manchester
Unbelievably good
Obviously I have never used the real thing, but who cares. These are solid compressors with a warmth to die for. I love really pushing them hard with drums.
t. billonare
good
use this
sound is more smoothO. Lamas
Smoothie with lots of flavors.
These are just gorgeous when you need personality and character. Simply gorgeous. One more tool for vibe and color.
P. Daly
Tube Comps
Great Colour and "feel" to these plugins. Try them out for yourself!
J. V P
Another level.
Well done, UA. This is another level of modeling. The harmonic distortion in this plugin is the new benchmark. Well done.
O. Brown
Blown Away
I did not know I needed this limiter until I tried it! Nothing else in my arsenal sounds like it! I tried to make other plugins I have sound like it and I cannot! The way it breaks up perfectly to provide saturation, warmth and colour to the sound is second to none! A true must-have!
J. Kim
Great!
Nice saturation!!!
L. Roccatagliati
I'm using them everywhere
Tried on drum bus and its fantastic. Tried on kick and it's ace. Tried on synth bus and glue everything. Looking forward to use them on everything
C. Yang
Good Compresoor.
This is the best compressor I've ever bought this year.
moderate colouring and deep textureT. Ennis
Excellent!
Not transparent at all and I enjoy the color this produces. Said 'wow' the first time I used it, now finding excuses to use it everywhere! Very pleased!
H. Way
Unbelievable!
All I can say is WOW! Just buy it! Just buy it! You won’t regret it!
B. Schumacher
The sound is excellent, but...
...how can UAD dismiss side chaining capability? It’s hard to believe that it‘s still not implemented yet.
A. Phillips
Really no words
I am amazed at the difference in my voice over by just adding this to the chain. It's so warm and gooey.
T. Kirby
Breathes life into everything it touches!
I would buy this compressor even if it didn't actually reduce gain. The tone on the 175B is amazing. There are a myriad of ways to add analog warmth and vibe, but this is now my favourite. It makes virtual instruments sound so real and gritty, and it adds a vintage flavour to tracked instruments.
C. Albright
W. Triyawong is right! It *is* amazing
This is my favorite UAD compressor, and I own every one of them. You get 2 flavors of a similar compressor. The 175B doesnt do the slam type compression as much, but I find it great for subtle compression with color. If the 176 were available from UA as a(non vintage and rare) hardware compressor today I would buy it.
