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.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
A. Neto
January 17, 2023
A must have comp
The 176 is one of my favourite compression plugin. I feel like it works for everything.
Read MoreR. Reid
January 16, 2023
Warm, Full Tone
This is a great collection. The 175B has become a go-to on my vocal chain. It creates such a warm, fat tone and makes the vocal stand out.
Read MoreM. Hunt
January 16, 2023
Great sounding comp
I mainly bought this comp for tracking vocals. It has so much characther but can be gentle. My main comp for vocal tracking. in the mix I will hit vocals a bit harder with an...
Read Morep. mitchem
January 16, 2023
Exactly what I expected
I wanted honest tube compression and these plugs give exactly that, absolutely no disappointment
Read MoreR. Dann
January 9, 2023
Sounds good
Overall pretty good, I wish it could be pushed more, but ok as is for traditional coloration.
Read MoreO. Cruz-Olivencia
January 2, 2023
Great Compressor
Sounds amazing. Solid harmonic sounds and color!! A must have!!
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
A. Neto
A must have comp
The 176 is one of my favourite compression plugin. I feel like it works for everything.
R. Reid
Warm, Full Tone
This is a great collection. The 175B has become a go-to on my vocal chain. It creates such a warm, fat tone and makes the vocal stand out.
M. Hunt
Great sounding comp
I mainly bought this comp for tracking vocals. It has so much characther but can be gentle. My main comp for vocal tracking. in the mix I will hit vocals a bit harder with an 1176 maybe a la2a. This comp has instant vibe for sure.
p. mitchem
Exactly what I expected
I wanted honest tube compression and these plugs give exactly that, absolutely no disappointment
R. Dann
Sounds good
Overall pretty good, I wish it could be pushed more, but ok as is for traditional coloration.
O. Cruz-Olivencia
Great Compressor
Sounds amazing. Solid harmonic sounds and color!! A must have!!
C. Domenico
UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection
We had to wait a long time for these two beauties, they're finally here (UAD original) and THANK YOU for the DRY/WET control for parallel compression and for the little HEADROOM screw :-)
M. Kozlov
sweet comp
I prefer this one to La2a last time as the second compressor on vocals. Sounds very pleasant. Gives the analog sound that I need
R. Graterol
Very thick sounding compressors
I thought: I don't need another compressor... yet here I am. I realized I did not have tube compressors in my UAD arsenal and this filled a gap in my plugin folder (I already own all the usual suspects: 1176, LA2A, Distressor, etc). I was really impressed with these plugins, for me they performed best in drums and bass, adding a very thick low end and elegantly smoothing transients, and the compression overall is very transparent. I compared these with other vari mu emulations which are fractions of the cost but this came out better. The harmonic distortion of these plugins is very musical. I highly recommend them.
F. San Filippo
Realistic analog sound
You absolutely don’t need these, but they are awesome.
I. Papagiannidis
Best for vocals!!
Best for focal tracking! Amazing sounding combined with tape ,like oxide!
G. Murillo
Muy bueno
Muy bueno
B. Schimmel
Just insanly good.
Since I‘ve got it I use it on nearly everthing ;).
P. Johnson
Works great
User friendly UA compressor with a few more bells and whistles.
F. Kalmus
I love it's richful meanwhile silky sound with nice touch of compression
My No.1 on all of my acoustic strings and vocal recording.
n. binns
Solid
Solid emulation. Absolutely gorgeous tone and very effective tool to have around.
G. Merino
Nasty!!
Awesome comps, the most colorful of my arsenal, lot of grit and character!
I’m not giving 5 stars only because the small GUIs, the graphics are nice but so tiny. Please make this one bigger or resizable!T. Liljegren
Woaw!
My favourite compressor on almost everything. Fat and natural.
Watch out for huge ess-boosting on vocals though.D. Shapland
Epic 1167 alternative
The 175/176 bundle is awesome, I love these compressors on just about everything, if you are looking for 1176 style compression but with a rounder warmer tone these are the way to go!! A staple in all of my mixes.
F. Martinsen
Fat warm huge tone
Love this compressor, tried the demo first and it got stuck on several things in my mixes just had to purchase this amazing compressor.
