Capitol Chambers
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A startling recreation of the world's finest echo chambers.
Located below the iconic Capitol Tower in Los Angeles, Capitol Studios is arguably the most recognized studio in the world — and much of its legend can be traced to its hallowed, subterranean echo chambers. From Ray Charles to Frank Sinatra, Beck to Muse, these underground spaces continue to provide gorgeous hi-fi ambience that is simply unmatched.
Now, after years of R&D and close collaboration with Capitol Studios — including unprecedented access to four legendary echo chambers 30-feet beneath the studio — Universal Audio proudly presents the Capitol Chambers plug-in, a startling end-to-end recreation of the most popular echo chambers ever created, exclusively for UAD hardware and UA Audio Interfaces.Now You Can:
Record and mix with the world's only authentic plug-in emulation of Capitol Studios' prized underground echo chambers
Add the unmistakably dense, natural reverberation to vocals or drums — far beyond plate, digital, or simple convolution reverb
Create new sounds by repositioning Capitol Chambers' microphones using UA's Dynamic Room Modeling
Audition current and historical chamber configurations, plus new setups curated by Capitol's Steve Genewick
Harness the chamber's entire signal chain including amplifiers, speakers, custom preamps, and mics
Quickly pull up presets from legendary Grammy-winning engineers Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Steely Dan), Darrell Thorp (Beck, Radiohead), Frank Filipetti (Madonna, Paul McCartney) and more
Take a Listen
Classic Echo Chambers Designed by Les Paul
Prized for their natural sound and dense ambience, acoustic echo chambers became a creative tool for pioneering, forward-thinking engineers by the mid 1940s — most notably UA founder Bill Putnam Sr. and the great Les Paul, the genius behind the Capitol chambers designs. Built from reinforced concrete and tuned using sloped ceilings and a trapezoidal shape, Paul's designs deliver a smooth, balanced decay and a completely natural room tone that can't be achieved in any other way.
Capturing Iconic Echo
In creating this amazing plug-in, UA sourced historic technical diagrams from the early '60s to precisely recreate microphone/speaker setups inside of Capitol's most coveted chambers, including the vintage omnidirectional Altec 21D mics and custom speaker/horn configurations, in their original hit-making positions. Current "modern" configurations dating from the late '80s were also captured, using the omnidirectional Shure SM80s, while new and creative mic/speaker combos were devised by Capitol's resident chamber expert, Steve Genewick.
Unprecedented Ambience Control
Capitol Chambers' Position slider gives you next-level control over spatial and time response, allowing you to reposition the chamber mics — no assistant engineer required. From the maximum distance stock positions, to direct speaker-to-microphone effects and proximity characteristics, the Capitol Chambers plug-in can subtly thicken vocals or drums, or soak strings with the most natural, complex sounding reverb ever recorded.
Powered by UA's Dynamic Room Modeling
Harnessing the same technology as the award-winning Ocean Way Studios plug-in, Capitol Chambers uses UA’s proprietary Dynamic Room Modeling technology, an exclusive combination of physical modeling and advanced measurement techniques. Whereas standard convolution reverbs only provide a sonic snapshot, Dynamic Room Modeling gives the Capitol Chambers plug-in nearly infinite ambient possibilities.
Deeper Still
Beyond a vintage recreation, the Capitol Chambers plug-in offers creative features for modern DAW workflows like Pre Delay, Dry/Wet mix, and Decay controls. A sweepable 80 to 750 Hz filter lets you minimize muddy bass going into the chamber, while Bass, Treble, and proportional Q Mid band lets you perfectly season the chamber's lush ambience. In addition, the Width control allows you to narrow the chamber's stereo field, for easily pinpointing a vocal or instrument in the mix. Finally, Decay lets you quickly shorten Capitol Chambers' natural reverb time, offering more scenarios to harness the most famous echo chambers ever made.
An All-Star Collection of Artist Presets
The Capitol Chamber's plug-in features carefully crafted presets from a stunning roster of Grammy-winning engineers and producers. From recording industry icon Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Steely Dan) to Mark Linett (The Beach Boys, Los Lobos) and Frank Filipetti (Madonna, Paul McCartney), Darrell Thorp (Beck, Radiohead), and more, you can experiment using the same settings that professionals who know every nook and cranny of Capitol's famous chambers use every day.
Capitol and the Capitol logos are trademarks of Capitol Records, LLC, registered in the United States, European Union, and other jurisdictions, and are used under license.
"A Rose" by Jamie Lidell
Written and recorded exclusively to showcase the UAD Capitol Chambers Reverb plug‑in.
“I’ve been using the chambers at Capitol Studios for nearly 25 years, now I finally get to take them with me when I work outside of Capitol.”
– Steve Genewick (Ray Charles, Queen, Frank Sinatra Jr.)
“While tracking at Capitol Studios, I always capture the chambers. Now I can have same sound at my fingertips anytime. This is my new use‑on‑everything reverb. ”
– Darrell Thorp (Beck, Radiohead, Charlotte Gainsbourg)
“Some of the best echo chambers in the world are now just a click away. The interface is simple and self explanatory — the sounds are extraordinary.”
– Mark Needham (The Killers, Neon Trees, P!nk)
“With the Capitol Chambers plug-in, UA has created a truly flexible, physical space. Let that sink in for a second…”
– John Paterno (Robbie Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Bonnie Raitt)
“The UAD Capitol Chambers plug-in is amazing. It has so much depth, character, and authenticity. It sounds just like you're there.”
– Chris Dugan (Green Day, Iggy Pop, U2)
“The UAD Capitol Chambers plug-in is meticulously crafted, complete with various mics and mic placements. It’s a remarkable piece of the past — accurate and powerfully versatile.”
– Richard Chycki (Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater)Customer Reviews
A. Bingham
January 15, 2020
Perfect.
This thing is just so great sounding. Endless tweaks, but just so easy to dial in.
Read MoreD. Ironside
January 11, 2020
Capital Chambers
How many reverb units do you need ? I've got a quite a few ! I resisted even trying this one out ,but with the xmas specials i couldn't help myself.I've got to say this is a great find ,one...
Read More -
Key Features
Exclusive echo chamber emulation licensed and endorsed by Capitol Studios
The world's best-sounding and most in-demand echo chambers, designed by Les Paul
Gorgeously natural, uniquely dense chamber ambience, for reverb buses or individual sources
Choose from Capitol’s most popular chambers (2,4,6,7) with varying mic/speaker configurations representing modern to historical setups
Captures amplifier, speaker, custom preamp, and microphone chain for unprecedented realism
Fine tune ideal placement with continuously adjustable microphone positioning using UA's Dynamic Room Modeling
Other features include adjustable Decay, Pre Delay, sweepable cut filter, three-band EQ, Dry/Wet mix, and Width
Artist presets from Grammy-winning engineers Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Steely Dan), Darrell Thorp (Beck, Radiohead), Frank Filipetti (Madonna, Paul McCartney), and more
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Customer Reviews
Capitol Chambers
s. watanabe
最高！！
奥行き、深み。この音像はこれでしか作れないのでは？
A. Bingham
Perfect.
This thing is just so great sounding. Endless tweaks, but just so easy to dial in.
O. Dramaretskiy
AMAZING!!!!
Sound like a magic!!!!! Great work UA!!!
V. Beqo
Awesome
Super
N. Antonio
MyDream
Amazing!
D. Ironside
Capital Chambers
How many reverb units do you need ? I've got a quite a few ! I resisted even trying this one out ,but with the xmas specials i couldn't help myself.I've got to say this is a great find ,one of the best reverb plugins so far ,the set out for me is very easy to use ,fantastic on a buss.Give it a try , but be warned , you'll most likely have to have it.
R. Young
Amazing sound, but a resource hog:)
Incredible plug in, but I use an Arrow. If this is your main interface know that this plug in uses 80% plus of your processing, so no other plug ins will run while it is active, so you have to get creative I. It’s use, it does sound incredible
E. Behrendt
Something Different
If you are looking for something unique this is it. It's very different in a wonderful way.
R. DIAMOND
Unique vibe
Gives very different flavour to other reverbs,but if a cpu hog,I guess that’s progress
UAD User
25 stars
That’s right back with another 5 stars. This plugin is a breakthrough. UAD you can expect my money if you put out more reverbs like this. Just completed a whole album with this thing. I’m still in awe.
R. Fields
Capitol Chambers
I think it sounds good buddy I do not know how to tame it I mean everything sounds like a gigantic gigantic wash the matter how much I slide the slider to minimize it sounds like I’m still in a gigantic bathroom of bathrooms so I have many things to learn about it
t. billonare
best but
dsp using is a lot
P. Ntourntourekas
great
very nice reverb, great job.
J. Brantley
Amazing
After I saw the video release for this product I was sold!! Wow!! What history and innovative thinking!! BUY THIS NOW!!!
P. Hill
A Lovely Sounding Reverb
Reverb is one area that was lacking in my plugin collection. I was often not able to find a reverb that would sit nicely to my ears. Capitol Chambers is my latest purchase and so far, it is just what I need. Natural sounding and isn't a distraction.
UAD User
From the house that Nat built!
This is by far the best reverb plug in I have ever used! I have used it on everything from classic crooner style recordings a’la Nat King Cole/Frank Sinatra style to heavier rock recordings. It’s like a glue! It makes everything stick right in the mix where it’s supposed to be!
Get this plugin! NOW!!!M. Miranda
A new classic...
This plugin is fantastic! I just can’t imagine a session without this beast! It’s a must UAD piece of beauty. Sounds so real, warm and user friendly. Definitely a new UAD new classic.
J. Johansson
Best reverb?
Wow. This is truly amazing, no matter if its used on an individual channel or for a master bus. It creates realistic room sounds and gives amazing warmth and room to the sound.
The downsides (the only downsides, preventing me from giving it 5 stars)?
1. It's expensive!
2. It takes A LOT of DSP (about 40% using an Apollo Twin MKII Quad), which is insane.L. Cohen
Best Reverb
Takes a lot of DSP but it's worth it. What a great sound. Like no other. I love it.
R. Invernizzi
I love it. But sometimes give some problems with Logic Pro X
I love the sound of this reverb plugin. Really amazing!!!
I have a problem with this plugin. With Logic Pro X when I use this plugin sometimes it's gives me the "system overload" error, but my UAD is not full. Only this plugin, i've tried bypassing every single plugin in the session but only when i enable this one Logic gives me problem.
