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
P. Nortey
May 21, 2020
The best reverb for me
I have to say that I love this reverb after seeing Fabrice Dupond using it on a Luna session. I got currious about it and did my research and fel in love with it. UA big Thank you for...
Read MoreN. OJO
May 20, 2020
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
Read MoreN. OJO
May 20, 2020
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
Read MoreN. OJO
May 20, 2020
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
Read MoreN. OJO
May 20, 2020
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
Read MoreG. Waddington
May 19, 2020
They still sound the same -- AMAZING
I was fortunate to be involved in the 70's with an album out of Toronto that got mixed down at the Tower, we went all the way to...
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
P. Nortey
The best reverb for me
I have to say that I love this reverb after seeing Fabrice Dupond using it on a Luna session. I got currious about it and did my research and fel in love with it.
UA big Thank you for taking my money LolN. OJO
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
N. OJO
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
N. OJO
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
N. OJO
Loving This Chambers
This chambers are very musical unlike the ones i have used before now
G. Waddington
They still sound the same -- AMAZING
I was fortunate to be involved in the 70's with an album out of Toronto that got mixed down at the Tower, we went all the way to LA just because of those chambers. Man, they sounded incredible then, they do now as well, only now in my home studio. To folks like me from back then, this is an unbelievable dreamland !!
. Atzeni
Great sounding Reverb!!!
My Go to Reverb for vocals. Sounds incredible Good.
J. Plichta
Must have plugin.
Great must have plugin especially in conjunction with LUNA.
G. Saunders
Just beautiful
Very natural sounding and powerful, a small amount goes a long way
D. Case
What else can be said?
I mean, Capitol Chambers is just a beautiful sounding reverb with plenty of options and tweakability. It fills a big gap in the AUD Reverb world and is one of the "must buy" plugins, in my opinion.
A. Yacovelli
Capitol Reverb delivers!
This is a great plugin for experimenting with reverb in a CLASSIC recording space! The visuals are very strong. With generic reverb plugins, you don't always understand the placement of the walls and mics from the description. This gives your brain a great visual to work with and unparalleled sound. Cool to tinker with some of the infamous settings, like the Brian Wilson presets.
UAD User
Fantastic
Best reverb for me, I use it for emulating rooms. Works a treat
m. peraldo
Great reverb!
Never been at Capitol Studios, but this reverb sound amazing!
Not a go to on every genre or source, but in the right context it is so powerful, love it!S. Gerard
Capitol Chambers
The UA Capitol Chambers plugin is as advertised, if not better. I am really pleased with how it performs on vocal tracks, as well as drums. Just feels right.
M. Mchangani
Love it
I dial it subtly on drums...it always works! creates space and lush vibes.
P. Reynolds
Wonderfully pleased!
First plugin reverb I've encountered that inspired me like a beautiful sounding location.
M. WHITE
Amazing!
Wow...just wow! Hands down one of the best reverbs in the game!
A. Alphonse
Game Changer
Cool as the concrete rooms. Warm as the mics used. It's a must have. 100% lush.
A. Pashka
This is what heaven sounds like.
Wow. I thought the EMT was fire. Like Franks Red Hot, I put this on everything.
J. Cunningham
JUST, WOW
This thing is pure heaven.
