Thermionic Culture Vulture
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The original boutique, all-valve, studio distortion tool — exclusively for UAD-2 and Apollo.
A singular, enigmatic piece of all-valve boutique hardware, the Thermionic Culture Vulture is a distortion hedonist's malleable plaything. For more than 15 years, this British-made, studio-grade, high-gain valve unit has provided a palette of vivid distortion colors — from sublime thickening textures to demonic growls of perverted mayhem — on countless genre-spanning recordings.
Now — thanks to an intense multi-year engineering effort from Universal Audio — you can track and mix with the only authentic circuit emulation of this one-of-a-kind valve distortion tool with the Thermionic Culture Vulture plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces.Now You Can:
Get a full palette of high-gain, studio-grade, dual-stage valve distortion
Dial-in rich harmonic content with three diverse valve topologies — including UA’s first ever pentode tube emulation
Record through the Culture Vulture in real time with Apollo Twin, Apollo DUO, Apollo QUAD, or Apollo 16
Subtly color or utterly destroy existing tracks, buses, or a full mix with the Culture Vulture using any UAD-2 hardware
Get the same sound and controls as the legendary analog hardware with added features like parallel Dry/Wet processing
Mix with artist presets from Tony Maserati, Eric "ET" Thorngren, Rik Simpson, Chris Coady, and more
5-Min UAD Tip
In this video, learn how to easily create midrange warmth on acoustic guitars as well as destroy live drums with parallel processing using the Thermionic Culture Vulture plug-in.
Take a Listen
Dominate your Sources with Three Valve Topologies
The Culture Vulture plug-in for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces faithfully emulates all of the original hardware’s sonic proclivities and diabolical details, including its three distinct all-valve circuit topologies.
Authentic, All-Valve Circuit
The Thermionic Culture Vulture plug-in captures the natural, “in-between-the transients” dynamic bias response inherent in the hardware's valve-driven circuit — as well as its powerful stereo control set.Use the Drive knobs and Overdrive switches to control the amount of input signal hitting the 6AS6 valves — with up to 20 dB of gain on tap! The Bias controls adjust the incoming voltage, providing dramatic differences in response, from clean to distorted, voltage-starved chatter, and gating effects. Use the Filter controls (9 kHz and 6 kHz) to fine-tune your distortion flavors even further.
Expanded Feature Set for Valve-Soaked Mixes
The Culture Vulture plug-in offers two key features not found on the original hardware. Use the Mix control for parallel processing on any bus, adding gentle valve presence, punch, and grit to drums, vocals, or an entire mix. And with the Link function, you’re afforded a perfectly matched stereo image to save time and preserve balances. While the Thermionic Culture Vulture is not a compressor per se, it can act as sonic “glue” on a bus or an entire mix, deftly teasing out tantalizing sizzle and detail with authentic valve heat.
“I use the Thermionic Vulture hardware on almost every mix, so having a UAD software version was a dream come true. I never thought anyone would be able to mimic the sonic variations of the hardware. I'm obsessed.”
– Tony Maserati (Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Jason Mraz)
“I’m a big fan of Thermionic Culture and own many pieces of theirs to help remove the generic digital DAW sound. I’ll now be using the UAD Culture Vulture plug-in to perform the same function. In short, I love it.”
– Rik Simpson (Coldplay, Portishead, Jay Z)
“The UAD Culture Vulture just became my new secret go-to weapon. The first time I used it to beef up the kick and snare on a Hip Hop track, I knew there was no going back.”
– Ivan Barias (Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, Estelle)
“The ‘mighty’ Culture Vulture is one of the best sonic destroyers of all time, and it’s equally useful for bringing life and detail to dull sounds. Now with the UAD plug-in, I can use several instances per song.”
– Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Future Islands)
“The UAD Culture Vulture can do all the crazy, blown out sh*t as the hardware. In fact, it’s even better at subtle gaining and beefing up, without getting too shredded. It’s a new/old favorite.”
– Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Jónsi)
“I love the UAD Culture Vulture on drums, bass, vocals, and guitars. I also found the presets very useful for hearing the versatility and tones this plug‑in is capable of.”
– Jeff Balding (Taylor Swift, The Eagles, Florida Georgia Line)Customer Reviews
I. Fermin
September 1, 2020
Like a Reliable Friend
Love the convenience of digital, but long for the depth and grit of analog? Look no further than the UAD Thermionic Culture Vulture. Take your tired, old instrument plugins and give them a...
Read MoreJ. North
August 3, 2020
The real deal
Great saturation - unique palette. Amazing on just about anything needing warmth.
Read MoreM. Franco
July 13, 2020
This is a must have!
Saturate and warm. Great on vocals, drums, etc!
Read MoreB. Schumacher
July 4, 2020
Great, especially for subtle distortion
It seems like this is the most disliked UAD plugin. However it‘s really great, especially for subtle distortion.
Read More -
Key Features
Exclusively licensed by Thermionic Culture Ltd., modeled by Universal Audio
Studio-grade, high-gain valve distortion from a subtle warmth to utterly destroyed
Models entire Class A circuit, including the Pentode-driven input amplifier with bias control, plus valve output amplifier
Three modes of operation including Triode and Pentode modes 1 and 2
Overdrive, Output filtering, plus plugin-only Dry/Wet parallel Mix and Controls linking
Requires a UAD DSP Accelerator Card or Apollo Interface available from authorized dealers worldwide
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Customer Reviews
Thermionic Culture Vulture
I. Fermin
Like a Reliable Friend
Love the convenience of digital, but long for the depth and grit of analog? Look no further than the UAD Thermionic Culture Vulture. Take your tired, old instrument plugins and give them a new life. Well worth it.
T. Mai
It’s okay
This plugin is one of the few uad plugins to have mixed reviews. It’s not like other plugins that sounds good from the gecko, takes a lot of tweaking to get the sound you want which isn’t a bad thing but I can get very similar results with Fabfilter Saturn.
D. Warren
Vulture
excellent on bass and 808s
J. North
The real deal
Great saturation - unique palette. Amazing on just about anything needing warmth.
M. Franco
This is a must have!
Saturate and warm. Great on vocals, drums, etc!
a. ortega
nice
smart drive, I use in bass and drums...hot sound
B. Schumacher
Great, especially for subtle distortion
It seems like this is the most disliked UAD plugin. However it‘s really great, especially for subtle distortion.
G. Polito
What a sound!
Lot of dsp but guys... that works! Great sounding!
R. ESTRADA
Dulce para tu oido saturacion armonica
Consume mucho DSP pero vale la pena... Responde imediatamente sobre cualquier instrumento ofrece calidad
A. Tschernawin
Very nice saturation
My first choice for the 909 kickdrum and 303 baselines,...that sounds amazing.
Y. Hara
So Great!!
The unique saturation of this device cannot be replaced by anything else.
A. Frederic
I can't select it in "Input Unison" Apollo twin Usb 3
Beware there is a problem in what is said:
"Record in real time through Vulture Culture with the Apollo Twin, Apollo DUO, Apollo QUAD or Apollo 16", you can't record in real time with an Apollo twin"
I can't select it in "Input Unison"
Apollo twin Usb 3J. Carlson
Top 3 Saturation
Ive tried many saturators and this is in my top 3 no doubt. Need some more time listening to it on different instruments and monitors but I'm loving it so far.
V. Fedyaev
Я искал этот звук всю жизнь!
Совершенно фантастический девайс, вешаешь его на все каналы и звук становиться как в сказке, как у фирмачей. Вот он в чём секрет был! А мы тут сидим протираем штаны с этими безжизненными нативными плагинами! Они абсолютно мерзкие и совершенно незвучащие! Этот вешаешь на все каналы и вот тебе счастье, все сразу не хуже чем у Бруно Марса и Зе Викенда. Прямо повесил и всё! Это единорог! Покупать незадумываясь!
a. emiri
best Saturator/Distortion on the market
Is the best Saturator/Distortion on the market...use it on Vocals, B.Vocals, bass,drums, guitars, ethnicinstruments etc....it adds unique harmonics....great job at the UAudio. From Italy
s. bosewicht
Go Full on Demonic Possesion
This is by far my favorite UA Plugin. I use this on almost everything. Even on its most subtle settings it ads something so analog and delicious. The presets are wonderful and a great starting point to dial things in. This was used on all my favorite records 80's 90's and has vibe for days.
m. bölükbasi
absolutly best
absolutly best driver! but really dsp monster :)
m. tun
DSP Hunger Game
It charges more DSP than sound good.
C. Rockaway
Beautiful
This is probably one of the "biggest" and definitely the "gooiest" sounding software distortion I own. Mixing in a small amount on sequenced drums is key, and it can breath new life into synth lead lines, as well as pads. Honestly, pointing out it's usefulness on individual instruments is sorta pointless, because it is so versatile, its ridiculous!
J. Smilde
The silent killer
Hasn’t got the main attention but is imo one of the best.
