In the guitar section, the filters aren't matched. You have high/low pass engaged for Waves but disengaged for UAD. That might explain the top end disparity there.
im not sure but i heard or read that the 'vintage' waves emulation plugins the ssl etc. have to be fed -18 because waves modeled from impulse response and other 'ways' to be exactly like the unit they emulated...
Mate, this video is very accurate. You’re right on the money about the UAD plug-ins. You get a way clearer sound with them, especially with the SSL g bus compressors. I was speechless when I noticed the difference.
Im a heavy user of SSL E and G for drums and guitars. I prefer the UAD because have the transformer saturation and the Waves not. From the Compression the Waves sound much more muddy for my taste. The 3er contendent by far is the Plugin Alliance version with the Tm tecnology. Just one reminder about presets, the UAD have much more if you choose them, from the left down corner where the UAd icon is.
Man that was insane how noticeable it was one you added the compression. The space, width and even clarity I thought were very noticeable. I use Clarett pres now, but I have considered buying one rack of UAD.
That’s good information, thanks, I’ll look into this. I thought it was too obvious a feature to leave out, but then why make it so un-obvious to turn on?
Waves and UAD are both excellent and sound just like different hardware. Saying one is better sound wise than the other is like saying what color is the best it is opinion. If you take two identical pieces of hardware they will sound different thus why different emulations will sound different because they are modeled from a different piece of hardware, Yes similar but deeper maybe the placebo effect? Maybe not but the real test is listening blindly and telling what is what. I have run tests and have come to the conclusion that Waves, UAD and Slate are excellent. I'm sure there are others.
I tried a test for myself with my waves plugins vs UAD Plug-ins. The overall quality of the UAD Product just sounded punchier and warmer in my opinion. I still use Waves for lack of DSP and it still gets the job done. But UAD results do not disappoint. I personally feel like we’re not comparing which “colors” are the best but more like comparing color brands. Like, Blue is Blue, but which brand would you prefer? Molotow or Posca?
Not a good starting point to try and match the knob settings - just like any two hardware units they aren't equivalent. You can see this in gain reduction meters - the UAD is less gain reduction, so therefore more open and "brighter". Match the sound, not the knobs. I think you'll find the sound closer. Also remember that Waves and UAD have used different hardware in the initial modeling they used.
Hi I was wondering about satellite system By universal audio. If I bought one I could use Universal audio plug-ins with my DAW . Would I then need to by a Apollo sound card ?
There’s a Russian guy that does a similar comparison... he seems to argue that you can make these plug ins sound like each other by tweaking the settings on each instead of matching settings... anyone else seems it ?
You really have to push the Waves version to get it to act like the UAD one, then the UAD one goes farther. Can you get it there? You can get it close enough for government work. I've worked the real desks and the UAD acts and feels much closer to the real one. Especially in the high end.
I feel like the waves version has a little more of a aggressive compressor thats not as smooth. while the UAD has eqs that are smoothed out more. so one will sound smoother in general but both are great. lets also keep in mind waves is VERY small on the cpu because its kinda old. while UAD is very heavy on cpu but also sooo good sounding.
Good comparison matching. UAD sounds more open on some sources and the waves sounds tighter and punchier on other sources. Personally I use the SSL bundle and or the Slate bundle and Waves ssl. The new waves V12 updated ssl channel strip does sound markedly more open, rounder and smoother, both channel strip models from waves, with the update sound way better than before.
Overall UAD is better. How much better? That is the question. Personally, being able to use waves on my laptop wherever I am is the way to go for me. At the end of the day, how you use it will make much more difference that which one you use.
The new UADx Native plugins means you can use (some of) them on the go, too. Over one source there’s not loads in it, but over lots of channels, the difference will stack up.
Thank you, Ed. The adjectives you used in your verbal descriptions of each plugin's sound is good for anyone learning the nuances of sound & music mixing 👍
I'm sure if you were blindfolded you'd still arrive @ the same conclusion. I detect no bias in your analysis. Thank you for taking the time as this convinced me I owe it to myself to at least try these soon. Keep up the good work Sir.
The dynamics settings on guitar portion are completely different. I also agree that the UAD sounds are generally louder and therefore are going to better sounding. EDIT - the differences are actually on the gate settings of the plug-in. Sorry about the confusion.
If you check the settings, they’re exactly the same. And both plugins were on the same audio channel. The UAD just sounds fuller and clearer giving the perception of being louder 👌
@@EdThorne Look again. One set of green knobs are set identically, the other set are competely different. Again, this is only during the guitar portion. They are set identically in the other examples.
Brian Simmons Hi, Brian, Are you talking about the images in the thumbnail or in the video itself? The thumbnail images are generic, so they’re definitely different.
Aren't the Waves SSL's modeled after Chris Lorde Alge's consoles, and if so didn't he like win Grammy's on like a gazillion records? I like both but Waves has it's own flavor based on what it was modeled after.
The CLA MixHub plugin is modelled on the SLL desk Chris uses, and his work flow. It’s a newer plugin and sounds great! This SLL plugin is the original Waves SSL modelled plugin.
Good question. The legacy versions of the UA plugins are basically non-Unison versions - hence they're less DSP intensive, so in theory, there is no difference, however I have heard of people comparing the compressors and hearing a noticeable difference. Best bet would be to trial the UAD plugins on demo and decide for yourself.
@@adithyasatheesh127 the UAD is closer to the real units. Better, maybe not, but for us old farts that know what the real desks sound like UAD gets my money. The end user wouldn't be able to tell you if you used a UAD or a Waves version anyway. It's all personal preference.
True, but who buys plugins at full price? Also, if you have an Apollo interface you can use the UAD SSL as a Unison preamp which makes a big difference to your audio recording.
The differences in this video are quite audible. I guess that the Waves plug-in needs different input gain to sound better. If those differences add up in a full mix you might end up with a song that is far too compressed and lacks dynamics. If this is really due to the plug-ins, the extra money is well spend. Never liked waves recreations of hardware units, but as far as I remember you can make them sound way better than we heard here.
@@aedys Ah, I get you. I did the comparisons off-screen before I filmed the video using speakers. The same differences can be heard with both headphones and speakers.
Nice video! The problem for me with UAD is that it's a rabit hole and an overkill of hardware! In this day and age, if you have a good powerful PC with a good CPU (or maybe even two which increases the RAM capacity to 256 GB, although I think this is an overkill) your sorted! Go for the waves, or even the Slate Digital stuff which is fantastic and only 10 bucks a month and all the plugins you will ever need! 90% of people (myself included) are not making world class grammy music, because if we were we would be using the real deal(analog fairchild compressors and SSL desks) not plugins! So save your hard earned money, because most of the listeners can't tell the difference! :D
Thanks, Felipe. There are a LOT of plugin options now, most of which are very high quality. With UAD you're buying into the whole ecosystem, including very advanced monitor routing and recording options with Console. I think the plugins are only part of the story, for example, printing monitoring FX whilst recording is awesome: th-cam.com/video/KY2X9iJT7f8/w-d-xo.html
There are 2 kinds of artists - those who want to save money and fit to what the crowds want (which basically is what the market stupidly imposes) - those who don’t care and ends up being « original » and at the origin of future trends Freedom... sometimes ?
Thanks a lot Ed, honestly both are awesomely great...but UAD plugins sounds very good. I will use them one day but now I'm still with Waves....Less pricey
They are all lying to us. I hear no difference at all, what they all do is sell us designs and modelings, mirroring those hardwares. What if I tell you that you can really get good production quality with only stock plugins in your DAW? If you have good gears to use, you may even end up using only compressor and EQ to get one of the best production around. Waves this, UAD that, Solid State and so on are only ripping producers off their hard-earned money just the way Cubase and Avid are doing. T The bottom line is be creative at using what you have to get what you need. I remember recording my church band, then with Cakewalk pro Audio 7, without any third-party plugins, everything was great and the production was widely accepted and consumers loved it. At the end of the day, nobody asked what was used to produce it.
Neither of them sound like the original, but the UAD sounds a hell of a lot closer than the waves. You dont need theres but they can make you get closer to a sound quicker. And plus they make mixing funner is important in my opinion
I find that I use both in my mixes and like both for different things. I prefer waves ssl on guitars and bass but vocals uad shines. Both are good. Get both
I would rather buy the UAD plugins and rely on my CPU to handle the load than get a Satellite that is using dated hardware technology. I'm not sure if you can build a plugin server using most DAWs but i would rather spend +$1000 on a server build than on Satelites because i wouldn't have to worry about running out of processing power. I doubt i run out of processing power with a Ryzen 5-9
That was a wonderful eye opener!! I have these UAD plugins that I have been sitting on the entire time they are twice better. Thanks for this video!!!!!
Honestly, I know a lot of people like to shit on WAVES, and also are biased against them because they're older plugins, but as an SSL freak who has used both the real, analog gear, and mixing on the channel strip plugins almost every day as well now, I think the order for E-Channel plugins is: Waves -> UAD -> brainworx. The WAVES isn't perfect, the UAD's compressor and gate is probably superior, but the actual tone and EQ of the Waves plugin is much closer to an actual 4000 over both the UAD and the brainworx. Unpopular, I know, but blind test the 3-channel strips on somebody who mixes on a legit 4000, and i'd be really surprised if they picked the brainworx over the Waves or UAD
Sooo that means Waves is better to me. I know this is old. But my question is BUT how much processing power does it take to run these.? You answered at the end. You can put Waves on many tracks not UAD. Don't forget to tell that part bro. And the cpu usage is crazyyyyyy on these. Waves is dope trust me I have them all. Peaceeeee Stay Up
The beauty (and curse) of the UAD system is it doesn’t use ANY CPU… it does of course require expensive Apollo/Satellite DSP. The only CPU intensive Waves plugins I’ve found are the newer plugins (all the Abbey Roads are intensive, CLA MixHub and CLA Epic).
Yeah, the UAD was definitely louder. Not as focused and sounded brittle compared to the waves version. The Waves sounds more authentic and the UAD sounds digital. Not bad, just digital.
Ed Thorne considering the SSL master bus compressor is over $2,000 and is included on the SSL Six, I would say it’s rather affordable for all of its functionality. It does take some time to get use to, with the routing, but it’s pretty straight forward as it’s analogue.
@@PaulIsbell i was gonna drop the dough on one of those but it seemed really weird to me so the Apollo seemed like a better investment to me and what I do. Glad you're happy with it.
@@adamphillips6747 if you like working primarily ITB, the Apollo is great, but as a Nashville producer, I was trained on big SSL and Trident consoles. They are just more user friendly to me.
Dude, how can you make a comparison with that volume difference?...You didn't do the right gain staging. I have both Waves and UAD, and that is NOT the difference.
Waves are just making plugins that have similar interface as the hardware, but have nothing to do with it. They just keep using similar algorithms on multiple plugins so they can sell more plugins. They have some nice plugins, but most of them are filler.
with $400 you buy a whole suite of waves plugins, with $400 + $700 to $2000 for hardware you can but 1 or 2 plugins of UA that are good as waves, Waves is standard in any studio, from Hollywood to England, UA is NOT! but people tend to believe if I just pay more and run fewer plugins it will better will sound better (LOL)!!!! insane! if you want the top, buy Protools HDX, if you want the best buy waves! save money for a good mic or instrument.
How many of those gazillion Waves plug-ins do you actually use? UA is in damn near every real studio in the world. At least ones that get used still. Since the Apollo launch more and more studios are getting into it because it is that good. It's not a sin to use both (I do use some of Waves effects - Kaleidoscope is great) but to say people are insane to use something as a personal preference then state non fact to back it up is not good etiquette. At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much you spend, it matters how it sounds to you. If you like the Waves, use the Waves, you will save money for sure.
No chances with the UAD on the plugins who emulate analog gear..! And one thing, the UAD plugin have the knob to emulate the transformer. The Waves it's like the legacy of UAD.
@@EdThorne I have in the past, this isn't my first time watching this video, big fan btw, but I did notice the ch out light wasn't on. It's probably an old plugin version. I've only had my waves ssl4000 plugin for a year. PS can you do a video comparing the Apollo 4x and SSL 12?
Useless comparison. Uad is a few db louder as the waves. The vocal compression on the waves is -10 and the uad -3. Uad has definitely more highend but the comparison shows a bigger difference like the reality.
biased test he trying to get uad endorsement lol, plus louder on uad doesnt mean better thats a more modern thing people are looking for, if it sounds louder then obvious its got to be better, just sounds like its more hyped
u a d put a stop to me making music... having to plugin to uad to polish ur tracks ruins making music..... dont buy stuff that locks u to a spot. it killlllls music making. ;(
Please tell us 🙂 There are obvious advantages - Waves don’t require an Apollo interface/DSP… but that’s also a primary advantage of UAD… they don’t use CPU.
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🎬 WAVES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: th-cam.com/video/4xbspoKAFEw/w-d-xo.html
🎬 BRAINWORX VS UAD SSL CHANNEL STRIP PLUGIN COMPARISON: th-cam.com/video/7Je5Rf8UIWo/w-d-xo.html
🎬 ANTELOPE ZENGO (RECORD THROUGH PLUGINS) REVIEW: th-cam.com/video/8Rn_bDLY_1s/w-d-xo.html
This was such a great video and I've since ordered a satellite after watching this to be able to use more, so huge thanks for going the extra mile!
You’re welcome. Glad you found it useful 🙏
In the guitar section, the filters aren't matched. You have high/low pass engaged for Waves but disengaged for UAD. That might explain the top end disparity there.
im not sure but i heard or read that the 'vintage' waves emulation plugins the ssl etc. have to be fed -18 because waves modeled from impulse response and other 'ways' to be exactly like the unit they emulated...
Mate, this video is very accurate. You’re right on the money about the UAD plug-ins. You get a way clearer sound with them, especially with the SSL g bus compressors. I was speechless when I noticed the difference.
Im a heavy user of SSL E and G for drums and guitars. I prefer the UAD because have the transformer saturation and the Waves not. From the Compression the Waves sound much more muddy for my taste. The 3er contendent by far is the Plugin Alliance version with the Tm tecnology.
Just one reminder about presets, the UAD have much more if you choose them, from the left down corner where the UAd icon is.
Ed, much appreciation for sharing, respect 😉 🔥
Man that was insane how noticeable it was one you added the compression. The space, width and even clarity I thought were very noticeable. I use Clarett pres now, but I have considered buying one rack of UAD.
The Clarett pres are lovely but the Apollo monitoring system is on a completely other level.
That was the comparsion I was searching for good job dude. I think I might buy the SSL UAD plug on the homepage.
MC CABE Thanks. Glad you found it useful 😀🙏
Pro tip... if you click on "editor" in your plugin gui - it will reveal the numerical parameters. This is a reference to the 11:30 mark. cheers!
That’s good information, thanks, I’ll look into this. I thought it was too obvious a feature to leave out, but then why make it so un-obvious to turn on?
@@EdThorne likely less of a UAD feature and more of a logic one I suppose. Either way - worked well for those super specific situations. 😎
I appreciate the visual limitations on the UAD parameters as they lets you close in with your ears
Waves and UAD are both excellent and sound just like different hardware. Saying one is better sound wise than the other is like saying what color is the best it is opinion.
If you take two identical pieces of hardware they will sound different thus why different emulations will sound different because they are modeled from a different piece of hardware,
Yes similar but deeper maybe the placebo effect? Maybe not but the real test is listening blindly and telling what is what. I have run tests and have come to the conclusion that Waves, UAD and Slate are excellent.
I'm sure there are others.
Waves sounds so bad I'm questioing one's hear when they appreciate Waves plugins.
I tried a test for myself with my waves plugins vs UAD Plug-ins. The overall quality of the UAD Product just sounded punchier and warmer in my opinion. I still use Waves for lack of DSP and it still gets the job done. But UAD results do not disappoint. I personally feel like we’re not comparing which “colors” are the best but more like comparing color brands. Like, Blue is Blue, but which brand would you prefer? Molotow or Posca?
You made no sense at all
@@enapsempire4151this like drunk history in the comments
Not a good starting point to try and match the knob settings - just like any two hardware units they aren't equivalent. You can see this in gain reduction meters - the UAD is less gain reduction, so therefore more open and "brighter". Match the sound, not the knobs. I think you'll find the sound closer. Also remember that Waves and UAD have used different hardware in the initial modeling they used.
I thought that’s what people would find interesting - how they sound different despite having the same settings.
You ARE A VERY WISE MAN!!!
Hi I was wondering about satellite system By universal audio. If I bought one I could use Universal audio plug-ins with my DAW .
Would I then need to by a Apollo sound card ?
Good question. Yes, you can use UAD plugin with just a Satellite.
@@EdThorne cheers dude
There’s a Russian guy that does a similar comparison... he seems to argue that you can make these plug ins sound like each other by tweaking the settings on each instead of matching settings... anyone else seems it ?
Yea I agree with that. It’s just code.
Can't.
You really have to push the Waves version to get it to act like the UAD one, then the UAD one goes farther. Can you get it there? You can get it close enough for government work. I've worked the real desks and the UAD acts and feels much closer to the real one. Especially in the high end.
I feel like the waves version has a little more of a aggressive compressor thats not as smooth. while the UAD has eqs that are smoothed out more. so one will sound smoother in general but both are great. lets also keep in mind waves is VERY small on the cpu because its kinda old. while UAD is very heavy on cpu but also sooo good sounding.
Good comparison matching. UAD sounds more open on some sources and the waves sounds tighter and punchier on other sources. Personally I use the SSL bundle and or the Slate bundle and Waves ssl. The new waves V12 updated ssl channel strip does sound markedly more open, rounder and smoother, both channel strip models from waves, with the update sound way better than before.
Overall UAD is better.
How much better? That is the question.
Personally, being able to use waves on my laptop wherever I am is the way to go for me.
At the end of the day, how you use it will make much more difference that which one you use.
The new UADx Native plugins means you can use (some of) them on the go, too. Over one source there’s not loads in it, but over lots of channels, the difference will stack up.
Thank you, Ed. The adjectives you used in your verbal descriptions of each plugin's sound is good for anyone learning the nuances of sound & music mixing 👍
rio197 Oh great 🙂 I’m glad it was useful 🙏
@@EdThorne oh yes, describing in words the qualities of a certain sound is one of the hardest things
@@rio197 I might have to re-watch this to review my performance :-)
I'm sure if you were blindfolded you'd still arrive @ the same conclusion. I detect no bias in your analysis. Thank you for taking the time as this convinced me I owe it to myself to at least try these soon. Keep up the good work Sir.
Edwin Contreras Thanks Edwin 🙂
If i get UAD Apollo interface,do i have to buy any other thing to keep on using it ??
Mishkid Dtwister Hi Mishkid, You will be able to run 6-10 UAD plugins with an Apollo Twin. I’d suggest the Quad version for more processing power.
Dang, yeah. The UAD had a big advantage here. I have the Waves plugin. It's a nice plugin but now I want the UAD version haha.
Man, I really enjoyed video. Just subscribed.
Thank you 🙏
The dynamics settings on guitar portion are completely different. I also agree that the UAD sounds are generally louder and therefore are going to better sounding. EDIT - the differences are actually on the gate settings of the plug-in. Sorry about the confusion.
If you check the settings, they’re exactly the same. And both plugins were on the same audio channel. The UAD just sounds fuller and clearer giving the perception of being louder 👌
@@EdThorne Look again. One set of green knobs are set identically, the other set are competely different. Again, this is only during the guitar portion. They are set identically in the other examples.
Brian Simmons Hi, Brian, Are you talking about the images in the thumbnail or in the video itself? The thumbnail images are generic, so they’re definitely different.
@@EdThorne During the video. Around 7:24 for example.
Brian Simmons I’ll have another look, you’re probably right, it’s been a while since I’ve watched it. Cheers.
Aren't the Waves SSL's modeled after Chris Lorde Alge's consoles, and if so didn't he like win Grammy's on like a gazillion records? I like both but Waves has it's own flavor based on what it was modeled after.
The CLA MixHub plugin is modelled on the SLL desk Chris uses, and his work flow. It’s a newer plugin and sounds great! This SLL plugin is the original Waves SSL modelled plugin.
Hey thanks for making this video , I have been wondering exactly this for a while and as I suspected the UA plugs are infact better ! Great vids bro !
Aaron Laguda Thanks Aaron, I’m glad it was useful 🙂🙏
Can barely tell the difference. Thanks for saving me money!
Ed what are your thoughts on how the legacy version SSL E stacks up to the waves version?
Good question. The legacy versions of the UA plugins are basically non-Unison versions - hence they're less DSP intensive, so in theory, there is no difference, however I have heard of people comparing the compressors and hearing a noticeable difference. Best bet would be to trial the UAD plugins on demo and decide for yourself.
Waves makes awesome plug-ins, but the UAD stuff is just warmer, spacious, and better overall.
It's not better ...depends on what you want!!!...and how you use them
It isn't better at all. The fact that serban ghenea uses waves proves it.
@@adithyasatheesh127 That was my personal opinion. I use Waves too...for years!😂😂😂
@@adithyasatheesh127 the UAD is closer to the real units. Better, maybe not, but for us old farts that know what the real desks sound like UAD gets my money. The end user wouldn't be able to tell you if you used a UAD or a Waves version anyway. It's all personal preference.
You'd hope the UAD would sound better considering Waves made these 10+ years ago.
are these plugins volume matched?
uad sounds louder
j f I tried to get them as close as possible. I think the UAD is just clearer with more top end giving it the perception of being louder.
UAD seems a bit brighter to my ear, Waves is more natural with less artifacts.
The waves sound better and more natural to me in every example except for vocals.
£229 vs £43, for such a small difference it’s really negligible once effects and mixing has been finished
True, but who buys plugins at full price? Also, if you have an Apollo interface you can use the UAD SSL as a Unison preamp which makes a big difference to your audio recording.
The differences in this video are quite audible. I guess that the Waves plug-in needs different input gain to sound better. If those differences add up in a full mix you might end up with a song that is far too compressed and lacks dynamics. If this is really due to the plug-ins, the extra money is well spend. Never liked waves recreations of hardware units, but as far as I remember you can make them sound way better than we heard here.
Great video ! You should compare them with speakers so we know how they sound
With speakers? Can you not hear a difference with the direct audio?
It is very difficult to mix or master with headphones only - I'd like to know your opinion when you try them on speakers
@@aedys Ah, I get you. I did the comparisons off-screen before I filmed the video using speakers. The same differences can be heard with both headphones and speakers.
@@EdThorne I don’t have a good listening room so it is very nice from you and I trust your ears more than mine - thank you very much 👌
" Excellent Mr Thorne; Good Job ! "
The Waves won in a blind test for me. Little less high fidelity, more gritty, mean and dark!
Brady Brignac Interesting. Thanks for watching 🙂
Nice video! The problem for me with UAD is that it's a rabit hole and an overkill of hardware! In this day and age, if you have a good powerful PC with a good CPU (or maybe even two which increases the RAM capacity to 256 GB, although I think this is an overkill) your sorted! Go for the waves, or even the Slate Digital stuff which is fantastic and only 10 bucks a month and all the plugins you will ever need! 90% of people (myself included) are not making world class grammy music, because if we were we would be using the real deal(analog fairchild compressors and SSL desks) not plugins! So save your hard earned money, because most of the listeners can't tell the difference! :D
Thanks, Felipe. There are a LOT of plugin options now, most of which are very high quality. With UAD you're buying into the whole ecosystem, including very advanced monitor routing and recording options with Console. I think the plugins are only part of the story, for example, printing monitoring FX whilst recording is awesome: th-cam.com/video/KY2X9iJT7f8/w-d-xo.html
There are 2 kinds of artists
- those who want to save money and fit to what the crowds want (which basically is what the market stupidly imposes)
- those who don’t care and ends up being « original » and at the origin of future trends
Freedom... sometimes ?
Thats Just Blaze preset Exhibit C vocal you're using on then vocals
waves is like cottom in my ears and uad is like listening in a true studio......i think the bandwidth is less on waves hence why uad needs a dsp.
Well maybe you replicated the settings but the way they may be used might differ.... BTW thanks for this...
Very true. I use the UAD version on lead vocals and the Waves version on BVs.
when you compare the 'CLA Mixbus from CLA then you have more an UAD Sound cause the Mixbus is modern and new
This is true, I’d notice that as well. It’s a great plugin.
@@EdThorne absoluly, I love it.
Eq actually sounded worse on the UAD to me in the first example but the compression more than makes up for it. Wew.
i’m torn, the uad adds so much space but the mud on the waves is so clean
Nice video mate! Think I might have to get that UAD version and bin the waves one. That make everything better pre set is actually really good! haha
Finn Lomax Thanks Finn. Yeh it’s my lead vocal go to.
Thanks a lot Ed, honestly both are awesomely great...but UAD plugins sounds very good.
I will use them one day but now I'm still with Waves....Less pricey
uad spark
Am I the only one who notices that the expand and release on both plugins are different? The settings are not the same........
Check they’re not bypassed. It’s been ages since I did this video. I seem to remember the guitar settings weren’t quite matched.
Really good video bro
"Cheers" ;-)
Good review, the SSL plugin really is that good, it is a very punchy and nice sounding plugin.
jonespnice Thanks. Glad you found it interesting 😀🙏
They are all lying to us. I hear no difference at all, what they all do is sell us designs and modelings, mirroring those hardwares. What if I tell you that you can really get good production quality with only stock plugins in your DAW? If you have good gears to use, you may even end up using only compressor and EQ to get one of the best production around. Waves this, UAD that, Solid State and so on are only ripping producers off their hard-earned money just the way Cubase and Avid are doing. T
The bottom line is be creative at using what you have to get what you need. I remember recording my church band, then with Cakewalk pro Audio 7, without any third-party plugins, everything was great and the production was widely accepted and consumers loved it. At the end of the day, nobody asked what was used to produce it.
You're very right..
Neither of them sound like the original, but the UAD sounds a hell of a lot closer than the waves. You dont need theres but they can make you get closer to a sound quicker. And plus they make mixing funner is important in my opinion
kidding, right? Listen to top end.
man, if you don't hear the difference - the problem in your gear, studio or just not trained ears.
Facts!!!!! This is the TRUTH YOU TYPED!!!!
I find that I use both in my mixes and like both for different things. I prefer waves ssl on guitars and bass but vocals uad shines. Both are good. Get both
I would rather buy the UAD plugins and rely on my CPU to handle the load than get a Satellite that is using dated hardware technology. I'm not sure if you can build a plugin server using most DAWs but i would rather spend +$1000 on a server build than on Satelites because i wouldn't have to worry about running out of processing power. I doubt i run out of processing power with a Ryzen 5-9
The problem is UAD plugins ONLY work on UAD hardware (Apollo/Satellites etc). They don’t operate on computers.
Ed Thorne , oh. I assumed they also had the stand-alone plugin option for Mac or PC. It totally makes sense considering people pirate plugins.
That was a wonderful eye opener!!
I have these UAD plugins that I have been sitting on the entire time they are twice better.
Thanks for this video!!!!!
You're welcome. Glad it was useful :-)
UAD sounds amazing, WAVES sounds like Falafel.
תומר סלמן Haha. Check out the Brainworx stuff too. I’ll probably do a video comparing BX, Acoustica & UAD soon.
🤣😅😂🤣😂👍👍👍
Waves plugins sound fuzzy to me in general. Brainworx SSL 4000 e or g and their new SSL 9000 J are better and give UAD more of a run for the money
Quite a few people have been telling this, I need to check them out. Thanks for commenting 😀
You should try the native SSL version, it’s better than both of these. Literally 3D sound by comparison. So much more depth and finesse. So Sshmooove.
I have the SSL 611 500 series EQ now 🤘
Honestly, I know a lot of people like to shit on WAVES, and also are biased against them because they're older plugins, but as an SSL freak who has used both the real, analog gear, and mixing on the channel strip plugins almost every day as well now, I think the order for E-Channel plugins is: Waves -> UAD -> brainworx.
The WAVES isn't perfect, the UAD's compressor and gate is probably superior, but the actual tone and EQ of the Waves plugin is much closer to an actual 4000 over both the UAD and the brainworx. Unpopular, I know, but blind test the 3-channel strips on somebody who mixes on a legit 4000, and i'd be really surprised if they picked the brainworx over the Waves or UAD
Great content
Thanks Dan 🙏
Great video
KG One Thank you 🙏
UAD has full grip, wish they had a better integration with other DAWs 🤦🏻♂️ #ProToolsCarbon
I doubt they’d make it intentionally hard for PT users, but then again they want people on Apollo systems, not Carbon…
Sooo that means Waves is better to me. I know this is old. But my question is BUT how much processing power does it take to run these.? You answered at the end. You can put Waves on many tracks not UAD. Don't forget to tell that part bro. And the cpu usage is crazyyyyyy on these. Waves is dope trust me I have them all. Peaceeeee Stay Up
The beauty (and curse) of the UAD system is it doesn’t use ANY CPU… it does of course require expensive Apollo/Satellite DSP. The only CPU intensive Waves plugins I’ve found are the newer plugins (all the Abbey Roads are intensive, CLA MixHub and CLA Epic).
Yeah, the UAD was definitely louder. Not as focused and sounded brittle compared to the waves version. The Waves sounds more authentic and the UAD sounds digital. Not bad, just digital.
Wow.. the SSL 4000e from waves does not sound good at all that's crazy
Sounds like the uad is level louder
The UAD is clearer and brighter giving the perception of higher volume.
1. UAD
2. WAVES
UAD sounds richer but not enough to buy into the system. I use an SSL Six with the SSL2+ and it’s so clean, plug-ins simply are extras.
How's the SSL 6 to work with? It's expensive for a mixer?
Ed Thorne considering the SSL master bus compressor is over $2,000 and is included on the SSL Six, I would say it’s rather affordable for all of its functionality. It does take some time to get use to, with the routing, but it’s pretty straight forward as it’s analogue.
@@PaulIsbell i was gonna drop the dough on one of those but it seemed really weird to me so the Apollo seemed like a better investment to me and what I do. Glad you're happy with it.
@@adamphillips6747 if you like working primarily ITB, the Apollo is great, but as a Nashville producer, I was trained on big SSL and Trident consoles. They are just more user friendly to me.
THE BAD GUY FROM INCREDIBLES
Dude, how can you make a comparison with that volume difference?...You didn't do the right gain staging. I have both Waves and UAD, and that is NOT the difference.
Waves are just making plugins that have similar interface as the hardware, but have nothing to do with it.
They just keep using similar algorithms on multiple plugins so they can sell more plugins.
They have some nice plugins, but most of them are filler.
with $400 you buy a whole suite of waves plugins, with $400 + $700 to $2000 for hardware you can but 1 or 2 plugins of UA that are good as waves, Waves is standard in any studio, from Hollywood to England, UA is NOT! but people tend to believe if I just pay more and run fewer plugins it will better will sound better (LOL)!!!! insane! if you want the top, buy Protools HDX, if you want the best buy waves! save money for a good mic or instrument.
How many of those gazillion Waves plug-ins do you actually use? UA is in damn near every real studio in the world. At least ones that get used still. Since the Apollo launch more and more studios are getting into it because it is that good. It's not a sin to use both (I do use some of Waves effects - Kaleidoscope is great) but to say people are insane to use something as a personal preference then state non fact to back it up is not good etiquette. At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much you spend, it matters how it sounds to you. If you like the Waves, use the Waves, you will save money for sure.
I have been on many and and the ones I always saw said: "waves", use whatever is good for you. :)
No chances with the UAD on the plugins who emulate analog gear..! And one thing, the UAD plugin have the knob to emulate the transformer. The Waves it's like the legacy of UAD.
gonna have to go with uad
Yeh, it’s a better all round quality plugin in think. In this example at least, but I suspect I’m general.
seems like UAD has a little more highs and level use your ears!
such an unfair battle, the compressor on the waves was never on, the ch out light should be on.
Lol! Can’t you hear the EQ changing?
@@EdThorne I have in the past, this isn't my first time watching this video, big fan btw, but I did notice the ch out light wasn't on. It's probably an old plugin version. I've only had my waves ssl4000 plugin for a year. PS can you do a video comparing the Apollo 4x and SSL 12?
Useless comparison. Uad is a few db louder as the waves. The vocal compression on the waves is -10 and the uad -3. Uad has definitely more highend but the comparison shows a bigger difference like the reality.
Different on which instrument. I’m aware I didn’t quite get the settings right in the guitar part but if you look closely they’re identical elsewhere…
UAD sounds more spacious and thicker😃
My thoughts too in this comparison
One sounds louder than the other.
biased test he trying to get uad endorsement lol, plus louder on uad doesnt mean better thats a more modern thing people are looking for, if it sounds louder then obvious its got to be better, just sounds like its more hyped
How is it a biased test? Were the settings not identical?
UAD is way better!!!
WTF? UAD sounds so much more open.
I feel like the waves fell off on the guitars….it lost the mix
Yea waves don’t compare to UAD
u a d put a stop to me making music... having to plugin to uad to polish ur tracks ruins making music..... dont buy stuff that locks u to a spot. it killlllls music making. ;(
Ordinary people usually say that UAD sound better, but most "top" producers/mixers prefer Waves. I let you guys try to find answer yourself why.
Please tell us 🙂 There are obvious advantages - Waves don’t require an Apollo interface/DSP… but that’s also a primary advantage of UAD… they don’t use CPU.
@@EdThorne that’s true but CPU’s are becoming so powerful that’s hardly the case anymore.
UAD is juicier
Uad wins
waves sounds like a waves plugin.... thin, lowfi, harsh... sounds like 25$ plugin.
UA all day long.
Waves sounds like a toy with all respect.
Bullshit. They both sound good