Century Tube Channel Strip™
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Capture "first take" magic with easy-to-use preamp, EQ, and compression.
With a vintage-inspired tube mic preamp, transparent dynamics control, and intuitively voiced EQ, the Century Tube Preamp plug‑in lets you stay in the creative zone while you record and mix, helping you capture inspiration with stunning results.
Included Versions
UAD Native
Runs on your Mac or PC without UA hardware.Apollo Realtime & UAD‑2
Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD‑2 hardware.UAD Native plug-ins run on both macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer and Windows 10 and 11. Go to our UA Support page for system requirements.
- Enhance and simplify your recording workflow with a first-pass tool designed for tracking vocals, guitars, synths and more
- Stay in the creative zone and confidently record performances with a broad stroke, "do‑no‑harm," tube channel strip
- Easily flatter your tracks with a vintage-style tube mic preamp, simple three-band EQ, and optical compressor
- Control Apollo interface mic preamp gain staging and impedance directly from the Century Tube Channel Strip plug-in via Unison™ technology
TAKE A LISTEN
The Perfect Tube Mic Pre for your Vocals
The Century Tube Channel Strip's mic preamp will give your vocals the warmth and detail that only a tube mic pre can provide. The stunning range of tones, from subtle to saturated, will coax inspiring performances no matter the genre. Use the Low/High gain switch to match the Century's Tube Preamp to your microphone, with the Low setting complementing more modern condensers, while the High position excels with dynamic and ribbon microphones.
Unison Technology for Apollo
Century Tube Channel Strip blurs the lines between analog and digital, giving you all of the important impedance, gain staging “sweet spots,” and circuit behaviors of a vintage tube preamp, thanks to UA's groundbreaking Unison technology. The secret is Unison’s bi‑directional control and communication from the Century Tube Channel Strip plug‑in to the digitally controlled mic preamps in Apollo.
Easy EQ Seasoning for Vocals, Guitar, and More
With its intuitive, musically voiced, three-band EQ, the Century Tube Channel Strip is perfect for quickly bringing out the details in a breathy vocal, adding some punch to an overdriven electric guitar, or giving an acoustic rhythm guitar propulsive sizzle and shine.
Get Optimal Compression Quickly
Featuring a classic optical leveler, the Century Tube Channel Strip’s dynamics section takes the guesswork out of compression settings with a single knob. Quickly tame a dynamic vocal or bass performance, and add energy and harmonics to acoustic guitars or piano — all with a twist of a knob. The Century’s leveler can also compress as effect, adding grit and texture to keys and soft synths with character and vibe to spare.
Add Character and Color to your Mixes
Of course, the Century Tube Channel Strip plug‑in isn’t just for realtime recording with Apollo. You can also run it natively in your DAW and give your vocals, guitars, and synths, vintage‑inspired tone and character, without ever leaving the box.
UAD Quick Tips
Learn how to quickly turn your recordings into album-ready tracks with Century Tube Channel Strip.
“The Century Tube Channel Strip is a simple to use starting point for just about anyone — offering tube sound in a straight forward signal path.”
– John Paterno (Robbie Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Bonnie Raitt)
“The Century Tube Channel Strip makes it effortless to get awesome, warm, vintage sounds from sterile sounding digital tracks.”
– Ian Boxill (Lenny White, Prince, 2Pac)
“The Century Tube Channel Strip powerfully combines the best of vintage and modern. On vocals and dialog, it imparts forwardness, sheen and body — remarkably simple, but versatile and effective.”
– Richard Chycki (Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater)Customer Reviews
A. Quiroz
October 7, 2024
Un excelente plugin
Es un plugin excelente, agiliza el trabajo o estudio al traer preset que a veces no necesitan ajustes, lo mejor de todo es que me...
Read MoreH. Eng
September 25, 2024
Just what I was looking for!
Despite having "big name" compressors, something was lacking in a mix I was fussing over. Then, I came upon UA's Century Tube. Wow, is all I can say. It really helped to glue...
Read Morev. Chepeliev
September 22, 2024
THIS SOUNDS REALLY GOOD
I recently received a plugin, now not a single mix can do without it
Read MoreW. Satriya
September 5, 2024
Sound Engineer for House of Worship
I'm trying to use it for my service in house of worship
Read More -
Key Features
Vintage-inspired channel strip made for UA Audio Interface tracking, always easy to dial and musically flattering
Console-inspired tube preamp with bold and musical hardware sound
Three-band EQ with simple high and low shelf tone control and sweepable midrange
Performance-inspiring single knob optical dynamics control with firm yet transparent response
Physical input impedance and front panel control of gain staging and other preamp parameters with Unison Mic Preamp Technology
Requires a UAD DSP Accelerator or UA Audio Interface available from authorized dealers worldwide
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Customer Reviews
Century Tube Channel Strip
A. Quiroz
Un excelente plugin
Es un plugin excelente, agiliza el trabajo o estudio al traer preset que a veces no necesitan ajustes, lo mejor de todo es que me ha servido para mis estudios e ir practicando, gracias UAD por este plugin.
H. Eng
Just what I was looking for!
Despite having "big name" compressors, something was lacking in a mix I was fussing over. Then, I came upon UA's Century Tube. Wow, is all I can say. It really helped to glue everything together for me. I got focus on a muddy kick drum, while taming some annoying highs and maintaining the dynamics.
Overall, simple to use.
Fantastic, UA!v. Chepeliev
THIS SOUNDS REALLY GOOD
I recently received a plugin, now not a single mix can do without it
M. makhou
nice
merci
i. alfadani
I like it
Good Experience
W. Satriya
Sound Engineer for House of Worship
I'm trying to use it for my service in house of worship
H. Faraz
Realhamidfarazz@gmail.com
Ce
M. Heaphy
Century Tube Strip
First of all , Thank you so much for this. This plugin is extraordinary in it's sound and simplicity. It does exactly what it is supposed to do and then some. I love using it to record or for some touch ups in the final mix...Best Regards and thanks again... Michael
D. Black
Century channel strip
It's got a decent tube preamp sound, additional compression and EQ sections. Can be turned up to distorted sounds if preferred
P. Mello
Simple and crystal clear!
Like everything Universal Audio does, this plugin is also awesome, simple and crystal clear, it delivers fantastic results, all you need is a good instrument, excellent performance and a set of honest microphones that are not necessarily the most expensive. I never stop being surprised with each new acquisition with UAD.
Paulo Bourg
Brazilian ConductorV. Tretiakov
Super mix ready sounding plugin!
It's great sounding channel strip and very easy for tracking vocals, acoustic guitar and for post mixing. I often use this plugin if I not have much time for work but I need a great result.
D. Gill
Excellent for a vocal chain
Great for recording a vocal using the preamp with a touch of compression and EQ.
J. Ross
Recording Godsend
I just bought this last week on sale and I’m wearing it out already. I use it more for recording than mixing because the DSP is reasonable and I can get basic EQ, saturation and compression color going into Unison so that, during mixing, the “fancy” inserts don’t have to do the heavy lifting and can be utilized for flavor. The plug-in has a warm, tube-like sound and it’s super easy to use. Highly recommended! .
J. Ross
Recording Godsend
I just bought this last week on sale and I’m wearing it out already. I use it more for recording than mixing because the DSP is reasonable and I can get basic EQ, saturation and compression color going into Unison so that, during mixing, the “fancy” inserts don’t have to do the heavy lifting and can be utilized for flavor. The plug-in has a warm, tube-like sound and it’s super easy to use. Highly recommended! .
P. Bonifazi
Suena con calidad apenas se insterta
Este Pre suena igual al hardware, es ideal para voces, guitarras acústicas.
Pude comparar el físico que lo tiene un amigo y este plugin suena igual.
Felicitaciones Universal Audio .
No llega a las 5 estrellas porque se tendrían que haber esmerado mas en la imagen del plugin.m. otonbaev
Century Tube Channel Strip
Super plugins
V. Silva
Perfeito!
Muito bom . Uso em praticamente tudo : guitarra , voz, vocal, violão ... Perfeito !!!!
V. Silva
Perfeito!
Muito bom . Uso em praticamente tudo : guitarra , voz, vocal, violão ... Perfeito !!!!
A. Ogarev
Century Tube Channel Strip
super++
D. Nacrur
easy to use, limited features and reasonable sound
Century is one of those plugins that UAD created based on the knowledge acquired from modeling classic tube preamps. It is not based on a particular model. The idea is interesting. The result is satisfactory but not one of my favorites. It is interesting because it uses relatively little dsp and in addition to emulating the sound of a tube pre, it also has a compressor and equalizer (although very limited). Don't think about doing heavy compression. Only moderate adjustment provides a reasonable result. The equalizer, also used sparingly, offers additional color. In any case, adjusting these parameters moderately, in addition to the pre emulation, will undoubtedly obtain a better sound than the native Apollo pre. I recommend it for those who have little DSP and/or those who are just starting out, due to its ease of use. However, for those looking for a great pre-tube modeled tone, there are better options. One last observation: the output volume is low, even when properly adjusting the signal. This is a project problem, which UAD can easily resolve, and make the updated and corrected plugin available to users.
Century is one of those plugins that UAD created based on the knowledge acquired from modeling classic tube preamps. It is not based on a particular model. The idea is interesting. The result is satisfactory but not one of my favorites. It is interesting because it uses relatively little dsp and in addition to emulating the sound of a tube pre, it also has a compressor and equalizer (although very limited). Don't think about doing heavy compression. Only moderate adjustment provides a reasonable result. The equalizer, also used sparingly, offers additional color. In any case, adjusting these parameters moderately, in addition to the pre emulation, will undoubtedly obtain a better sound than the native Apollo pre. I recommend it for those who have little DSP and/or those who are just starting out, due to its ease of use. However, for those looking for a great pre-tube modeled tone, there are better options. One last observation: the output volume is low, even when properly adjusting the signal. This is a project problem, which UAD can easily resolve, and make the updated and corrected plugin available to users.
