Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
Customer Reviews
Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
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P. Lemos
Well presented, sound not quite there, expensive.
This compressor sounds so different to the original that I can hear it on my iMac speakers - not a good sign. It is for this reason that I find it too expensive. I don't mind paying a premium when I know I am getting "the authentic sound of analog" or "the world's finest analog hardware emulation". Take that away and I start wondering what I am getting this for. I hope that UA will improve on it in further releases.
Meanwhile, it is still worth something as it does have a pleasant effect on the mix, albeit grainier than the hardware, and the UI is good.
D. Carter
Lovin it
I gave this plug a bad review a few days ago. My bad. I should have spent more time with it first. Everyone makes bad judgement calls from time to time i guess.... After checking it out more I see what everyone's digging. It really adds a warm rich sound to the mids. I was pushing the output too hard causing it to distort because the preset just showed up that way. After messing with it more I realized I just need to turn it down and it really sounds great. Sorry for the bad review. Gonna to buy soon. Thanks UA for another great plugin
L. Burger
Shadow Hill Mastering Compressor Plugin
Differing opinions swirl around this plugin.
I find there is some character to be found within these parameters.
It seems to be sensitive to overdrive so the settings are important.
My suggestion is try this for yourself to decide.
J. Kim
Recommended~!!!!
If you wanna mastering DIY, It's Treasure.
All Pleasure is yours. You can Presence of mid high
thank you UA!!:D
R. Heaney
One Serious Sounding Compressor
This is one seriously happening compressor.Instantly there's some musical voodo.
Love this plug on Vocals and drms, Nice fatty punch to the KIK.
And this is just from experimenting quickly,I'd imagine with a little investment you could go a lot deeper as usual with good plugs.The Low mid beef is really worth the nickel.
Seriously Good investment ,Don't hesitate just shell out and enjoy and the de-suck filter on this works wanders! Thanx Rob Heaney -engineer/producer Cirque du Soleil
L. Laing
one of the best plugins out
To be honest, i wasn't familiar with the Shadow Hills Compressor. When i saw the ad for UA's new plugin, I immediately downloaded the demo and tried it out.
I was amazed by this plugin. So many great features and a variety of ways to use the compressor. I am not a mastering engineer by any means......this plugin will be used mainly on my stereo buss and in other instances as i learn it. Suffice it to say that i am overly pleased with the Shadow Hills Master Compressor....it has already become one of my GO TO plugins!
S. Frankfurt
Must Have.
Thinking of purchasing this? Stop wasting time and do it. Truly the most beneficial plug-in I've bought in a while. Don't believe it? Run the demo. I guarantee you will miss it when the demo lapses.
I am a studio owner and producer at www.scottfrankfurtstudio.com as well as the director of design at Spectrasonics. I work with precision and "character" audio all day long... this is truly a must have tool.
R. Zicz
One of the Best Compressors Ever! Bravo UAD Team!
Great plugin, every time I use it I have got so much fun of it, very practical, optical section rounding bass flawlessly - You have to try it out! VCA section extremely transparent! Even pushing really hard still sounds good! Imagine now combining them together!
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Brainworx and UAD Team, regards.
S. Navel
2 compressor in 1
I like the sound of this plug
As I dont expect the sound of a 8000$ box to be the same as a 300$ plug
This stuff is really good and useful
The 2 compressor are different and you can achieve really different thing from drastic
to gentle and subtle compression
It s not as hard sounding as a 33609 which suite me
The output transformer is subtle but good and the side chain link is brilliant
Overall you can do a lot of think with that one
the fact that it use 5 times less process power that a LA2A and a 336009 combine is good for big mixing session
Also it s just looks great
With the new 1176 and this one you can cover a lot of things
J. Chaney
My take in this guy
I demo'd it on a live kit i recorded recently, i tested all settings, it seems as if your not going to get anything too magical here, Just a subtle sweeting. it not an artistic statement kind of compression. But for what it does in the subtle since is very nice, sometime thats all you need. most of the time in fact. But yeah not a big wow factor here. Maybe that's why its considered mastering compressor.
In a strange way it sort of reminds me of Bomb Factory's Fairchild plugin
Also this video will tell you a lot as well. minus the hype, take a gut level listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeAieR536yU
H. Hentschel
So easy to use
All bad reviews are bullshit. This is a so simple to use and great plug. I like the raster poties is great for mastering. For me its a little bit too simple but it sounds great :)
H. Linderman
A giant step backwards
I was excited to try this plug in. The recent 1176 package is brilliant, and I had hopes the Shadow Hills would be comparable in quality. It is not. Where the new 1176 sound like analog, this thing sounds digital in the worst way; no depth, no life, way too heavy-handed. A shame. Even with a $50 coupon I couldn't buy it, and it left such a bad taste in my mouth I let the coupon expire without buying anything.
The plug comes off as a marketing scheme for the hardware. It is not worth the bloated price. It somehow succeeds at making three companies look bad.
Nice GUI though.
So, UA, please don't repeat this mistake. If you are going to release new plugs, aim for being the best. Otherwise, why bother?
Y. Kisel
dissapointed
sounds like la2a and neve combo to me but quality is not that good.
UA you should do this emu by yourself!
I respect BX (bx digital and elysia products is amazing) but in this case - SORRY!
W. Washington
New Favorite!!!
This plug-in has become my go to Compressor Plug. For me it audibly creates that emotional extra I've been looking for. This plug-in is top shelf! IMO this is one that you do not want to miss!! Great job as usual guys!
S. Miller
Shadow Class
For me this is the definitive software compressor for mastering, transparent yet musical control that doesn't get in the way of the sound. The GUI is a pleasure to use and encourages you to use the knobs rather than rely on presets only.
First mix I have used it on is an acoustic track with string quartet and orchestra, I used it a lot. It created an open sound that was glued together. I first used it on the female vocal with no other compressor in the chain and it sounded very natural and quietly did its job so I kept it like that.
Next track was a slo disco mix for Lux. The Shadow made it easy to create a big powerful sound but very open and dynamic.
So if I could have only one compressor plug in to do everything it would be this on
R. Fantini
Wonderful sounding and accurate to the hardware!
I've owned a hardware Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor for two years now and it has become an essential and amazing sounding tool for us ... I''ve AB'ed the plugin against it extensively now and it really holds up. The Optical section seems to be calibrated differently (a few clicks less on the threshold is needed to match the compression amount of the hardware unit), but once you compensate for that, it sounds dead on. $300 for multiple instances and no noise (and instant recall, and freezing) is a steal!
D. Rosenblum
Not up to the standard UAD snuff...
I'm as unabashed a supporter of UAD plugins as a whole as there is, think that on balance they really sound better than anything else, which is why UA should have made this, not Brainworx. Past UAD plugins have sounded SPOOKILY close to the hardware - this isn't even really in the same ballpark. It doesn't sound objectively BAD per se, but it sounds vastly, vastly worse than the hardware unit (which I've worked with on a few occasions now and is always a treat to use). It's thin and slow sounding by comparison, and it sounds downright ugly when you push it hard. I'm very disappointed to be honest. Seems like a downhill trend ever since the Studer/Ampex emulations. Time to step it up again UA!
D. Carter
Disappointed
This is the first bad review I've ever givin UA. Felt like i was listening to a waves plugin or something. This is not what i expected from the best plugin makers in the world. I'm really disappointed. Doesn't hold up under pressure like all the other UA compressor plugs. Start's distorting way to easy and just doesnt sound good overall. Not gonna buy. Love the K Stereo though. Bought it. Can't live without it.
D. Odom
I would like to actually hear this done by UA
I didn't buy... I always demo first. Just not up to snuff with the rest of the UA plug ins. It looks great for sure.
J. Heil
know your roots.....
hey ua,
please remember and know your roots, this is not simply a business,
this is a VIRTUE.
write this onto your hearts and let your mind follow this path,
it is not a shame to take some steps into the wrong direction,
but it is the end of the road if you do never admit and change.
honestly yours
johannes heil