UAD-2 Satellite Firewire

After a quick setup, we were eager to experiment with the plug-ins. They didn't let us down. Extremely natural response from the compressors and EQ's, and the reverbs and delays work to craft your sound even more. This will be a great tool to have in studio and on the road as well!

I took advantage of the UAD-1 trade in promotion not too long ago, and haven't looked back... I had 3 original UAD-1 PCI cards in an old studio computer, and I was often at/around maxed out in larger studio sessions, because let's be real - the ratio of UA to non-UA plugs I'd use was probably 4:1. At any rate, the $600 off a new UAD-2 Quad Satellite I got from trading in the old cards made the upgrade worthwhile, and now I have 3 times the headroom for plugins! My only gripes are that some of the newer plugins, as incredible as they are require a massive amount of processing (Massive Passive for example). Way more power, way more headroom, just hoping they compress the algorithms a bit, or offer the "SE" alternatives more frequently.

Wow. What an amazing product this is. I had just finished mixing a project when I received my Quad Flexi and was so impressed with the difference it made, that I remixed every song (all 14 of them) at no charge to the client! I opted for the Studer, Little Labs Voice of God, and Fairchild 670 plugins and use them each liberally, along with the bundled Pulteq EQ. I can't say enough good things about the Satellite. To anyone trying to decide between the Duo and the Flexi, go with the Flexi! As powerful as it is, I've still been able to max it out because every tool on this thing has its own way of making practically every track better.

Thanks to the awesome UAD-1 trade-in deal, I can now use all my powerful UAD plug-ins on my new iMac with this incredibly solid device. Installation was a breeze, and it works fine and gives me access to even more top-of-the-line plug-ins!
The Satellite unit also enables me to put more emphasis on software instruments, since the CPU is relieved by the firewire driver.

Once again, thanks to Universal Audio for bringing out the best gear in business!

The best of both worlds! Just used both my UAD 2 Quad Satellites on the score for new the Clint Eastwood film. The score was written by Academy award nominated (Hurt Locker) Composer Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders.

Acoustic guitars were a large part of the score. I wanted a very warm and natural sound for the guitars so they would blend in with the sixty piece orchestra.

Plug-ins:
Acoustic Jazz Bass:
UA LA2A and a UA Neve 1073, EMT140 plate.

Acoustic Guitras:
UA 1176LN, Cambridge EQ, EMT140 plate.
Absolutely amazing.

The UA plug-ins gave us the sound we wanted with all the warmth of analog and the flexibility of digital.

I love this stuff!

Sincere Thanks UA,
Robert Fernandez
Film Scoring Mixer

Totally changed my life. Everything I mix now sounds immeasurably better--no exaggeration. The plugins that come pre-licensed with the UAD-2 are terrific in their own right (who doesn't want a Pultec and a pair of 1176s within easy access?), but I've become a huge fan of putting the Neve 88RS plugin on just about every track I run. Sure, it eats up DSP, but that's what the UAD-2 is for! Wouldn't dream of running a mix session without it, and I don't know how I did before.

Hi, this is my second purchase of a UAD-2 Satellite Duo, it just seems that I'm using more and more of these plugins. I would love to see a window button on the side so it can in large the plugin, my eyes are not what they use to be lol. Thank you for the great plugins and keep up the good work

Love my new uad 2 satelite duo card. I have more than enough processing power.

As a UAD-1 (two cards) owner with a G5 I was a little skeptical at first about updating to a Macbook Pro and UAD-2 Satellite Duo system with latency performance concerns over firewire. After getting the new system that fear is long gone, it performs beautifully. More than surpasses my old system. Works great with my firewire 400 Tascam FW-1884 audio & control surface with no issues, does not effect plug-in count or performance. I have a full UAD powerhouse that is truly mobile finally. Great job UAD!

Jamie Downing
Gallery Of Voices
www.galleryofvoices.com

Thank you Universal Audio,

I can remember writing to ask would it you would consider something like this many years ago. Back then it was a dream for me to be on the road and be able work as if was in my own studio. But now it's a reality thanks to inventive vision and dedication to quality and detail. The unit is more than I ever dreamt it would be. It really is plug n Play with a power that relieves my cpu so I can do more. But still keeps the UAD quality. But not just that. The unit looks sexy, it's not something i say to piece of studio kit. Most of what my kit does is sexy. But this unit does it both. Plus it does it on the go as well. Thanks, not more I can say. Great job.

Nice solution, if you are not able to use PCIe. I'm using an UAD-2 Satellite DUO with an apple MacBook Pro and it works great!

Even daisychaining with my RME ff800 is no problem! The firewire 800 bandwidth for the UAD DUO is more then enough. The first that comes to it's limit is the DSP-processing not the bandwidth! It might get a bit short, if you run an UAD QUAD with full DSP-power...?! Unfortunately I can't prove that ;)

Very nice handling and overview of these issues comes with the firewire-bandwidth realtime-view of the UAD-control-panel!

So once more: a very professional and useful mixingtool!

I don't want to add any further comment on the plugin-qualitiy - they are the best I've heard so far ...

best regards
j.c.

Fonomen.Net

Hallo liebe Universal Audio Mitarbeiter und Nutzer,

ich arbeitete seit geraumer Zeit mit zwei UAD 1 Karten, zusammen mit einem PC System unter Cubase. Aufgrund des "Trade In" habe ich die UAD -2 DUO Firewire erworben. Die Integration in Cubase und dem neuen iMac verlief recht reibungslos. Nach verschiedenen Updates läuft das System einwandfrei. Sehr schön!!
Es macht einfach Spass mit den Plug-Ins zu arbeiten. Ich brauche nicht zu erwähnen, dass die UAD Plattform bei jedem Projekt und Mix dabei ist. Und die UAD-2 Satellite sieht einfach schick aus.

Vielen Dank hierfür und für die harte Arbeit!

Mit lieben Grüßen

L. Puschmann

Been using the satellite last week on a one week co-write trip for the first time. SO good to have all the plugs! First time it feels like theres no differences or compromises anymore.... One thing i'd recommend is to have at least 1 FW channel per DUO card otherwise you'll run our of bandwidth (e.g. when u use a fw audio interface).

I traded in my UAD-1 cards this month, (June 2012), for a Quad Satellite , so I could start using it in my audio-post mixes.

Just finishing an ABC Family/Disney Christmas musical with my new mix template using the UAD plugins. Busy show, lots of performances.
All I can say is WOW.
Love the efficiency and sound. Less work to get the dialog sounding the way I like it to sound. The UAD plugins have really brought my dialog up a notch. I can't praise the VOG enough for that. Instant magic for adding more body to thin sounding production dialog. The precision de-Esser sounds fantastic, and the Pultec gives some nice air to the dialog.
And all the music performances were brough up a notch with the SPL Transient Designer, by adding more punch.

I love plugs that makes a pleasant, audible difference. This thing with the plugs I have (LA2A, LA3A, Fairchild, Manley, 1176, Pultec, Cambridge, etc) makes a.....uh.....pleasant, audible difference. Undoubtedly. I only opted for the Compressors and EQs for now, as these are surely necessary for anyone creating music. I haven't used a plug that's as good as these are. Since I started mixing years ago. The Manley Massive Passive is a hog though. Warning!! I have two audio interfaces, a hard drive, and the UAD 2 solo on one firewire bus. Not enough bandwidth. If possible, use two separate busses. I'm gonna try and use the Thunderbolt as another firewire port.

I've been hooked on the UAD cards for a while now, but I've never been able to take them on the road with me. Now, with the Satellite, I can run full sessions on my laptop wherever I want to. Excellent product. Recommended.

Combined with my Apollo Quad... Amazing! This thing makes life much easier and mixing in the box a lot more fun! Definitely a great addition to my studio.

I think its to early to have a solid opinion about the product. But I can say the plugins sounds really good, specially Pultec Pro and Fatso Sr.

I got a crash once or twice, just by opening some instances of Fatso. Which was quite weird, because it was a small project... actually i was only making some experiences with the new plugins.

Well, if I can, I would like to make this review in a few weeks. Probably I'll be more aware about this great device.

Dani M.

Great product!. It's of the best purchases I made so far.

It's a great device, now i can mixing/mastering music on my Mac Book Pro anytime and anywhere, Thanks, UA!!!