LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip
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Analog heaven in a plug-in.
Experience Universal Audio’s 70+ year analog heritage with a supercharged plug-in version of our flagship tube channel strip, the 6176. The LA‑6176 Signature Channel Strip plug-in gives you three iconic UA products in one: the 610 mic preamp, the 1176 Limiting Amplifier, and the LA‑2A Leveling Amplifier.
Released in 2004, the hand-built 6176 has been the channel strip to stars including Coldplay, Adele, and Pharrell. Now you can get an entirely new UAD channel strip that puts decades of classic and modern vocal, guitar, drum, and bass sounds at the flip of a switch.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.
- Record and mix with three of the most historically-significant pieces of analog gear ever made, in one elegant channel strip
- Get the smooth harmonics and rich overdrive of a vintage UA 610 tube preamp on vocals and instruments
- Instantly get the famous punch of the 1176, or the smooth warmth of an LA-2A, at the flip of a switch
- Record in realtime with Apollo interfaces, putting three legendary processors in a single Unison slot
LA-6176: Watch & Learn
Bill Putnam Jr. discusses UA’s long legacy of innovating legendary hardware like the 1176, LA-2A, and 610 preamp — and what inspired him to combine them into modern tools that help musicians around the world make records.
Plug in to a World-Famous Tube Preamp
Bill Putnam’s 610 Modular Amplifier preamp was a milestone in audio history, introduced in the 1960’s and used to record everyone from the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, and Johnny Cash to Coldplay and Adele. The LA-6176 plug-in features the modern 610-B circuit, giving you even deeper EQ controls for adding rich tube sound that works on everything.
Get Legendary 1176 Punch
The 6176 hardware is the first channel strip to pair our iconic 610 tube preamp with classic 1176 Limiting Amplifier. The 1176 is the compressor that defined decades of popular rock and pop music, from Led Zeppelin to Bob Marley to Beyonce. Its FET-based circuit delivers ultra fast response to guitar, bass, and drum transients making your tracks pop through the speakers.
Add Smooth LA-2A Tube Compression
Borrowing from our LA-610 MkII hardware channel strip, the LA-6176 plug-in packs iconic optical compression at the flip of a switch. In LA-2A mode, you’ll get the same silky compression heard on classic vocal and instrument recordings for over 60 years. Plus, you can easily toggle between the LA-2A and 1176 modes to find your perfect sound.
Unison-Enabled for Realtime Recording on Apollo Interfaces
With an Apollo interface and Unison technology, the LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip makes you forget you’re recording through a plug-in. You'll get all the unique impedance, gain stage sweet spots, and circuit behaviors of an original 610 tube preamp. And when you add in two legendary compressors — it puts three of our most famous analog circuits on a single Unison channel.
Get Heavenly Analog Sound
Learn the settings on LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip that unlock dreamy analog sounds for vocals, drums, and bass.
“The LA-6176 plug-in adds excitement and color to anything you put through it. You can do so much with this one plugin alone!”
– Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Motorhead, Nova Twins)
“The LA-6176 plug-in has quickly become my go-to channel strip for setting the foundation of a mix.”
– Ivan Barias (Musiq Soulchild, Rick Ross, Estelle)
“The LA-6176, in parallel, INTO the vocal chain... gamechanger. I don't do vocals without it.”
– F. Reid Shippen (Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, Keith Urban)Customer Reviews
R. Robertson
September 25, 2024
LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip
LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip by design is convenient when switching between compressors to test which one you like better for your application. "I like this one the...
Read MoreD. Bordin
September 23, 2024
Versatile and great value
Mellow and acoustical sonic quality. Good price and works well with other plugins. Realistic repro.
Read MoreA. Navarro
September 22, 2024
Sutil, limpieza, color, perfecta
Todo lo que se propone lo hace, y consume muy pocos recursos. Excelente
Read MoreC. King
September 20, 2024
Well...
I was a bit hesitant to buy this plug because like most we all have enough compressors, right? Well, this thing sounds amazing, sounds so close to a hardware unit it's crazy. I will say,...
Read More -
Customer Reviews
LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip
R. Robertson
LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip
LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip by design is convenient when switching between compressors to test which one you like better for your application.
"I like this one the best kind of situation."
So have fun dialing the sweet spot in after trying the presets to help familiarize yourself with what this plugin can do.L. Brown
A+
A+
D. Bordin
Versatile and great value
Mellow and acoustical sonic quality. Good price and works well with other plugins. Realistic repro.
A. Paradiso
awesome
on the drums bus, bomb!!
A. Navarro
Sutil, limpieza, color, perfecta
Todo lo que se propone lo hace, y consume muy pocos recursos. Excelente
C. King
Well...
I was a bit hesitant to buy this plug because like most we all have enough compressors, right?
Well, this thing sounds amazing, sounds so close to a hardware unit it's crazy. I will say, this thing is a resource hog but with work arounds it's usually not an issue.A. Junior
I lovely!
A new sound !
R. Novak
Perfect
Great colors for every instrument!
V. Vasilev
Versatile beast
Although I mostly find myself using it as my go-to drum bus compressor, I had used it on individual tracks from vocals through brass and guitars, etc...getting a quick result in a matter of a few mouse clicks is a breeze with this one. It's a truly "Swiss knife" of a tool.
S. Engström
Excellent
Using it in a mix in a newly released song. The plugin sounds very good.
J. Powell
Never Guessing the Compression
It's wonderful having these two legendary compressors at your disposal. It would truly amazing to have this as an actual piece of hardware gear, but it doesn't exist!. It's only available here at UA!
J. Kelly
Bam!
I’ve been waiting for this one. Smooth operator!!
R. Lachaine
Really nice addition to my plugins
I’ve never owned the hardware version of this so I cannot compare, however, I can say that this plugin sounds fantastic on everything you put through it. Universal Audio plugins in general sound great, not just this one.
D. Bassal
Part time useful
I have tried the LA-6176 on a dozen different contexts, when I need a little excitement on a track. I have kept it maybe 2 or 3 times, which is not bad, considering that it is a replica of obsolete tech, which, in principle, should do nothing more than dirtying the signal. But obviously it is more complicated than that - think of dither - so we can ask ourselves: why should it be working? A track may need some veil, some phase canceling to calm its enthusiasm a bit in order to work harmoniously with the rest? Probably. That said, the presets are the key, here - I would never spend more than a minute fiddling with the parameters, which, in a modern DAW environment, are little more than symbolic. And it is not that the LA-6176 is miraculously apart from the rest: I have a bunch of such replicas, with various ratios of success... Some have proven to be absurdly subtle, which leads to useless, while this one is more intrusive, powerful, so in the end it will either do something for real, or...destroy the quality. Use your ears, mistrust the hype!
L. Mottalli
Great all around channel strip
If you want to keep things simple and safe, with ensure good results, you can't go wrong with this
L. Mottalli
Great all around channel strip
If you want to keep things simple and safe, with ensure good results, you can't go wrong with this
C. King
Nice, but be warned, it's a resource hog
This plugin sounds amazing but here are some things to be aware of. I have an Apollo x6, a Twin & a UAD-2 Satellite totaling 16 SHARC chips and when I insert 8 of these channel strips they utilizes 31% of the chips. Obviously I'll have to be creative when applying this plugin and start using the render track feature in LUNA or print it while tracking. So other than that, it is an excellent sounding plug!!
I. McElroy
Truly Transparent
This thing is like a cheat code. Really stackable as well so it'll be hard to overuse in a mix. Works great on Bass, Vocals, Snare, Toms, killer on a kick. I just love this thing.
S. Datskevich
Great
Drums, bass guitars, electric guitars... How were you before without you 6176
D. Wylie
Drum bus solution….
The UAD La2a is a go to for me on half my stems, esp vocal. I thought the combo with preamp and eq might be ideal for my vocal but, for now, the drum bus is where it shines for me ( preset and slight tweak works for me).
