Universal Audio

UAD-1 User Story - Valentin
Raising the Bar with the UAD-1

Valentin

“We’re all about pushing the envelope.” With most people, a comment like that might be just a tired cliché. But coming from Valentin, it’s more of an understatement. The New York-based musician, producer, re-mixer and multimedia artist is the mastermind behind breakout recording act QED (whose current single “Hardly a Day” is riding high on the UK charts), and his remix of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera currently holds the #1 position on Billboard’s Dance Club Play charts. He writes, arranges, produces and plays all instruments on QED’s recordings, and on stage he triggers both sounds and digital video to create a unique and compelling live multimedia presentation.

“That’s why I’m so impressed with the UAD-1, because it was clearly designed by people who understand how to make technology work creatively.”

Valentin is the creator of MediaXtasy (MX), an innovative new visual performance system being used by leading DJ’s like Danny Tenaglia, Pete Tong, Paul van Dyk and Louie Devito. Way more than just music and light shows, his creations encompass tight, lightening-quick integration of multiple surround video sources, triggered by performers on stage, along with intense, swirling surround mixes bathed in deep trance and otherworldly syncopations. He’s performed at even ts sponsored by Nintendo, Nike, Heinekin and Sirius Radio, and at parties thrown by the likes of N’Sync, Nelly, P Diddy and Beyonce Knowles.

A software developer in a previous life, Valentin is in the somewhat unique position of being conversant in both the creative and the technical disciplines. “That’s why I’m so impressed with the UAD-1,” he comments, “because it was clearly designed by people who understand how to make technology work creatively.”

“When you’re dealing with dance music, the groove is extremely important, and how different sounds are articulated is critical to that groove. If the kick and bass don’t work, the tune’s dead. With most software compressor/limiters, they work well and sound really good within a particular range, but if you go outside that range they tend to lengthen or smooth out the sounds and kill the groove. But the UAD-1 plugins – especially the LA-2A, the 1176 and the Pultec – are very musical and usable. Even at the extremities of their ranges, they still sound great.”

Siren Entertainment Recording Artist, QED

“The UAD-1 is really key to getting some of the sounds I use. Particularly in dance music, which by its nature is going to be used in both a club environment and on radio, aspects like the kick, the bass and the vocal need to be undeniably rock solid, unique, and in your face. I use the UAD-1 a lot to get that nice fat sound that cuts through the mix in a big way and makes the floor shake in the clubs. I’m using some combination of the Pultec and 1176 plugins for kick and bass on almost all my mixes. The EQ really pulls up the 30, 60 and 100Hz ranges for different mixes, and the LA-2A works magic on compressing the bass synth.”

More than just pumping up the mix, though, the UAD-1 plugins also help Valentin create his truly distinctive sound. “I don’t usually use off-the-shelf loops. I’m a drummer, and for me it makes more sense to just play what I need. I’ll usually start with a handful of percussion parts, maybe a djembe, shakers, or tambourine, then use the mod filter with something like a square waveform, and squash it with the LA-2A to make it into my own unique killer loop. For me, it saves time and I get what I want, with the punch I need. And of course, the fidelity’s amazing.”

He’s also quite fond of the UAD-1’s RealVerb plugin. “We do a lot of vocal trance mixes, and in trance it’s all about the sound of the vocal. The RealVerb plugin has some of the nicest, most usable reverb I’ve worked with. I use it a lot on percussion and hihats too – really subtle settings to just give things a bit of a different space.”

In the hands of someone like Valentin, the UAD-1 is every bit as much an instrument as the rest of his arsenal. “Most of us have never had the luxury of owning a $5000 reverb or EQ, so even if we get to use one in the studio occasionally, it’s not the same as having a chance to work with these tools on a regular basis and really learn them. With every mix I keep adding new tricks, using the UAD-1’s capabilities more and more.”

“When your equipment level goes up, you have a chance to make your music that much better. I now have the equivalent of a very expensive rack sitting in my computer, and it’s a joy to have that kind of technology at my disposal. It’s really made a huge difference in how my mixes come across.”

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