Ch-ch-ch-anges! Digi-Talk is now the official place to go for news and information regarding all digital products from Universal audio-- not just Pro Tools. From UA's UAD-1 platform, TDM plug-ins for Pro Tools, to digital hardware like UA's 2192 master audio interface, Digi-Talk is the place to stay informed. This month, we're featuring the latest TDM 1.2 release with the highly anticipated Accel support, and are proud to bring you info about UA's latest plug-in platform forhe Roland VS series!
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DSP Usage in Pro Tools' Accel
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Working in higher sample rates has become a reality for many DAW users. Plug-ins just sound better at 96k, and you can really push them, and things start to sound more "analog". With the advent of the Pro Tools Accel card, working in higher sample rates on Pro Tools just got a lot easier.
Scheduled for an early May release, version 1.2 of UA's TDM plug-ins features compatibility with the Digidesign Accel card. The Accel card packs 9 of the Motorola 321 chips on to a PCI card that offers 50% more processing power than the HD Process Card. As a result, UA TDM plug-in users will be able to get many more instances of the best vintage emulation plug-ins on the TDM platform at all sample rates. This means that working at 96k and even 192k with large sessions is possible, and once you do it, you'll wonder how you ever worked in 48k or 44.1k!
Probably the best thing about Accel compatibility is now you can run the 1176LN at 96k. Since we didn't want to change the 1176LN algorithm when we ported it from the UAD-1 to Pro Tools, we could only run one instance at 48k and none at 96k on the HD system. The Accel card has now allowed the growing number of users who work in 96k to use the best emulation of this classic compressor available on Pro Tools. And while we can still only get one instance of the 1176LN per DSP on the Accel, if you own our 1176LN plug-in, you know the sound is worth the price of admission.
And speaking of the 1176, the 1176SE instance counts really jump when used on Accel. At 48k, The 1176 SE will get nine instances per DSP in the Accel, compared to six on the HD Core. At 96k, you get five per DSP on the Accel, compared to three on the HD. And at 192k, you get two instances per DSP on Accel, compared to one on the HD.
The LA-2A also benefits greatly from the power of the Accel DSP. At 48k, the LA-2A will get eight instances per DSP on Accel, compared to four on HD. At 96k, you get four instances per DSP on the Accel, compared to 2 on HD. And at 192k, you get two per DSP on Accel, compared to one on the HD
Since our Pultec EQP-1A plug-in utilizes up-sampling to 192k to give the most accurate emulation of a real Pultec EQ, instance count is the same regardless of sample rate on the HD card; at 44.1k, you get 2 mono or one stereo instance per DSP of the Pultec EQ on the HD or Mix systems. This is the same amount of instances that you would get at 192k.
But on the Accel card, the Pultec EQ will get four mono instances and 2 stereo per DSP chip for sample rates 44.1k through 192k. While this still may seem like a small amount of instances, try going out and buying four Pultec EQP-1A hardware EQ's for the price a UA Pultec EQP-1A plug-in!
So if you own a Pro Tools HD System with an Accel card and haven't picked up the UA TDM Studio bundle, now is the time! And crank up that sample rate, your mixes will thank you for it!
--Dave Crane
UAD Plug-Ins for Roland VS Series
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UAD Plug-Ins for Roland VS Series
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The 1176LN compressor is a famous piece of gear known for its unique sonic character, as well as functioning as very capable dynamics processor with extremely fast attack and release times. This allows the 1176 to function as a limiter, while slower attack and release times still allow it to perform standard compressor duties. This makes the 1176LN an extremely useful tool for music that varies greatly in dynamics. The limiting functions work great for drums, electric guitar, bass, etc., while a more moderate setting might be used for vocals, keyboards, strings, etc. Featuring program dependent compression, the 1176LN is known for its aggressive sound, which can be heard on a great number of famous recordings. Program dependent compression means that the attack and release times vary slightly depending on the frequency and amplitude of the incoming signal. This unique character is said to give tracks that "Rock'n'Roll" sound that other compressors can't emulate.
On the Roland workstation, you'll be able to harness the 1176LN magic for any projects that are recorded at sample rates 32khz-88.2khz. Since it takes plenty of DSP processing to run a plug-in that sounds true to the original, only one 1176LN will run on each VS8F-3 card you have installed in your Roland. While this might sound like a limit to your creativity (most people would probably like an 1176LN on almost every track!), creative bouncing of the processed tracks will allow you to effectively use the 1176LN as much as you want. The detailed method for bouncing your processed tracks to get the most out of your investment will be covered soon in an upcoming article. Stay tuned for more information!
More info about UA plug-ins for Roland's VS series
--Tom Freeman