UAD UNISON PRE VS VST PLUGIN (Comparison)
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- Опубліковано 3 січ 2025
- This is my comparison of a Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp and EQ being used in Unison mode versus being added as a VST plugin post recording . Due to the impedance changes and incoming signal level differences between the Unison recording and the non-Unison recording I had to adjust the gain staging on the VST plugin, but the EQ settings are exactly the same. Let me know what you think and if I missed anything in my process. Thanks for watching!
PS- I also just read the following from a UAD employee about some of the benefits of Unison recording outside the scope of my comparison: “The gain staging in Unison preamps has more to do with the actual gain structure of the hardware preamp vs. the modeling. Analog devices have headroom over 0 VU and it's not uncommon for a device to have more than 20 dB of headroom before it goes into total clipping. A lot of times, the sweet spot for those devices is fairly hot.
So, to capture the range of the headroom and contain it within the digital scale (nothing can go past 0dBFS), the input gain of Apollo's preamps is shifted down so that the maximum output of the modeled preamp is still usable and below 0dBFS. It's very difficult to clip a Unison preamp for this reason and you'll probably need a little more input gain vs. the stock Apollo preamps. We also incorporate a clean, digital gain cell at the last output stage of the Unison preamps, so you can perfect your sound and get the perfect recording level as well.
The bottom line is that with Unison, you can work the preamp the same way you would use it's analog counterpart so the tones at all gain levels are perfectly matched.”
In addition I am told that different microphones interact with the Unison mode differently, although I did test a pair of cheap condenser mics and to my ears the results were even more subtle than what is shown in my video.
Dude you are a legend for this. I am shocked how close the unison 1073 sounds to hardware. You have saved me from having to purchase a 1073 clone. I have been using my UAD all wrong all of this time by not using UNISON!!! Fun fact for anyone reading this, the UNISON slot is always recorded, regardless of whether or not you have UAD REC or UAD MON selected in Console.
that was exactly what I needed thank u so much - difference is huge, unison is just better, a lot.
in the fingered guitar tho it was pretty close
Glad I could help, thank you for watching!
I agree
As a Twin X owner, took me for a while to realize that adjusting the mic gain in the Unison plugin literally adjusts the gain on the interface as well. :)
The difference between using unison and not is when you are using a unison plug in there will be a change in impedance which could be a good thing or not . In the context of a mix you may not want as much low end you get from the 1073 on acoustic guitar thru unison and may prefer using it in an insert instead . Another thing I notice while using unison especially the hi z amp sims is that my guitar feels more responsive when playing it then if I were to use a insert , which is great , but sucks at the same time because that means I will have to commit when using unison. What I’ve been doing lately is using a di and sending the di’s thru to the Apollo hi z unison input on one channel and monitoring that while capturing the di on a separate channel with the same amp sim on a insert instead of unison slot , and record both channels . This way I can tweak the amp after recording , and just using the unison channel more as a feel type while recording . I think if uad could make a change it would be in that one could use unison on inserts and still be able to capture the bi directional impedance switching things . It almost feels like there’s less latency while using the unison slot which very well could be the case . I can def feel a slight latency when using a amp sim as a insert instead of the unison slot , just my 2 cents tho :)
Hi, I think this is a good effort, especially for an SM57 only comparison. Thank you. I'm an Apollo/UAD user. I think the changes start to sound more drastic when you start changing up microphones. The impedance changes and the effect that when gain is applied is where I start to hear the difference. My 2 cents.
Thanks for sharing your experience with this!
@@sequoyahfaulk9507 absolutely and I totally agree about 2021 being a vampire!
To commit while tracking, it is necessary to study very well the plugin but also know very well the source, as it happens with hardware. In any case, even with the phone sound the difference is noticeable
There’s clearly a difference but it’s slight. I think I’m gonna stop committing/printing my unison preamps and just use a dry relatively low signal with Apollo’s preamp, then further amplify it in my DAW with UAD plugins.
Yeah that's what I do, I don't personally hear an "Improvement" either way, just a slight difference in tone.
thanks alot for doing this👍🏻👍🏻
No problem at all! I couldn't find a comparison online so figured I'd do my own experiment...
you can really hear it with the drum... unison low end
On the drum, unison is very slightly darker sounding. Which either or can be tweaked.
I’ve found in general I’m not a huge fan of unison preamps I prefer clean and then if I want flavor I’ll throw something on while mixing
I'm in the same boat, but I am a bit jealous of people who have the balls to commit and print it while tracking haha
@@sequoyahfaulk9507 Me too! That's why I refused to use unison while recording. But now I try to really get the best sound and from your comporison, it also seemed to me that Unison (I would say clearer - but probably that's an illusion) makes the sound more to what I would like to hear. ...I'm asking myself, if it is really the technology of being "a real preamp" on the device or if it is the way the signal comes into the plugin (mic vs line).
Probably I need to redo a test myself - but your video helped me a lot! Thanks for posting!
@@carstengrautstuck7579 Yes, if both the Unision and VST are using same settings then clearly VST still sounds more RAW. But for sure we can get close results by adding more processings.