Universal Audio amp sim plugins

[Blix]

why use the same settings? Let alone the tolerances for a 60 year old amp, those amps went a ton of small revisions as they built them AND some of those amps are just straight up different circuits.

Try going by ear and it’ll even out a lot of the differences

I did that too, makes little difference , Helix plexi models doesn't cut it no matter the settings. They should redo all the Marshalls to get them up to the same level as the 2203 model.

 

[Orvillain]

That P75 certainly stands out as not being the same as the others!

 

[laxu]

Finally took the UA Lion plugin on a test drive.

If you normalize what you can, you can dial Helix Native to sound pretty close, where the UA was only marginally better. To me UA's cab sims are fine, but nothing I cannot get from MIKKO 2.

Credit where credit is due though, it is an easy to use plugin, sounds good and the room reverb is good.

I still just don't find it does anything better than other stuff on the market and I felt exactly the same about the UA Dream and Lion pedals.

 

[hblu22]

quick one with softube. presence behaviour is totally different (different pot value or NFB perhaps?). Its generally a bit more aggro/scooped/twangy sounding, maybe a different bright cap or something too. No real preference between them, they're all fun variations. Suppose I should fire my amp and the axe fx up as well.



check the different settings:

View attachment 30706

They used a much lower bright cap for the lion 100pF vs. typically 4-5k pF

 

[Senor Blues]

Finally took the UA Lion plugin on a test drive.

If you normalize what you can, you can dial Helix Native to sound pretty close, where the UA was only marginally better. To me UA's cab sims are fine, but nothing I cannot get from MIKKO 2.

Credit where credit is due though, it is an easy to use plugin, sounds good and the room reverb is good.

I still just don't find it does anything better than other stuff on the market and I felt exactly the same about the UA Dream and Lion pedals.

Agreed, I already own stuff that gets me there, and captures that sound/ feel just as good. Not a value at the price.

 

[PLX]

I didn't hear the dude get an early Van Halen tone anywhere in that video of teh UAD Lion.

 

[dbagchee]

FYI - UA is doing "select bundles" right now so you can get 2 amps for $79 or 3 for $109 - brings the amps to a more reasonable price:

UAD Custom Bundles

Build your own UAD Custom Bundle for one low price and save up to 60%. Get huge discounts on plug-ins from Neve,® API,® Manley,® Studer,® and more.

www.uaudio.com

 

[sashimi]

Well that didn’t take long

 

[MirrorProfiles]

as predictable as anything. The bundle price for all of them will presumably be $200 or under if you want dumble/5150/recto when they come

 

[bikescene]

I bought into the 3 for $109 for the 3 amps. UA got me with their aggressive pricing. I’m glad this thread informed me of the deal, maybe a little less happy to give UA more of my money.

I didn’t pay attention at all to the pedals when they came out, but these plugins fit my workflow well. I had a little bit of time to play with the 3 plugins tonight and wanted to share my somewhat lengthy thoughts.

I spent this evening coming up with some ideas on my Bass VI. I was having trouble with how some cleans with Helix’s Deluxe Reverb model with Hot Springs were fitting, and that is probably pilot error. However, I swapped in the Dream 65, and I had to admit that it was easier to shape the sound for me. Blackface Fender tone and is the least familiar to me. Maybe UA just picked some good IRs.

I quickly compared the Ruby to some NAM captures that I made with my Vox AC15C1. Perhaps apples to oranges, but I think I can dial the AC15 to get some recorded AC30 tones. I did think the Normal Channel was very close. The Ruby took a treble boosted strat signal in a similar way. I had some trouble matching my AC15 Top Boost to the Ruby Brilliant Channel. I could get similar tones, but with wildly different treble, bass, and cut settings.

The Lion sounds good. I compared to the Helix Brit Trem Brt model and some NAM captures of my Plexi-circuit head. They each had their own quirks, but I was pretty happy with the sounds of all 3. I’m itching to compare the Lion’s sounds to my FM3 now. Didn’t try the Superbass or Brown channels yet.

I didn’t play with the included IRs in the Ruby and Lion. No idea how UAs cabs for those amps compare to the typical Ownhammer and York stuff.

I will most likely get the Anti and Knuckles when they’re out in plugin form. I already have a 6505, but want to see how close the Anti is. I‘Ve been thinking about grabbing a Dual Recto eventually too.

 

[laxu]

To me the weak point of the UA amp sims are the cab sims. They are just way too limited. They should've at least given some mic options as bare minimum.

 

[jellodog]

Spent a couple of days playing the Lion 68 plugin and have been enjoying it.

BUT THEN...

I downloaded the Mercuriall 1987x plugin + Ampbox and it's really very good and the price is totally reasonable too. I think I preferred the character of the 1987x more. Ampbox is pretty neat.