Universal Audio Paradise Guitar Studio

[laxu]

Same..... I'm Gen X and I think it's just a tired stupid trope based on such base ideas. That said Boomer bend tone > than PlayStation tone. I smell the Jim Henson tears already.

That's "neck brace tattoo music!"

 

[Jarick]

Why would someone use this over Helix Native? It's way simpler and quicker to get after a sound.

It's wild how completely different your workflow is while recording vs playing around or dialing in sounds for a gig. If you're writing parts while recording a song, you aren't going to spend 20 minutes dialing in a tone. You want to just grab a preset tweak a few knobs and go. You can tweak later if it's even needed.

Here's a fun example of a couple guys basically writing and recording a song on the fly, not sure how long they worked on it but guessing not more than a few hours front to back. This is probably a good representation of what a lot of modern song writing/recording is like:



Anything that gets the job done quicker and basically sounds mix ready is going to be a winner. That's why the NDSP stuff is so massively popular. It's not about getting a legendary tone that people will spend decades lusting after, it's getting the right sound for the right part of the song without killing the vibe.

 

[Dave Lewis]

...is apparently going to be released tomorrow.

View attachment 55689

FAQ: Paradise Guitar Studio

Paradise Guitar Studio is Universal Audio’s first end-to-end virtual studio for guitar. It gives guitar players and producers access to an entire high-end recording studio with authentic amp emulat...

help.uaudio.com

I think this is what today's 'rant' video from Henning was about. He claims it's a huge step forward for amp sim plugins.

I watched Henning going on about it being a game changer and got fed up with him selling it but trying not to
So went and watched something mor interesting.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

It’s an IK style money grab. Imagine the people who paid close to $150 a pop for the amp sims individually and then are being asked to pay more again to use them here vs a new customer getting it all for $150. I have the RAT, Big Muff, TS, MXR Flanger, 140 etc too which so far have only been available on DSP.

There’s a few nice things here and the implementation seems more slick than Amp Room, Amp Hub, Ampbox, Amp Locker, Amplitube etc. With the Ampbox, I basically just use the standalone Marshall plugins on their own. If I want to use the ENGL, I just dumb the plugin down to being just the amp. It’s so slow and sluggish to use that unless the software is really slick, I just treat them as “amp only” and add plugins externally to do what I need. The same is mostly true for Amplitube and Amp Box for me, most of the time I’ll just keep it simple and avoid dicking around in the plugin.

I think UA have done the GUI slightly better, in that it looks quick to use. But yeah, happy to wait this one out - money for old rope means there’s not too much new content here.

Yeah, the $79 for folks that already own all the amps is...just "hey, I bet we can take money from people that buy UA stuff without thinking too much." The same folks that would buy that probably also already own a lot of the effects from UA in at least one form, possibly two.

I bought my truck about a year ago and dealer had me set up the app on my phone and while moderately annoying it did at least allow me to start my car from my phone on icy mornings. We had a first hard frost a couple weeks ago, about 54 weeks after I bought the truck. Tried to launch the app and it said my 1 year free trail was over and I'd have to cough up $15/month to continue to use it. I felt UA had infiltrated Toyota.

 

[Dimiguitar]

Similar to what was said above, I think "game changer" should be reserved for, like, game changers... Like Kemper was. Not what some YouTubers want to sell at a given time.

Besides, I think many have gotten so desensitized to such claims, after being bombarded by them for as long, that I don't know if these characterizations have much of an effect anyway.

Other than being annoying, for obvious reasons.

(Not that the UA plugin isn't great. I'll try it and see).

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Why would someone use this over Helix Native? It's way simpler and quicker to get after a sound.

It's wild how completely different your workflow is while recording vs playing around or dialing in sounds for a gig. If you're writing parts while recording a song, you aren't going to spend 20 minutes dialing in a tone. You want to just grab a preset tweak a few knobs and go. You can tweak later if it's even needed.

Here's a fun example of a couple guys basically writing and recording a song on the fly, not sure how long they worked on it but guessing not more than a few hours front to back. This is probably a good representation of what a lot of modern song writing/recording is like:



Anything that gets the job done quicker and basically sounds mix ready is going to be a winner. That's why the NDSP stuff is so massively popular. It's not about getting a legendary tone that people will spend decades lusting after, it's getting the right sound for the right part of the song without killing the vibe.

I get this, but at the same time...dialing in a tone on a complex modeler is really fast and straightforward if you've owned the thing for more than six months. Indeed, you probably already have a couple of presets made that are in the ballpark of any tone you are likely to use for "writing".

Which is to say that I get the need for this kind of slimmed down approach for folks new-ish to the game, but I think a lot of folks shoot themselves in the foot by having so many options available.

I've been hemming and hawing over swapping my Axe Fx III out for an AM4. The only hardware I'd really need to buy to be able to do everything I do with my Axe Fx III quite comfortably is some sort of KOT - probably that Warm Audio pedal. It would be "simpler", I could "save some cash", Would definitely be a bit smaller (though floor footprint would likely be a little bigger than FC12 overall).

But I'd have to learn a new UI even if its pretty close to one I already know, sort out exactly how I'd set up a couple of presets to do what I already do with the couple of presets I have on the III, and I quickly realize that I'm AM4-curious not because I think its going to actually streamline anything, but just because I want a new guitar-related box to play with.

 

[Jarick]

I get this, but at the same time...dialing in a tone on a complex modeler is really fast and straightforward if you've owned the thing for more than six months. Indeed, you probably already have a couple of presets made that are in the ballpark of any tone you are likely to use for "writing".

Which is to say that I get the need for this kind of slimmed down approach for folks new-ish to the game, but I think a lot of folks shoot themselves in the foot by having so many options available.

I've been hemming and hawing over swapping my Axe Fx III out for an AM4. The only hardware I'd really need to buy to be able to do everything I do with my Axe Fx III quite comfortably is some sort of KOT - probably that Warm Audio pedal. It would be "simpler", I could "save some cash", Would definitely be a bit smaller (though floor footprint would likely be a little bigger than FC12 overall).

But I'd have to learn a new UI even if its pretty close to one I already know, sort out exactly how I'd set up a couple of presets to do what I already do with the couple of presets I have on the III, and I quickly realize that I'm AM4-curious not because I think its going to actually streamline anything, but just because I want a new guitar-related box to play with.

I've had Helix Native since release and basically never use it. I just don't like using it while recording. It feels like a rabbit hole every time I open it up. I'll use literally anything else. It doesn't feel like a plugin, it feels like HX Edit, and the cabs aren't plug and play. It's more of a "tone adventure" thing.

I can't see using UAD Paradise for anything heavy or bass related, but for clean to crunchy guitars, it seems ideal. I've got a lot of different NDSP higher gain flavors (Nolly, Plini, Fortin Cali, Petrucci, Soldano). Seems like a really good complementary plugin.

The one thing I will probably do though is track guitars through the Fender TMP because I can get a tone super fast, record both that and a DI at the same time, and monitor with zero latency.

 

[laxu]

Solid boomer tones here

This is a really good video to not only show what it can do, but also how it can be used in a "classic studio tricks" type of way. I think that will help a lot of people who might be thinking more from the point of view of a traditional guitar rig.

I think it has a lot of thoughtful touches in the UI, like the mini-tuner, limiter, the way the circuit customization stuff is arranged. The "turn off all pre or post fx" toggles are an excellent idea that I would love to see on hardware units as well. I know "fx groups" has been suggested for Fractal in the past already for this sort of thing in a more flexible way.

Cab sim is clearly kinda limited still and you need to rely more on EQ to shape the sound because you can't move mics or anything like that, and many cabs have a particular mic setup with no alternative options.

It's very much a curated product for a specific kind of player looking for more old school sounds. The modern heavy players are left completely out and that's fine. There's a lot of stuff to cover those tones.

I would love to see UA expand the plugin later with a full set of pedals, fx, amps and cabs favoring the modern player.

I can hopefully take it out for a spin, just have too much work on my plate at the end of the year.

 

[Whizzinby]

Boomer also massively makes sense in the guitar realm when someone refers to boomer gear or boomer licks etc It’s generally referring to 60s to 80s or earlier, the distinction is real.

There is no meaningful distinction, because young players and many modern genres still heavily use Fender, Vox and Marshall tones.

Someone posted Tim Henson above. His plug has Vox and Marshall based amps. Boomer plugin!

It’s an obnoxious term and hearing anyone past the age of 18 say it, makes me cringe.

/with love

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I've had Helix Native since release and basically never use it. I just don't like using it while recording. It feels like a rabbit hole every time I open it up. I'll use literally anything else. It doesn't feel like a plugin, it feels like HX Edit, and the cabs aren't plug and play. It's more of a "tone adventure" thing.

I can't see using UAD Paradise for anything heavy or bass related, but for clean to crunchy guitars, it seems ideal. I've got a lot of different NDSP higher gain flavors (Nolly, Plini, Fortin Cali, Petrucci, Soldano). Seems like a really good complementary plugin.

The one thing I will probably do though is track guitars through the Fender TMP because I can get a tone super fast, record both that and a DI at the same time, and monitor with zero latency.

Do you start with a blank preset every time you sit down to play?

At this point, the Fractal "UI" that I interact with 95% of the time is just the FC12 and one expression pedal I have connected to it. In terms of final recording, those sounds might not be EXACTLY what I'd use, but they are all what I would use for writing or tracking.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Unless UA has completely redone their amp modeling, I don't think it'll be a huge step anywhere.

Agreed. I have two of their amp plugins, one free and one I paid for. I've never gotten any real use out of either of them.

 

[Elf]

I smell the Jim Henson tears already.

I love that while we are talking about “boomer” amps, you called Tim Henson “Jim Henson”

 

[Jarick]

Do you start with a blank preset every time you sit down to play?

At this point, the Fractal "UI" that I interact with 95% of the time is just the FC12 and one expression pedal I have connected to it. In terms of final recording, those sounds might not be EXACTLY what I'd use, but they are all what I would use for writing or tracking.

For playing, no. For recording, much of the time yes.

Workflow for recording is completely different than for playing. When I'm playing I don't want to touch a computer, I want to just play. I use the same cab IR for everything because it ties different amps together. I have a handful of presets I use repeatedly that I tweak over time.

For recording, it's all about the computer. Plugins are key because the settings are saved with the song and you can tweak on the fly without having to re-amp all the tracks. And I wouldn't want to use the same cab IR because the parts all kind of turn to mush; some need to stand out. It's just a matter of either running direct to the interface and monitoring the plugins while tracking or running into a modeler and grabbing the DI out of there so you can monitor without latency.

 

[Melodioso]

After spending over an hour with it, I have to say the UI is extremely well thought-out, fun to use, and delivers great sound with minimal tweaking.

The only annoying part is that deleting a device from a slot requires scrolling all the way up to the “Empty” option — which feels unnecessary. Being able to simply drag the device out (up or down) would be far more intuitive.

The FX are excellent as well. Add the high-gain amps dammit ! And honestly, putting all of this into a physical floor modeler with a Helix Stadium-style screen and 4–6 footswitches would be cool. Not a game changer, but cool !

 

[Jarick]

After spending over an hour with it, I have to say the UI is extremely well thought-out, fun to use, and delivers great sound with minimal tweaking.

The only annoying part is that deleting a device from a slot requires scrolling all the way up to the “Empty” option — which feels unnecessary. Being able to simply drag the device out (up or down) would be far more intuitive.

The FX are excellent as well. Add the high-gain amps dammit ! And honestly, putting all of this into a physical floor modeler with a Helix Stadium-style screen and 4–6 footswitches would be cool. Not a game changer, but cool !

Yeah I noticed the exact same thing to remove a device. It's tedious. Would like to see an X or something if you hover over the block.

There's nothing game changing about the plugin IMO...it's just a really cool tool to add to the collection. But now I'm going to need to start shopping for a more powerful computer to run all these damn plugins...

 

[Cactusprick]

tried and like it a lot actually. Sounds phenomenal.

dumb question - can this run standalone outside daw?

 

[Desertdweller]

Why would someone use this over Helix Native? It's way simpler and quicker to get after a sound.

I think we’ve reached a point where any sound you really want is pretty quickly attainable. I’m all for more options. I give my self no excuses for not making awesome music with everything we have available today.

 

[Tito83]

The only annoying part is that deleting a device from a slot requires scrolling all the way up to the “Empty” option — which feels unnecessary. Being able to simply drag the device out (up or down) would be far more intuitive.

Another thing I don't really like is that when trying to change the order of effects, when you move something is not like you're moving it's place in the signal chain, it actually swaps the selected one with the one you're right over. A bit annoying.

tried and like it a lot actually. Sounds phenomenal.

dumb question - can this run standalone outside daw?

No.

 

[Sascha Franck]

There is no meaningful distinction, because young players and many modern genres still heavily use Fender, Vox and Marshall tones.

Absolutely this. I may even agree that there might be a thing such as "boomer bends", but soundwise? No.
And fwiw, as far as "modern metal" sounds go, if we were to analyze differences in tone and what not, I think it'd turn out that there's kinda less variety in them than in whatever one may call "boomer sounds" - which actually is in the nature of things as with a certain amount of distortion, no matter how tight or mushy you manage to go, some details are getting lost for plain technical reasons.

 

[Sascha Franck]

dumb question - can this run standalone outside daw?

You could always run it in a small footprint standalone host, such as AU Lab on macOS or Savihost on Windows. Savoihost even allows you to save a single plugin as an executable file.