Favourite UAD signal chains for Bass

[Byo]

Hi there!

I have been using the UAD Apollo ecosystem for a few years and wondered what other bassists like using in their digital signal flow.

I have had great results running my P-basses through my A-Designs REDDI and then into the Apollo, using the industry-standard Neve 1073 plugin and then into the DBX 160 or the 1176 compressor emulation for a great all-round sound.
I do like other preamp and eq options within the UAD range too. The amp simulations are also pretty good for in-the-box production, and I do not need to piss the neighbours off late at night if I want to get an Ampeg 8x10 sound onto a track 🤣

What are your favourite signal chains? Would love to see what everyone else is doing 🤘



 

[Beedster]

I use the Avalon 737 on pretty much everything, problem with UAD is too easy and much choice 🙂

[Byo]

4 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I use the Avalon 737 on pretty much everything, problem with UAD is too easy and much choice 🙂

Option paralysis for sure! Haven't had the chance to use the Avalon yet, will put it on my wishlist ☺️

[Beedster]

25 minutes ago, Byo said:

Option paralysis for sure! Haven't had the chance to use the Avalon yet, will put it on my wishlist ☺️

The reason I went to UAD was that I had the hardware version of the Avalon and found the plugin. I sold the hardware thinking I was making a clever financial move……

[thodrik]

 I bought a used x8p last year. My previous 'proper' recording set up was 20 years previously with a Yamaha 16 track recording box.

Usually if I am DI-ing bass it is as a guide track for drums and the bass is recorded on an additional ADAT preamp, as all of the Apollo DSP is used up to run multiple Neve 1073 or API Unison preamps for drums. 

 

I have a few UAD DSP/Unison bass amps (Ampeg SVT 3, Eden WT, SVT Classic) which are cool and generally based on Brainworx plugins. However, I personally prefer the Softube Amp Room (modern version) to the UAD DSP models. 

The Apollo/UAD ecosystem is incredibly impressive once you are within it. I struggled (and still struggle) with option paralysis and it is easy to stack up on plugin on top of another just because the plugins are really fun to work with, notwithstanding that in stacking up plugins I am actually making the sound worse! So I deliberately limit myself to a channel strip channel strip, a 1176 compressor (or Distressor) and tape emulation. 

I do really enjoy using Luna as a DAW for tracking live instruments (for midi etc it is limited, but I can use Logic for that). 

As a criticism, the new generational Apollos don't have any more DSP capabilities that the previous models which I think is pretty poor given the price point. Even on the Hexa core rack models you can run through all available DSP in a couple of plugins. For £2000+ for the rack models, I expected a DSP upgrade with the next generation. 

Edited Friday at 15:10 by thodrik

[Beedster]

35 minutes ago, thodrik said:

As a criticism, the new generational Apollos don't have any more DSP capabilities that the previous models which I think is pretty poor given the price point. Even on the Hexa core rack models you can run through all available DSP in a couple of plugins. For £2000+ for the rack models, I expected a DSP upgrade with the next generation.

 

I believe physical space is the restriction? I suspect if you have 4u, UAD would prefer you buy two units? 

[Beedster]

36 minutes ago, thodrik said:

 I bought a used x8p last year. My previous recording set up was 20 years previously with a Yamaha 16 track recording box.

Usually if I am DI-ing bass it is as a guide track for drums and the bass is recorded on an additional ADAT preamp, as all of the Apollo DSP is used up to run multiple Neve 1073 or API Unison preamps for drums. 

 

I have a few UAD DSP/Unison bass amps (Ampeg SVT 3, Eden WT, SVT Classic) which are cool and generally based on Brainworx plugins. However, I personally prefer the Softube Amp Room (modern version) to the UAD DSP models. 

The Apollo/UAD ecosystem is incredibly impressive once you are within it. I struggled (and still struggle) with option paralysis and it is easy to stack up on plugin on top of another just because the plugins are really fun to work with, notwithstanding that in stacking up plugins I am actually making the sound worse! So I deliberately limit myself to a channel strip channel strip, a 1176 compressor (or Distressor) and tape emulation. 

I do really enjoy using Luna as a DAW for tracking live instruments (for midi etc it is limited, but I can use Logic for that). 

As a criticism, the new generational Apollos don't have any more DSP capabilities that the previous models which I think is pretty poor given the price point. Even on the Hexa core rack models you can run through all available DSP in a couple of plugins. For £2000+ for the rack models, I expected a DSP upgrade with the next generation. 

 

I love to dig out old recordings/tracks and run them through the room emulations, 'Mmmm, wonder how we'd have sounded had we recorded in LA in the early '90s?'

[thodrik]

5 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

I love to dig out old recordings/tracks and run them through the room emulations, 'Mmmm, wonder how we'd have sounded had we recorded in LA in the early '90s?'

I have literally spent/wasted hours running everything through Sound City, then Ocean Wave and then having the drums recorded in Ocean Way but the guitar and bass and Sound City but still running a Capitol Chambers reverb send AUX track. I mean, most of sounds like garbage because it was tracked in my garage, but it is still a lot of fun noticing the small differences. 

[thodrik]

9 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

I believe physical space is the restriction? I suspect if you have 4u, UAD would prefer you buy two units? 

Absolutely, of course with the UAD move to native processing and frankly ridiculous levels of processing by current computers (particularly M1 and beyond Apple systems), the need for DSP plugins isn't as great as it was a decade ago.

[Beedster]

12 minutes ago, thodrik said:

I have literally spent/wasted hours running everything through Sound City, then Ocean Wave and then having the drums recorded in Ocean Way but the guitar and bass and Sound City but still running a Capitol Chambers reverb send AUX track. I mean, most of sounds like garbage because it was tracked in my garage, but it is still a lot of fun noticing the small differences. 

 

I think we live in similar universes  

[Beedster]

11 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Absolutely, of course with the UAD move to native processing and frankly ridiculous levels of processing by current computers (particularly M1 and beyond Apple systems), the need for DSP plugins isn't as great as it was a decade ago.

 

There's a lot of hostility - understandably - from people who have loaded up on £1,000s (well usually $1,000s) worth of UAD plugins only to find that the company are changing direction in both software and hardware phsilosophy. But c'est la vie I guess, the times they are a-changing'! I've been using UAD since 2020 and in all that time I've only had one tech problem (with the UAD side of things that is, Pro Tools and Softtube are ongoing tech problems), which was when my Solo simply refused to take bus power in a rather important remote interview which left me using the mic on my laptop. But guess what, I was able to make it sound almost as good in post-production using UAD plugins (I also use RX-10 quite a lot for noise etc). I could not go back to my old setup so as long as UAD are there I'll be pretty loyal to them 👍

[thodrik]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

There's a lot of hostility - understandably - from people who have loaded up on £1,000s (well usually $1,000s) worth of UAD plugins only to find that the company are changing direction in both software and hardware phsilosophy. But c'est la vie I guess, the times they are a-changing'! I've been using UAD since 2020 and in all that time I've only had one tech problem (with the UAD side of things that is, Pro Tools and Softtube are ongoing tech problems), which was when my Solo simply refused to take bus power in a rather important remote interview which left me using the mic on my laptop. But guess what, I was able to make it sound almost as good in post-production using UAD plugins (I also use RX-10 quite a lot for noise etc). I could not go back to my old setup so as long as UAD are there I'll be pretty loyal to them 👍

I can understand the hostility. When I bought my Apollo, when I registered the purchase I was given 20% off voucher of my next purchase, of course this was during 'Bundle Month' when UAD were offering everything at 50%. So I ended up buying UAD Ultimate 13 for about 30% of the usual price. If nothing else is means that I now ignore pretty much every sales tactic from UAD for buying more plugins, because I generally already have them. 

I personally love the native UAD software, I only tend to use DSP plugins when tracking and switch to native plugins when mixing (as I will need more DSP when tracking the next instrument). 

In using LUNA and UAD and a Mac for the last year I am astounded by how well the software and hardware works together. Compared to my old PC and Focusrite Scarlett Solo it is so much easier to use. 

Would I buy another Apollo? Probably, but the chances of me 'needing' a Satellite or second Apollo rack is slim. I expect that this 8xp will last me at least 5 more years.

 

 

Edited Friday at 15:11 by thodrik

[Byo]

2 hours ago, thodrik said:

 I bought a used x8p last year. My previous recording set up was 20 years previously with a Yamaha 16 track recording box.

Usually if I am DI-ing bass it is as a guide track for drums and the bass is recorded on an additional ADAT preamp, as all of the Apollo DSP is used up to run multiple Neve 1073 or API Unison preamps for drums. 

 

I have a few UAD DSP/Unison bass amps (Ampeg SVT 3, Eden WT, SVT Classic) which are cool and generally based on Brainworx plugins. However, I personally prefer the Softube Amp Room (modern version) to the UAD DSP models. 

The Apollo/UAD ecosystem is incredibly impressive once you are within it. I struggled (and still struggle) with option paralysis and it is easy to stack up on plugin on top of another just because the plugins are really fun to work with, notwithstanding that in stacking up plugins I am actually making the sound worse! So I deliberately limit myself to a channel strip channel strip, a 1176 compressor (or Distressor) and tape emulation. 

I do really enjoy using Luna as a DAW for tracking live instruments (for midi etc it is limited, but I can use Logic for that). 

As a criticism, the new generational Apollos don't have any more DSP capabilities that the previous models which I think is pretty poor given the price point. Even on the Hexa core rack models you can run through all available DSP in a couple of plugins. For £2000+ for the rack models, I expected a DSP upgrade with the next generation. 

Option paralysis is definitely a thing when you have a generous amount of UAD plugins.

I also do try to limit myself, and try to build a channel strip for each instrument/vocal going in.

Funny enough, I have also upgraded my rig with an 8-channel ADAT as my 2-channel Apollo was not enough in some scenarios. I do like the fact that you can still load plugins onto the ADAT channels and get a flavour out of them too.

In today's "in the box" workflow, I do like to commit to tape sometimes (with a separate clean DI tone as a backup) as it makes things more interesting when committing to a sound.

[Byo]

26 minutes ago, thodrik said:

I can understand the hostility. When I bought my Apollo, when I registered the purchase I was given 20% off voucher of my next purchase, of course this was during 'Bundle Month' when UAD were offering everything at 50%. So I ended up buying UAD Ultimate 13 for about 30% of the usual price. If nothing else is means that I now ignore pretty much every sales tactic from UAD for buying more plugins, because I generally already have them. 

I personally love the native UAD software, I only tend to use DSP plugins when tracking and switch to native plugins when mixing (as I will need more DSP when tracking the next instrument). 

In using LUNA and UAD and a Mac for the last year I am astounded by how well the software and hardware works together. Compared to my old PC and Focusrite Scarlett Solo it is so much easier to use. 

Would I buy another Apollo? Probably, but the chances of me 'needing' a Satellite or second Apollo rack is slim. I expect that this 8xp will last me at least 5 more years.

 

 

Curious to try out LUNA. I have been hesitant about it as I have been on Logic for years (and ProTools way before, I learned on ProTools 7/8 many moons ago).



 

[Beedster]

11 minutes ago, Byo said:

Curious to try out LUNA. I have been hesitant about it as I have been on Logic for years (and ProTools way before, I learned on ProTools 7/8 many moons ago).



 

 

I have it and have used it once or twice but was/am reluctant to commit time to the learning curve while it's still a relatively new system, and having used Pro Tools for 15 years it feels like a big step to move away. Having said that, my Pro Tools 'rental' was taken from my bank three times in three days by the new owners this week, so I'm feeling even less well disposed towards that system now that was already the case  

[Beedster]

44 minutes ago, thodrik said:

I only tend to use DSP plugins when tracking and switch to native plugins when mixing (as I will need more DSP when tracking the next instrument). 

 

That is an upside of having both, when I'm not using an Apollo or Satellite I tend to run into processing problems very quickly

[thodrik]

5 hours ago, Byo said:

Option paralysis is definitely a thing when you have a generous amount of UAD plugins.

I also do try to limit myself, and try to build a channel strip for each instrument/vocal going in.

Funny enough, I have also upgraded my rig with an 8-channel ADAT as my 2-channel Apollo was not enough in some scenarios. I do like the fact that you can still load plugins onto the ADAT channels and get a flavour out of them too.

In today's "in the box" workflow, I do like to commit to tape sometimes (with a separate clean DI tone as a backup) as it makes things more interesting when committing to a sound.

Just for tracking drums and room mics we needed 12 tracks, so I knew I needed a decent ADAT preamp from the get go. I got a used Focusrite Clarett +. It is really nice. The main drawback to my set up is me. I am very much an amateur (though my brother/guitarist is a qualified sound engineer who keeps me right in terms of mic placement and basic gain staging).

 

5 hours ago, Byo said:

Curious to try out LUNA. I have been hesitant about it as I have been on Logic for years (and ProTools way before, I learned on ProTools 7/8 many moons ago).



 

I just thought 'I have the Apollo, I have loads of UAD plugins and Luna is designed to work seamlessly with Apollos.' With a Mac plus Apollo set up, I really like it and even in the last year new features like 'Bounce' have been added which really improve the process. 

I do have Logic too, but barely use it. I just find it easier to navigate Luna as even just trying to manage UAD Console and Logic together is comparatively a bit of a hassle. Logic though has much greater midi/virtual instruments though. 

Most of the Luna shortcuts are taken from Pro Tools so apparently it is easy for Pro Tools users to move to Luna. I am tempted to go the Pro Tools route, but I don't think my skills are really good enough to make it worthwhile to move to another DAW. 

Edited Friday at 20:42 by thodrik

[Beedster]

1 minute ago, thodrik said:

Just for tracking drums and room mics we needed 12 tracks, so I new I needed a decent ADAT preamp from the get go. I got a used Focusrite Clarett +. It is really nice. The main drawback to my set up is me. I am very much an amateur (though my brother/guitarist is a qualified sound engineer who keeps me right in terms of mic placement and basic gain staging).

 

I just thought 'I have the Apollo, I have loads of UAD plugins and Luna is designed to work seamlessly with Apollos.' With a Mac plus Apollo set up, I really like it and even in the last year new features like 'Bounce' have been added which really improve the process. 

I do have Logic too, but barely use it. I just find it easier to navigate Luna as even just manage UAD Console and Logic together is comparatively a bit of a hassle. Logic though has much greater midi/virtual instruments though. 

Most of the Luna shortcuts are taken from Pro Tools so apparently it is easy for Pro Tools users to move to Luna. I am tempted to go the Pro Tools route, but I don't think my skills are really good enough to make it worthwhile to move to another DAW. 

Console and PT is actually a PITA for me also. You know, I’m gonna give Luna another go 👍

[WinterMute]

I have a twin and a X16 Gen2, I generally only use an LA2A on inputs for bass, I have an RND Shelford channel with a Quad Cortex driven by the link channel from the DI input, output of both go to the X16.

 

I often use the 1073 plug-in on mix down with either the LA2A or the Distressor. Occasionally I'll use the Eden WT800 or the GK800RB on the DI channel for tone.

 

Before I got the QC, I used the standard SVT3 plug-in, but the version in the QC is better.

 

I use the 1073 and LA2A on mics for vocals, guitars and the like, but leave any serious tone shaping for the mix.

[WinterMute]

On 21/03/2025 at 15:52, thodrik said:

Just for tracking drums and room mics we needed 12 tracks, so I knew I needed a decent ADAT preamp from the get go. I got a used Focusrite Clarett +. It is really nice. The main drawback to my set up is me. I am very much an amateur (though my brother/guitarist is a qualified sound engineer who keeps me right in terms of mic placement and basic gain staging).

 

I just thought 'I have the Apollo, I have loads of UAD plugins and Luna is designed to work seamlessly with Apollos.' With a Mac plus Apollo set up, I really like it and even in the last year new features like 'Bounce' have been added which really improve the process. 

I do have Logic too, but barely use it. I just find it easier to navigate Luna as even just trying to manage UAD Console and Logic together is comparatively a bit of a hassle. Logic though has much greater midi/virtual instruments though. 

Most of the Luna shortcuts are taken from Pro Tools so apparently it is easy for Pro Tools users to move to Luna. I am tempted to go the Pro Tools route, but I don't think my skills are really good enough to make it worthwhile to move to another DAW. 

 

I looked very closely at Luna, I have it installed and keep it up to date, but the lack of EUCON control for the S series consoles means I always end up in Protools, I write in Logic occasionally, but even that doesn't implement the extended control protocols.

 

Luna is very good.

 

Edited Saturday at 16:44 by WinterMute
typo