Whether you work entirely “in the box” or employ a hybrid workflow, you rely on plug-ins for a percentage of your signal processing. Revered for its sonic quality, classic hardware remains the gold standard; in fact, many of the best plug-ins are meticulously modeled on vintage hardware units. In this article, we take a look at nine notable plug-ins based on famous hardware.
The Universal Audio UAD ecosystem
Universal Audio’s UAD hardware/software ecosystem is a popular workflow used by many top engineers and studios. The company’s UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces supply the DSP power you need to handle effects-heavy, high-track-count sessions without overtaxing your CPU. With a rich legacy going back to the 1950s, Universal Audio’s founder Bill Putnam Sr. was responsible for timeless hardware designs such as the 610 tube recording console and the LA-2A and 1176 compressors — both of which have remained in continual use for over a half century.
The company was revitalized in the late 1990s by Bill’s sons, James Putnam and Bill Putnam Jr., with a prescient focus on the hybrid workflows that professional studios use today. Their objective: to faithfully reproduce classic analog recording gear in the tradition of their dad, and to design state-of-the-art digital recording tools with rich vintage analog sonics. To achieve this, UA employs world-class DSP engineering talent and digital modeling experts to develop their award-winning UAD-powered plug-ins platform. In addition to meticulous plug-ins modeled on the LA-2A and 1176 vintage classics, Universal Audio’s Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor plug-in faithfully captures the digitally controlled analog circuitry of this modern classic compressor and its uncanny ability to energize synths and vocals and add heft to kicks, snares, and bass lines.
The Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe
Leo Fender got it right, right from the start: his 1955 Tweed Deluxe is one of the most sought-after guitar amps ever made. This legendary tone machine served up crisp, chimey cleans at lower volumes and sweet, blooming grind as it went into overdrive. Cranked, it delivered searing tube-saturated distortion. Two years of exhaustive R&D went into UA’s Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe plug-in, which captures the sweet sound of this classic in a plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces. Officially endorsed by Fender Musical Instruments, this plug-in nails every sonic nuance of this historical guitar amp by modeling each component of Leo’s 5E3 Deluxe circuit. Finally, guitarists can plug into a computer and get real-deal tube amp sonics and behavior!
TC Electronic TC 2290-DT Desktop-controlled Plug-in
A groundbreaking new concept from TC Electronic, the TC 2290-DT is a versatile hybrid delay solution featuring a plug-in with a dedicated hardware controller. Based on TC’s celebrated TC 2290 dynamic delay hardware unit of the 1980s, the TC 2290-DT is capable of delivering just about any delay type you can imagine, from brisk repeats to complex rhythmic delays to emotive modulated soundscapes. With its ergonomic tactile controls, the TC 2290-DT gives you total control over your delays, as well as the creative freedom to experiment and explore new sonic frontiers.
Waves PuigChild 660 & 670 Plug-in
We all wish we had a Fairchild. The legendary 66-pound, 20-tube compressor/limiter has graced countless classic recordings with its unique, program-dependent brand of soft-knee compression and is one of the most coveted vintage dynamics processors ever made. They are near impossible to find on the used market; and even if you lucked out, the scarcity of original-spec replacement parts — including matched pairs of tubes — and the often substantial ongoing maintenance costs would certainly be a deterrent.
Luckily, the Waves PuigChild 660/670 plug-in puts the sound of producer Jack Joseph Puig’s personal Fairchild in your DAW. From U2 to John Mayer, the dynamics processor modeled for the PuigChild 660/670 has found its way onto countless hit records by U2, Weezer, the Black Crowes, and many others. Not only did Puig work with Waves every step of the way to ensure this plug-in is spot-on, but he even included his own custom presets. As a bonus, you also get onboard mid-side processing for optimal stereo imaging.
Waves PuigTec EQs Plug-in
Courtesy of the producer’s fruitful collaboration with Waves, the personal gear of Jack Joseph Puig makes another appearance in the guise of a plug-in based on Puig’s own Pultec EQP-1A and MEQ-5 tube equalizers. The Waves PuigTec EQP-1A plug-in lets you boost and cut the same frequency range simultaneously — just as you could with a hardware PulTec EQP-1A. This results in a resonant shelf, which can add presence and clarity to your tracks.
The PuigTec MEQ-5 gives you the distinctive tonal characteristics of the MEQ-5 midrange equalizer that have made the original Pultec hardware a staple of high-end studio racks for decades. Its characteristic boost/cut/boost, 3-band design lets you boost and cut across the same frequencies, giving you massive midband shaping control. Together, the broadband PuigTec EQP-1A and the PuigTec MEQ-5 give you a legendary vintage EQ chain that delivers incredible results.
Softube SSL XL 9000 K Series for Console 1 Plug-in
If you’re a Console 1 user, the Softube SSL XL 9000 K Series for Console 1 plug-in puts the sound of an iconic ’90s console in your DAW. This console is famous for creating mixes with wide stereo imaging and ultra-transparent sonics. So transparent, in fact, that the plug-in includes a model of SSL’s Variable Harmonic Drive circuit so you can add distortion for creative mixing techniques.
Combined with Softube’s Console 1 control surface, this plug-in puts the sound-shaping power of a famous SSL console under your fingers. Ask anyone at Sweetwater who has mixed on one of these legendary consoles: the Softube SSL XL 9000 K Series for Console 1 plug-in will help you achieve mixes with solid, deep low end and extended highs.
Waves Abbey Road Chambers Plug-in
The Waves Abbey Road Chambers plug-in re-creates a defining component of the legendary studio’s rich sonic legacy: Studio Two’s live room echo chamber used by Abbey Road recording engineers to create vibrant reverbs, delays, and other signature spatial effects immortalized on records by the Beatles and other hit-makers during the 1960s. From gorgeous natural chamber reverb to enveloping cascading delays, the lush sounds of one of the world’s most famous echo chambers are now at your fingertips with Waves Abbey Road Chambers. Developed in coordination with Abbey Road Studios, Waves Abbey Road Chambers puts you at the controls of Studio Two’s live chamber — outfitted with the original Altec 605 monitor and Neumann KM53 tube mics.
Waves Abbey Road Chambers also gives you access to an additional set of the original filters on the chamber send — the EMI RS106 lowpass/highpass and the EMI RS127 Presence EQ — to sculpt your own signature chamber sound. Also provided is a complete re-creation of Abbey Road’s original S.T.E.E.D. (Send. Tape. Echo. Echo. Delay.) setup that expanded the chamber’s native sonic range by splitting the signal and generating a feedback loop from the studio’s REDD console to a dedicated tape delay, through RS106 and RS127 filters, on to the chamber, and back to the console.
Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates Plug-in
The warm richness of plate reverb is all over your favorite recordings from the 1960s and ’70s. A plate’s stereo reverb results from the suspension, within a large wooden box, of a metal sheet (plate) with tensioned springs affixed to each corner. Audio energy is injected into the plate via a transducer. The sound off the plate is then captured by two contact mics on the plate’s surface. An internal damper gives you control over reverb time. Although plates are not made anymore, Waves has captured what are probably the four best-sounding plates on the planet, complete with plate and damper behaviors, as well as harmonic distortion of both drive and output amps.
Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates plug-in enhances your ‘verb palette with meticulous models of four Abbey Road Studios EMT 140 reverb plates. Dating from the late 1950s, these large reverb devices were used on many legendary recordings, including, of course, classics by the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Flawlessly maintained by Abbey Road engineers, these wonderful-sounding plates deliver variable reverb lengths of up to six seconds. Three of the plates were modified by EMI Labs with custom hybrid solid-state drive amps; the fourth is fully tube powered.
Eventide H910 Harmonizer Plug-in Suite
In 1975, the music world was introduced to the world’s first digital effects processor — the Eventide H910 Harmonizer — and it’s been a fixture in the racks of studio and front of house engineers ever since. The H910 sounded like no other piece of outboard, and it went on to achieve legendary status, adding its juicy signature girth and grit to countless groundbreaking recordings by artists as diverse as David Bowie, Frank Zappa, and AC/DC. For the H910 Harmonizer Plug-in Suite, Eventide meticulously modeled the original hardware, right down to its signature pitch drift when you adjust the knobs just right. As many engineers used two mono H910 units for immersive stereo effects, the Eventide H910 Harmonizer Plug-in Suite includes both mono and stereo versions.
A meticulous re-creation of the legendary hardware unit, the Eventide H910 Harmonizer Plug-in Suite gives you the ability to craft glitchy mechanical effects, drones, or robotic speech via delay, anti-feedback, and self-oscillation. We’ve found the H910’s pitch-shifting ability perfect for adding subtle organic-sounding detuning to synths and slap echo to vocals. But it also lets you create precise musical intervals and perfect harmonies, ultra-fat snares, breathtaking stereo guitar soundscapes, and more.
Eventide Omnipressor Compressor/Limiter Plug-in
Of course, we had to include the plug-in version of an infamous hardware unit: the Eventide Omnipressor. Renowned for its characterful dynamics processing capabilities, the Omnipressor was the secret weapon of big-studio engineers and musicians — particularly guitarists. When Eventide introduced the original hardware unit in the 1970s, a young Brian May of Queen was one of their first customers. The Omnipressor became a fixture in Brian’s guitar rig, and the rest, as they say, is history. Not your everyday compressor, the Omnipressor served up a versatile palette of ways to shape a sound’s dynamics, including the option to twist it beyond all recognition — and the plug-in models the original hardware to a T. Suffice it to say, assuming you already have competent, transparent-sounding compression in your software processing arsenal, the Omnipressor plug-in lets you take a walk on the wild side.
As with the original hardware, you can use the Omnipressor plug-in for basic compression, but that would be missing the point. Omnipressor is a potent dynamics tool that can bend, warp, and totally thrash your signal in ways you never thought possible. Upon instantiating the plug-in the first time, you’ll immediately notice the prominent Function dial. This knob (yes — it was on the original rack unit) takes you from gating, through expansion, to a unity setting at 12 noon. As you continue on to the right, you pass through compression ratios (1.5, 2, 4, and 8:1) to full limiting, before venturing into Dynamic Reversal territory in the last quadrant of the dial. Here is where the fun house mirror kicks in, where signals that exceed the threshold are attenuated and those below the threshold are boosted! With the Omnipressor plug-in, you can completely brutalize your signal if you want. With great power comes great responsibility. We know you’ll use good judgment.
