In the last issue, we took a hands-on look at the Universal Audio UAD-2 cards – both the PCIe UAD-2 Quad and the ExpressCard version, the UAD-2 Solo/Laptop. At the time, I mainly tested the cards with Apple’s Logic Studio 9, as my Pro Tools|HD system was in the process of upgrading from PCI to PCIe for a new Mac Pro computer. Since then, several readers have asked about combining the UAD-2 with Pro Tools|HD, and since my HD rig is now back up and running, let’s take a look at how the two work together.
The first (and only) obstacle I faced was that I have a Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel system, which completely fills all three available PCIe slots in my Mac Pro. This meant that I had to swap out the UAD-2 Quad card for one of the Accel cards. Easy enough… I installed the Pro Tools cards first, in slots 2 and 3 (slot 1 holds the video card), and slipped the UAD-2 Quad into the remaining slot, slot 4. There are no connections required for using the UAD with Pro Tools; you just install the card in the slot as normal.
Once the cards are installed, the software is installed as normal. The plug-ins that are installed for the UAD in the Pro Tools plug-in folder are “wrapped” versions, which convert the regular VST-format plug-ins into RTAS-format plug-ins that are compatible with Pro Tools LE or HD. An extra plug-in, the MellowMuse ATA (Automatic Time Adjuster) plug-in is also installed. This plug-in is necessary for UAD plug-in latency compensation when running Pro Tools LE, but it’s not required for use with Pro Tools|HD, which has built-in latency compensation.
With everything installed, the UAD-2 plug-ins show up and operate in Pro Tools just like any other plug-in. They are collected into a “Wrapped Plug-ins” folder or in a Universal Audio folder in your plug-in menu (depending on how you are choosing to organize and view your plug-ins).
Here’s just one other thing to keep in mind: plug-in delay compensation must be turned on in order to keep everything lined up properly. This setting is found in the Playback Engine window, which is accessed in the Pro Tools Setup menu. When delay compensation is on, there is a red “Dly” indicator visible in the counter area at the top of the Edit window.
Combining these two really gives you the best of both worlds – or, actually, three worlds: Pro Tools TDM plug-ins; Pro Tools RTAS plug-ins; and the UAD-2 plug-ins, which appear as RTAS plug-ins but use the DSP resources of the UAD-2 to run, keeping the load off of your computer. Since there are a lot of plug-ins on the UAD-2 platform that don’t have direct equivalents on the Pro Tools|HD platform (such as the Roland plug-ins, the Harrison EQ, and many others), this is a match made in heaven!
The combination of a Universal Audio UAD-2 card and Pro Tools|HD can really increase the versatility of your plug-in rig. I’ve done one tracking/mixing project and one mixing/mastering project with the combination rig so far, and I’m convinced. Together, Pro Tools|HD and the UAD-2 offer tons of power and a wide range of plug-in options that easily address all my needs.