Bass guys with UAD... Which do you use?

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Elan Vital

Member
So I'm sort of in a bind here. I'm having to make a choice between an AxeFX III and a UAD setup with their SVT package. They are literally dead nuts the same price when I factor in selling my FX8, which I adore. I would ideally like to pickup an AxeFX III, but at least one person I really trust in this domain tipped their hat to UAD. But I don't know if their impressions predate a lot of the firmware updates. Either way, I really dislike modelling as a general rule. I use my FX8 for digital delay and a couple other intentionally digital things, and for that, it's outstanding. I am an annoying purist, but even as an annoying purist I realize I can't be blasting an 8x10 in my house to record. It's too crazy, even as a guy who does it with 100w heads.

So I'd like to hear more of what your experiances are.

Thanks!
 
I have a Axe III but I track bass via UAD SVT and playback with a DBX 160 and it is a killer sound. Not a big fan of UAD amp sims but the bass is killer.
 
HI Elan,

I cannot comment on the UAD, however I certainly can on the Axe FX 3 for bass.
With the release of Cygnus firmware, the Axe FX 'came of age' for bass. Until then, I struggled to get a great (could always get an 'ok') bass tone. With Cygnus, whatever undefinable attributes that may have been missing for bass are there - It's now a truly excellent modeller for bass.
Team that up with the @austinbuddy bass presets, and you cannot go wrong.

Thanks
Pauly

Elan Vital said:
So I'm sort of in a bind here. I'm having to make a choice between an AxeFX III and a UAD setup with their SVT package. They are literally dead nuts the same price when I factor in selling my FX8, which I adore. I would ideally like to pickup an AxeFX III, but at least one person I really trust in this domain tipped their hat to UAD. But I don't know if their impressions predate a lot of the firmware updates. Either way, I really dislike modelling as a general rule. I use my FX8 for digital delay and a couple other intentionally digital things, and for that, it's outstanding. I am an annoying purist, but even as an annoying purist I realize I can't be blasting an 8x10 in my house to record. It's too crazy, even as a guy who does it with 100w heads.

So I'd like to hear more of what your experiances are.

Thanks!
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Elan Vital said:
What is it about the UAD that you think Fractal lacks?
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Yeah please don't misunderstand me. Fractal is a beautiful thing. Whether I use Fractal or UAD for tone source on guitars or bass I'm going to use UAD for monitoring. Console is just that good for balancing your monitor mix. When I stumbled onto the UAD bass chain I finally hit pay dirt for my tone search. Drummer I have recorded with for decades noticed it so much he comments on it every track I send him...lol.

For me getting the right bass tone (recorded) has never been easy. I have only tried it a few times on the Fractal and I just couldn't gel. That most definitely doesn't mean it's not in there as I am sure it is. It's just I found something that works and have no reason to change it. Just like the Axe III works for my guitars and no reason to change them. I do like being able to save my session chain on UAD as it keeps me consistent.

I would not know how to advise you on your quest. I couldn't give up my Fractal or UAD.

PS... as a side note after re-reading your original post ... it's been a good while since I have experimented with the Axe III for bass and it was many firmware revisions ago when I did. Based on some of the comments I'm seeing on here I'm going to check it out again.
 
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Agree with #pauly that bass sounds got a lot better with most recent software set, Cygnus. I've been a big time SVT fan for many years. I learnt not to hate modelling for guitar a few years back, but never really felt it for bass guitar sounds. I have only used my Axe FX III with factory IRs for bass guitar, and in my smaller rehearsal room I'm just using a pair of Adam A5X (how anyone needs a subwoofer I will never know, those little speakers can play the room). In the bigger full band room I'm using a 3 way 15" FRFR cab driven by a Matrix GT1000FX, and it can definitely recreate the Ampeg 8x10 vibe that I remember from 20 years back, including finding anything that can reverberate in striking distance (including an annoying rattle up in the ceiling :) ;)).

Bass guitar is not my primary instrument I'll admit, but I don't feel any great need to explore other options. Prior to Cygnus, I was fine for playing around at home with bass through the Axe FX, but for a recording that anyone might hear, or a formal paid gig, I generally looked for other options. UAD never turned up, so I never tried any of their products. I don't feel the need for that anymore, with the Axe FX III and latest upgrades, it just works.

Liam
 
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Cygnus SVT-2 model in the axe fx 3 is great. I bought an axe fx 3 just for bass a few weeks ago and was planning on posting a review and potentially sound clips, but I was recently diagnosed with tendonitis in my left wrist so I haven’t had a chance to play it as much as I would like. Tones are stellar whether through studio monitors or into the effects return of a traditional bass amp.
 
mwd said:
I have a Axe III but I track bass via UAD SVT and playback with a DBX 160 and it is a killer sound. Not a big fan of UAD amp sims but the bass is killer.
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I’d like to second this and elaborate a bit. I have them set up right next to each other in the studio and they are both excellent sounds. I use the AxeFX over the UAD for guitar every time. However for bass, I find myself plugging in to the UAD almost all of the time.

The sound quality is very close, but the workflow of getting a good sound with the UAD is much easier. As mentioned above, the console is zero latency so that’s not an issue. The main thing is that if you record a direct track, the UAD lets you tweak the parameters after tracking without reconfiguring and recording a reamp track. Listening solo, I like the detail in the AxeFX sound a bit better, but it takes a lot of processing to get that sound to sit in a mix well. It seems better suited to live situations. In the studio, the UAD is very easy to dial in something that sounds great in the mix.

If I want to add another 10% of polish to the track, I will record the unprocessed bass DI track plugged in the AxeFX input, with the AES out to the Apollo, and then put the UAD plug-in on that track in the DAW for the amp sound. The UAD guitar plug-ins sound noticeably better when using the AxeFX input stage as well.

The UAD guitar plug-ins still don’t compare to the AxeFx so its worth it to me to use the clunkier workflow for the better sound. For bass I find the SVT sounds on the UAD to be better for my purposes and easier to work with. I do not have the same opinion of the other UAD bass plug-ins. I have not been impressed with anything but the SVT’s.

It really depends what you are doing and what your priorities are. For quickly recording a good sound with the fewest hassles, UAD plug-ins sound good enough. For recording bass easily with a good SVT sound, I’d still lean more towards UAD. But if you want the versatility of getting better guitar sounds too, and don’t care so much about the workflow, then AxeFX is probably going to serve you better. If you ever plan to play live, AxeFX easily wins, both for sound and logistics.
 
Fractal and UAD have opposite philosophies on customer loyalty and satisfaction. On that alone, fractal will always be the clear winner.

fvck UAD. Twice.
 
Bruce Sokolovic said:
Fractal and UAD have opposite philosophies on customer loyalty and satisfaction. On that alone, fractal will always be the clear winner.

fvck UAD. Twice.
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UAD upgrade and update policies have been roundly and probly justifiably criticized , especially recently with the various Luna /API snafus, and I sympathize , and agree..but TWO Fvcks??!?!?
 
You can buy the UAD SVT plugin from plugin alliance. Igor Nembrini, along with the brainworx team, created the vast majority of the guitar/bass amp based plugins that UA sells. Now that a few years have passed, some of the older amp simulations, among them the SVT, have become available at plugin alliance, which belongs to the owner of brainworx.

You have to wait for sales, but it's not unusual to snatch their plugins for 20 or 30 dollars a piece, especially if you have coupons. And yes, provided you have a good audio interface, the differences between running the SVT inside the console and running it inside a program like Gigperfomer or your DAW should be imperceivable.

The Axe III SVT model still sounds better, though I agree that it's slightly easier to obtain specific tones faster inside the brainworx plugin, due to the larger number of SVT specific IRs.

I'd only use UA for their compressor and fx plugins, - the new c-vox noise suppressor is great as well as their SDD 3000 and Lexicon/AMS emulations - though Arturia has made great progress in that field and pretty much closed the gap to UA at a lower price. As far as EQs and preamp emulations are concerned, I'd go the Acustica Audio route.

Since preamps are a big thing in the bass world, I'd urge you to check out the Acustica Audio Black plugin. It might not be suitable for zero latency playing, but it does the analog mojo thing very well, and they provide some Neve preamp emulations for free.
 
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