#512151 - 04/14/04 01:32 AM
UAD Fairchild Plug in
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Green Latern
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Registered: 04/13/04
Posts: 8
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Has anyone tried this plug in? I was wondering what people's thoughts were on this particular plug in.
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#512152 - 04/14/04 09:17 AM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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Neil Wilkes
Gold Member
Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 511
Loc: London, UK
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This beast is awesome. for $149 you cannot go wrong, and it works almost identically to the original.
You also get a mono version.
Can't big it up enough. Takes a bit of getting used to, as there are options that are not in most compressors, such as DC bias and Lateral/Vertical modes too.
Go buy it - you won't regret it. Also check out the Pultec Pro whilst there.
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#512153 - 04/14/04 11:56 AM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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System 8
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Registered: 11/01/02
Posts: 236
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I have the UAD and have tried the demo of the Fairchild. At -3db settings, it is similar to the LA2 compressor already in the UAD. If you switch back and forth and listen closely, there is a little bit more softening of the audio with the Fairchild. When you boost the compression to -6 or -8 db, that is when you notice more of a difference between the two. The LA2 cannot keep the signal as smooth as the Fairchild. Also the Fairchild tends to smooth and fatten up the bass guitar that the LA2 cannot. On the opposite side the 1176 keeps the bas punchy and crips. So depends on what flavor you want. I have decided to get the Fairchild for my studio.
Does anyone one know anywhere where there is a lesson or ideas on how to best use the Fairchild on the web. It apears that you need a different approach with this unit compared to most compressors? Usually I will go -3db on mastering, and up to -6db if I need to correct something or to help control sessions where the engineer allowed the signal to get too hot. OF course on the other side, I use some compression to bring up the vocals or guitar in a mix. The Fairchild appears to be more of a shape-ning compressor of your sound more than anything else. Is this true? Also is the original Fairchild optic, tube or a VCA type of compressor in character. Yes I know the plug in is not the real thing, and probably not as good as the hardware unit, but for $150, it can get close enough to save your studio lots of money.
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#512154 - 04/15/04 12:51 AM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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Middle Man
Senior Member
Registered: 05/31/00
Posts: 68
Loc: In the studio
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The Fairchild, it is good, very good. I agree with the comments about using it on a bass, it really fills out the sound field.
I don't care for its color on the main stereo buss, its almost too much, but on vocals and most anything else it's as close to hardware as software gets.
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#512155 - 04/15/04 10:25 AM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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Neil Wilkes
Gold Member
Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 511
Loc: London, UK
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This is not my work, but that of SoundSmiths Mastering, who posted this guide on the "unofficial" UAD-1 forums, so I'm sure he won't mind me quoting it here for all. It works, too.
Please be aware that the Fairchild 670 was widely (almost universally) used in mastering, expecially in the days of vinyl where the Lat/Vert mode allowed mastering engineers to control the factors affecting groove dimensions. So it was every bit a mastering device.
It is no less useful to us today for mastering digital media, but it is not the most intuitive device. A good deal of time is required to master the art of using this peice of gear. That is as true of the hardware version as of the software. The engineers who invested 30 grand in this thing did not expect it to run itself. They were tweakers to the max. They spent hours listening to the audible effects of changing parameters. Should we choose not to do so, we will get proportionately less usefulness from it.
For mastering a full mix with the 670, you will almost certainly need to use something other than the default settings or factory presets. You will probably want to start by backing off on the Bias setting to about 2-3 o'clock.
That will get you in the stadium. To find your row and seat, you'll probably want little (or no) Input Gain, and a low (or zero) Threshold. You'll probably want to use a Time Constant of something other than 1-3 (most likely one of the Program Dependent modes, 5 or 6, or occasionally 4, rarely 3). The ideal Time Constant setting will vary greatly with the above parameters and the source material. So it may be necessary to change this and go back to square one and start again if you don't like where you're heading.
You'll probably be most happy on a full mix when you see little or no activiy on the Gain Reduction meters, even in loud passages. That may be counter-intuitive, but it works. You are trying to acheive a smoothing and sweetening effect, not a brute force taming of dynamics. Today, we have very good brickwall limiters to use after the 670, such as the L2, etc. Use them.
Much experimentation is needed to familiarize yourself with the wide variety of possible outcomes. For example, did you know that tweaking the "Balance" screw has a measurable and audible affect on the sound? Originally this would tweak the voltages across the 6386 tubes, which does not produce a straight-forward effect on stereo level when the two screws are set slightly differently.
Rather it causes low-level dynamic phase variations that can be quite euphonic. I find that on mono signals and some stereo mixes, it is best to have these two screws set exactly the same (with fine increments of the keyboard), preferably so that the little paint dot is at the 12 o'clock position. But for many mixes, I have preferred the sound of one screw set fully clockwise and the other fully counter-clockwise, or somewhere in between. Try it and see what you hear.
Again, I say that this is a complex and amazing piece of gear, and it will be some time before the user gains enough familiarity with it to know instinctively where to go to get the desired result. But for those of you who have not had much time to spend with the 670 on a full mix, I urge you to do so. I warn you though, that you may end up like me. I agree that for most material, it doesn't sound right any more until it's been through the Fairchild! And I've never had ANY piece of equipment, let alone software, about which I could say that!
This should get you up & running nicely with the Fairchild. If anyone else has tips from the days when they used to use the real thing, then please post them here. It's a complex beast, but well worth getting to know.
Also, try this on guitars for that Tom Petty sound:
Time Constant - 1
Input Gain - 0 to 4 (try 0)
Threshold - 0 to 4 (try 0)
Factory calibration - around 2:00 (turn anticlockwise unti the highs become crisp again)
The harder you hit them, the better these plugs sound too. If you are after the mastering "sheen" then use the method above. If on a solo track, then hit it hard.
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#512156 - 04/18/04 03:29 PM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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GY
Platinum Member
Registered: 12/19/00
Posts: 1121
Loc: Santa Ynez, CA
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I think I'm missing something. Is the 670 a separate DXI plug, or do have to buy a DSP board (UAD) for these to work? The product discription is vague.
TNX, GY
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#512157 - 04/18/04 05:55 PM
Re: UAD Fairchild Plug in
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Green Latern
Member
Registered: 04/13/04
Posts: 8
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The Fairchild plug in is a plug in from UAD. However it is a separate purchase as it is not included with the standard software when you install the UAD on your computer. You must pay $150 extra to get it, as you also have to pay extra for the Cambridge Eq. Both are well worth getting.
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