UAD is a system based on a PCI card or Firewire box filled with a load (1-8) of SHARC DSP chips. This really allowed Universal Audio to establish a strong market and loyal customer base for the UAD system. This was a godsend in the professional market, backed up by the quality of the plug-ins on the system being up there with the best if not better than the rest and for a long long time. No longer did you have to skimp on what was effected or have to pass on using your favourite reverb on things. Originally, when CPU power was the most restricting element in a DAW, they offered you a load of extra DSP processing to enable you to get your projects finished. The UAD system has been around for a long time. This is why in this article we are taking a look at one of their very latest plugins – the Fairchild compressor collection – mk-2.

This was an interesting proposition back in 1999, a noble goal, and one that was going to take some time and technological advancement for them to achieve. The new incarnation of Universal Audio was re-founded in 1999 by Bill’s sons, James Putnam and Bill Putnam Jr., with two main goals: to faithfully reproduce classic analogue recording equipment in the tradition of their father, and to design new digital recording tools with the sound and in the spirit of vintage analogue technology. Each of these companies were mega successful in their own right and responsible for producing some legendary equipment. Universal Audio was originally founded in 1958 by Bill Putnam Sr., a man who had set up three separate companies of note:Universal Audio, Studio Electronics, and UREI. So we kick off the new review sections official launch with this look into UAD-2, and there Fairchild Compressor model mk2. Sharing some ways to use them and tips and techniques as always. These wont be your ordinary reviews but often a more in depth and sometimes wider ranging look at some company’s and bits of kit that we think you would love as much as we do. Ok so lately on the production blog we have been sharing some thoughts on some super useful bits of kit we use and we have decided to make it official and launch a Reviews section on the site which I will be adding too regularly from now onwards.

Fairchild legacy vs uad