In this context, the artist can play with his voice to modulate the tuning and immediately hear how it affects the result. On the other hand, I am often involved in projects where the artist is looking to get “that sound” and I’m pleased to oblige especially with the UAD Antares Auto-Tune Realtime which lets me track an artist through it with no latency. I have to admit this is not something I go to for my productions, the singer I work with hates that sound, and I’m not a fan myself. Auto-TuneĪuto-Tune… one of the most contentious vocal inventions ever made. Whether you are producing rock or EDM, the Cooper Time Cube is an incredible asset to have, not just on vocals, but on guitars, synths and much more. Play with the presets, however, and you’ll understand how powerful this little unit is. The provided presets are great at showcasing the strength of this unit, and while its interface is relatively easy to understand, the possibilities offered by this unit are not necessarily obvious for people not familiar with the original unit or with mixing background. It’s also great for the more traditional use of delays with a grainy sound that adds a tremendous amount of character. Capable of producing very short delay, the Cooper Time Cube can be used as a doubler adding width to vocals, making them sound fat and help them sit perfectly in the mix. The reason, I like this unit, in addition to its unique sound, is how versatile it is. The hardware unit initially designed by Universal Audio founder Bill Putnam in collaboration with Duane H Cooper, used a garden hose as the delay element. This unique delay is a surprisingly versatile unit with a truly unique tone. Its simple interface and controls also make it ideal to dial in the perfect reverb for tracking quickly, giving vocalists, a rich and pleasant sound back in their monitoring all latency-free. On heavy mixes or for people working with a simple UAD-2 Apollo Twin Solo or Duo, the UAD Pure Plate Reverb (which is included in Universal Audio’s Apollo Twin Vocal promotion), is a great alternative, adding many of the benefits of the EMT140 without as much DSP requirement. The natural sheen of plate reverbs, really lends itself to vocals adding depth and clarity. I usually go to the fully fledged UAD EMT140 Plate Reverb for vocals. There is something magic about plate reverbs, and while I will never have enough room ever to own one, UAD’s emulations are spot-on. There is so much that you can do with the Thermionic Culture Vulture and not just on vocals, I find it invaluable in my arsenal.
For these extreme settings, I tend to like the high-cut filters as well which removes some of the harshness caused by the distortion. In such situations, however, like the original hardware, the bass can get lost and use the Mix knob (not found on the original unit) if necessary to dial some of it back. For a more aggressive sound, it’s capable of adding a lot of grit yet remain very musical. Its classy distortion is particularly well suited for vocals in my opinion especially in triode mode where it adds a pleasant sheen, weight and presence effortlessly. In small dose it has a great ability to add presence and gravitas, helping any source I put through it cut through in a mix.
The UAD Thermionic Culture Vulture is the best-sounding distortion plug-in I have in my arsenal and is my go-to distortion processor for almost anything from drums, guitars, synths, vocals even a buss. I love distortion on vocals (I grew up listening to Butch Vig’s productions and metal), but as I get older, I find myself using it less and less as an effect and more and more as an enhancer. I reviewed this plugin when it was released, and you can read my thoughts in the UAD Manley VoxBox Review. The Manley Voxbox is possibly the ultimate vocal channel strip with a high-fidelity valve mic preamp, optical compressor, Pultec-style EQ, de-esser/Limiter. Universal Audio has been recreating incredibly realistic emulations of some of the best hardware equipment that gets used on all the best recordings we love, giving music creators amazing tools for recording, mixing and mastering.Īs Universal Audio is running a fantastic Vocal Plug-in promotion with their Apollo Twin Audio Interfaces, I wanted to share with you some of the plug-ins I use all the time or my go-to choice for specific tasks.