I like some of the UAD stuff. I got a TB Satellite OCTO when I bought my Mac Studio and I don't regret it. I had several projects with UAD plugs all thoughout and this was before they had any native plugs, so I wanted to be able to open old projects and recall the settings, etc. There are some UA reverbs that are pretty nice, but CPU intensive, so I like to give my Mac some "breathing room" and offload thins like the 480L or Hitsville Chambers onto the Satellite and watch DP's Audio Performance meter drop.
I bought Ultimate 11 on after the cutoff date for the free upgrade to Ultimate 12, so I got several other plugs as well as the new Sound City plug which is really very powerful. I was watching a YouTube video the other night where they went into detail and there were features there I didn't know existed. It's out right now as native and it's a bit of a CPU hog, but from what I hear they are going to release the DSP version pretty soon. It's one of those rare occasions where the native version comes to market first.
I think hardware like the UAD-2 Satellites (especially the TB3 varieties) will be useful for years to come. I know the conventional wisdom is that DSP is dead or dying, but I'm intrigued at the possibility that there will be a big sell off of those units on the used market and if I can get a second TB3 OCTO cheap... heck... why not?
This is sort of the same philosophy behind my acquiring a used Avid S3. I'm tickled with this unit. It's built like a tank. it was originally $5K. Avid mentions that they're dropping support in Dec. of 2025 and some people must think they're going to magically stop working, but EUCON is a living breathing protocol so my S3 should be viable for years to come. And people are now dumping units in excellent shape for $2k or less! I got mine for $2K and it absolutely smokes my old MC MIx and MC Control combo. I've combined it with an iPad just to the right of it on a stand running Avid Control which gives me the touch screen and lots of other capabilities. I'm stoked. Not to mention, I just didn't have the room on my desk for an S1 + Dock setup or even two S1s.
The only downside is that EUCON support in DP leaves a lot to be desired. It has improved by leaps and bounds in DP 11, but there are some drawbacks like:
• Adding a plugin to an insert is possible but pointless. There's no hierarchy, forcing you to page through every plugin you own looking for the one you wish to add.
• You can't assign a track to a group using a EUCON control surface.
• The custom parameter mapping for plugins feature isn't reliable on DP. You create the map, quit and reopen the project and rather than seeing parameter names you see "n/a."
The more I start getting into the S3/Artist Control/Artist Control Desktop combo, the more I find myself frustrated by DP's incomplete EUCON implementation. But again, they have made major strides and Jared at MOTU who has posted on this board recently really cares about tackling these bugs and making the EUCON support more robust. I'm actually very encouraged when I see the kind of effort he has put in to squashing bugs. Kudos to you, Jared!!!
