Universal Audio has unveiled a new free software bundle that brings together eight of its most sought-after plugins in a single package, along with LUNA, the company's free DAW. The software is available for both macOS and Windows with no UA hardware required.
UAD Explore FREE features a number of Universal Audio's well-known software emulations of classic analogue gear, including the company's plugin recreations of the UA 1176 and Teletronix LA-2A, undoubtedly the most renowned compressors in recording history.
Alongside the 1176 Classic FET Compressor and Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor plugins, you also get UA's 610 Tube Preamp and EQ Collection, which brings together two plugins based on Universal Audio channel strips, the vintage UA 610-A and the modern UA 610-B.
Article continues belowThe 610 plugins are built to recreate the characterful tube saturation produced by UA preamps, with both input and output circuits equipped with an independent tube-driven gain-stage. Both plugins also offer broad-strokes tone-shaping, with the 610-B providing finer control over frequency ranges.
UA has also thrown in the Century Tube Channel Strip, a vintage-inspired recording channel that comprises a virtual tube preamp, three-band EQ and an optical compressor.
This is joined by Vibe Analog Machines Essentials, a tool designed to bring expressive character and warmth to mixes via four different flavours of tape-style saturation, and Pure Plate Reverb, a meticulously modelled plate reverb emulation that UA says captures all of "the sonic and mechanical nuances" of this beloved electromechanical effect.
UAD Explore FREE has something for the guitarists amongst you, too, in the form of the UAD Showtime '64 Tube Amp, an amp sim released late last year. The plugin is based on the punchy tones of a vintage Fender Showman, a high-headroom tube amp originally designed for surf music pioneer Dick Dale that's been relied upon by The Beatles, John Frusciante and David Gilmour, among others.
Alongside these seven effects is one of Universal Audio's few software instruments, the PolyMAX synth. Drawing inspiration from the "golden age of polysynthesis", PolyMAX is billed as a "modern synth with retro roots": it's a solid, straightforward poly with an intuitive interface that makes designing basic patches quick and relatively simple.
Joining these eight plugins in the bundle is LUNA, a DAW that has UA's analogue emulations embedded in its mixing workflow, integrating the sound of classic channel strips, consoles, and tape machines into the DAW itself. Last year, LUNA was updated with a number of AI-powered features, including voice control and automatic instrument and tempo detection.
Almost all of these titles have been given away for free at various points in the past for limited time periods, but UAD Explore FREE marks the first time the company has bundled this many together and offered them up free of charge on a perpetual basis.
If you're just getting started with recording, this would make an excellent starter pack that covers most of the bases, but even if you're a seasoned producer with an extensive plugin collection, UAD Explore FREE is a golden opportunity to snag some of UA's most popular software tools for nothing.
UAD Explore FREE is available now from the Universal Audio website.
To download the bundle, you'll need to create a Universal Audio account, install the UA Connect app and activate the plugins with iLok. Here's a guide to getting started.
UAD Explore FREE:
- UA 1176 Classic FET Compressor
- Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor
- UA 610 Tube Preamp & EQ Collection
- Pure Plate Reverb
- Vibe Analog Machines Essentials
- Showtime '64 Tube Amp
- Century Tube Channel Strip
- PolyMAX Synth
- LUNA Digital Audio Workstation
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