5 of my go-to Universal Audio plugins just got heavily discounted in the monster Rocktober sale – glow up your recordings from as little as $24

A laptop with an instance of Universal Audio's SSL G Bus compressor running on it

(Image credit: Universal Audio)

With the massive improvements in digital signal processing and modeling technology over the past decade, we can all agree that the line between analog and digital has gotten significantly closer, and the same applies for hardware in the recording world. Universal Audio’s digital recreations of consoles and outboard gear gives you an incredibly good representation of these expensive hardware units, and they’re even cheaper in the Rocktober sale with plugins starting from just $24.

It’s one of quite a few early Prime Day guitar deals I’ve seen emerging over the past few days and although the sale will last the entirety of the month, there’s no guarantee that discounted plugins will stay that way. The end of the sale will take us right up to the start of the Black Friday guitar deals too, so it’s a great one to get you ahead of the game if you’re the sort that likes to plan ahead.

Save big in the Universal Audio Rocktober sale with plugins starting from just $24

I use quite a few different UA plugins in my own productions, whether I’m recording entirely in the box using guitar plugins, or I’m miking up a 2x10 guitar cab with a dynamic and condenser mic in a well-treated space. It’s really amazing how close they mimic the sound of the actual hardware I use, and starting with the plugin version of a hardware unit gives you a good insight into how the actual thing works should you come across one in the wild.

Here are 5 of my favorite plugins, all discounted and available in the UA sale right now.

The API 500 series is one of my favourite bits of outboard in the studio I work in, so when I’m at home the EQ plugin is one of my top choices. An engineer friend of mine described it as ‘revealing’ and I can’t put it any better than that. Even when you start getting into boosting frequencies in the realm of 12dB it still somehow manages to sound good, and despite being initially confusing, I find the two-tiered knobs really quick and easy to use once you get used to them.

While I don’t have an actual one of these to use, it doesn’t stop me from putting the SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor on pretty much all of my productions. It works amazingly on a drum bus for adding punch, as well as on the master bus for helping add that final touch of cohesion in the mix-down phase. I love how it’s really easy to get a good sound out of it, and the built-in presets give you a strong starting point even if you’re not an expert in compression.

Another bit of outboard gear I’m very familiar with, the Avalon BT-737 Tube Channel Strip can be characterised with a single word - clean. Seemingly no matter how hard you push it them the preamps still remain incredibly transparent, delivering a glossy sheen to whatever signals you feed it. With preamp, opto-compressor, and EQ I use it a lot for vocals, but it’s versatile enough to take a shine to pretty much any instrument.

Another plugin I use on pretty much everything, the Oxide Tape Recorder is a regular customer on my drum bus, adding punch and low end warmth to the overall kit sound. It’s super easy to use unlike an actual tape machine, meaning you can apply it effectively with a minimum of fuss. It’s great for getting that final bit of warmth onto any instrument, and is really effective used on buses to help glue everything together.

TOPICS

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at Guitar World. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on guitars, amps, pedals, modelers, and pretty much anything else guitar-related. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including MusicRadar, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog. A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and writing and recording in bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the country in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.