Recording - March 2013 - 36

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Universal Audio Precision K-Stereo Ambience Recovery
and Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor Plug-ins
The UAD-2 platform gains impressive new power for ambience and dynamics control
In our January 2013 issue we ran Darwin Grosse’s in-depth tour of
Universal Audio’s Apollo high-resolution audio interface with realtime UAD
plug-in processing. This month we look at two of UA’s newest plug-ins, which
are available for the Apollo as well as for the company’s UAD-2 DSP cards.

Precision K-Stereo

Originally developed by Bob Katz for Algorithmix, Precision K-Stereo is the
newest member of Universal Audio’s Precision line of UAD plug-ins that also
includes a Buss Compressor, Limiter, De-Esser, a pair of Frequency Enhancers
(Hz & kHz), a Mastering EQ, Multi-Band Compressor and a level Maximizer.
In general the Precision line has a bent toward mastering and sonic problem solving, and they are somewhat unique in the UAD world, as no member of the Precision line is a physical model of a classic or existing piece
of hardware, although it could be argued that perhaps a few of them like
the EQ and Buss Comp should be...
The Precision K-Stereo is a psychoacoustic ambience recovery plug-in
that allows you to alter and enhance the existing ambience and dimensionality of an existing recording. There have been plenty of plug-ins and
hardware boxes with a goal of expanding and altering the stereo field over
the years... all the way back to the ’60s when it was common for record
labels to employ various comb filter techniques to create faux stereo mixes
from mono material. The K-Stereo does none of the above!
According to Universal Audio, the Precision K-Stereo “does not add new
ambience or change the balance of the mix”. So what does it do? It can
extract the existing ambience of the recorded room (and in some cases
even the instrument itself) and allow you to heighten and enhance it.
GUI
The Precision K-Stereo starts with a deceptively simple Ambience section.
Engaging the Recover button turns ambience recovery on and a large control knob ranging from –20 to +9 dB is how you tweak the ambience. It’s
worth noting that even at the default setting of 0 you should hear an audible spatial difference, and negative settings do not lessen or remove ambience. Also in this section are buttons marked Deep and Wide that allow
you to further exaggerate the ambient space.
Next there is a set of Ambience Filters listed on the UA site as follows:
~ Ambience Filters EQ: Off/On enables a 3-band filter to equalize the
ambient signal
~ Ambience Low Cut: Continuous 20 Hz to 1 kHz 12 dB/octave filter with
Off/band bypass
36

RECORDING March 2013

~ Ambience Bell Frequency: Continuous 50 Hz to 10
kHz frequency selection
~ Ambience Bell Q (bandwidth): Continuous 0.5 to
3 octave range
~ Ambience Bell Gain: Continuous ±10 dB range with
RTZ (return to zero) reset when Gain label is clicked
~ Ambience Hi Cut: Continuous 5 kHz to 20 kHz 12
dB/octave filter with Off/band bypass
This section lets you warm up, thicken or add a
touch of openness to the ambient sound. These filters
affect the extracted ambience only, this is not a general-purpose eq section.
Lastly are two pairs of matching attenuation knobs;
the first pair is an M/S gain section that allows you
to adjust the overall Mid-Side mix from –12 to +6 dB;
the second allows you to tweak the Left and Right
gains from –24 dB to +12 dB. All of this is rounded
out by a stereo LED meter.
In use
Lately I have been mastering some live stereo
soundboard mixes for online distribution. Their problem is that the room/sanctuary that they have been
recorded in is very wide. As a result, everything
needs to be mixed in mono and/or very narrow
stereo, or people on one side of the venue simply
can’t hear what’s happening on the other side during
the performance. These soundboard recordings also
tend to be on the dry side.
I was instantly impressed by the Precision K-Stereo’s
ability to pull out the minute amount of ambience in
the recording and add a fuller and more lively sound
to these tracks. In these recordings, 3 to 5 dB seemed
to be the sweet spot with the width engaged.
My second use of this plug-in was to enhance a
single-mic mono drum track from a live in-studio
Americana jam session. There was already a fair
amount of room sound around the kit, as well as
bleed, but again the Precision K-Stereo pulled the
sound of the room forward in a believable but not
overdone way that gave the drums an extra edge of
excitement and vibe.
Lastly, for grins, I wanted to see what the Precision
K-Stereo could do on an old ’60s mono recording,
and I chose the 2009 mono remastered version of
the Beatles’ “If I Fell” from A Hard Day’s Night,
which, even being mono, features a beautiful room
sound as well as EMI’s famous echo chamber. Again,
it did as advertised and brought out the reverb and
space, giving an illusion of stereo depth and width,
without altering the integrity of the recording.



Recording - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2013

Recording - March 2013
Fade In
Table of Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
Behringer X32
MXL CR30 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone
Plug-in Performance on Windows-based DAWs
Steinberg CMC Series USB Controllers For Cubase
Recording’s Showcase of Sounds: Rob Papen Punch
Plug-in Outlet: 2C Audio B2
Universal Audio Precision K-Stereo and Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
Big Money Drums—Part 2
Reviewed & Revisited: Acoustica Mixcraft 6
Plug-in Outlet: Massey Plugins CT5 Compressor
The Mixing Workshop: Better Mixes Through Creative Editing—Part 2 (The Band)
Readers' Tapes
Kush Audio Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer and Clariphonic DSP Plug-in
Plug-in Outlet: Eventide H3000 Factory
Reviewed & Revisited: iZotope Alloy 2
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 15: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 2
Plug-in Outlet: PSP Audioware PSP BussPressor
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - March 2013 - Recording - March 2013
Recording - March 2013 - Cover2
Recording - March 2013 - 1
Recording - March 2013 - 2
Recording - March 2013 - 3
Recording - March 2013 - Fade In
Recording - March 2013 - 5
Recording - March 2013 - Table of Contents
Recording - March 2013 - 7
Recording - March 2013 - Talkback
Recording - March 2013 - 9
Recording - March 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - March 2013 - 11
Recording - March 2013 - 12
Recording - March 2013 - 13
Recording - March 2013 - Behringer X32
Recording - March 2013 - 15
Recording - March 2013 - 16
Recording - March 2013 - 17
Recording - March 2013 - 18
Recording - March 2013 - 19
Recording - March 2013 - MXL CR30 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone
Recording - March 2013 - 21
Recording - March 2013 - Plug-in Performance on Windows-based DAWs
Recording - March 2013 - 23
Recording - March 2013 - 24
Recording - March 2013 - 25
Recording - March 2013 - 26
Recording - March 2013 - 27
Recording - March 2013 - Steinberg CMC Series USB Controllers For Cubase
Recording - March 2013 - 29
Recording - March 2013 - Recording’s Showcase of Sounds: Rob Papen Punch
Recording - March 2013 - 31
Recording - March 2013 - 32
Recording - March 2013 - 33
Recording - March 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: 2C Audio B2
Recording - March 2013 - 35
Recording - March 2013 - Universal Audio Precision K-Stereo and Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
Recording - March 2013 - 37
Recording - March 2013 - 38
Recording - March 2013 - 39
Recording - March 2013 - Big Money Drums—Part 2
Recording - March 2013 - 41
Recording - March 2013 - 42
Recording - March 2013 - 43
Recording - March 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: Acoustica Mixcraft 6
Recording - March 2013 - 45
Recording - March 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: Massey Plugins CT5 Compressor
Recording - March 2013 - 47
Recording - March 2013 - The Mixing Workshop: Better Mixes Through Creative Editing—Part 2 (The Band)
Recording - March 2013 - 49
Recording - March 2013 - Readers' Tapes
Recording - March 2013 - 51
Recording - March 2013 - 52
Recording - March 2013 - 53
Recording - March 2013 - 54
Recording - March 2013 - 55
Recording - March 2013 - Kush Audio Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer and Clariphonic DSP Plug-in
Recording - March 2013 - 57
Recording - March 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: Eventide H3000 Factory
Recording - March 2013 - 59
Recording - March 2013 - Reviewed & Revisited: iZotope Alloy 2
Recording - March 2013 - 61
Recording - March 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 15: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 2
Recording - March 2013 - 63
Recording - March 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: PSP Audioware PSP BussPressor
Recording - March 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - March 2013 - 66
Recording - March 2013 - 67
Recording - March 2013 - 68
Recording - March 2013 - 69
Recording - March 2013 - 70
Recording - March 2013 - 71
Recording - March 2013 - Fade Out
Recording - March 2013 - Cover3
Recording - March 2013 - Cover4
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