Recording - August 2017 - 38

Manley Labs Nu Mu and Universal Audio
with 10 dB of makeup gain above unity.
On the input side, there is no dual input
control pot, but rather input levels are finessed on a per-channel basis via a pair
of 3-position toggle switches at 0, +3 or
-3 dB.
The following controls are global and accessed by six white backlit mode buttons.
They are: Compress (1.2:1 to 3:1)-Limit
(1.5:1 to 12:1), Bypass, Channel Link, HP
SC (High Pass Side Chain Filter -3dB @
100 Hz, 6 dB/octave), Output Meter (unlike the Variable Mu, the Nu Mu meter can
show gain reduction or output level), and
finally a new feature labeled HIP.
According to the manual, "The HIP
control allows compression to happen
at lower volumes (lower in the dynamic
range spectrum), but leaves the louder
dynamics alone while still compressing
the overall signal. You get louder soft
sections with the original dynamics of
the louder sections." Essentially the
volume of lower level audio rises quickly
yet gently up to the levels of louder

Universal Audio Manley
Variable Mu plug-in

sections, but not via compression. This
is my favorite feature of the Nu Mu!

Nu guts

Ins and outs on the Nu Mu are similar
to those on the Variable Mu, with added
1
/4" inserts for true sidechaining (this is
an additional option on the Variable Mu).
Inside the Nu Mu, the signal path starts
with Manley's IRON input transformers,
followed two channels of the 6BA6 T-Bar
mod, for a total of four tubes in the Nu Mu.
Special note should also be made
of Manley's new custom-designed high
voltage switching power supply. While
we don't often make a big deal about
the power supplies in our audio gear,
this one is custom-optimized for tube
gear, and EveAnna Manley told me that
she and her team are very proud of it.

In use: tracking and mixing

First, I put the Nu Mu to use in my
studio, mainly on stereo and drum bus
duties as well as on vocals, bass, and

guitars. On the bus, like its big brother, I
found the Nu Mu to work its best magic
when compressing or limiting only up to
2-3 dB at most. It's not so much a
distortion/saturation box like the Variable
Mu, but it still offers the same smooth,
grabby compression feel and release.
Overall this is a "glue it and gel it" box,
not so much a "pump and jump" box
like an SSL VCA-style compressor. For this
reason, I liked it for firming up drum mixes more than slamming them.
As a vocal compressor, you can hit
deep without sounding weird, and HIP
was great for balancing out dynamic
vocal parts while still sounding natural.
I found this to be a nice guitar bus
compressor for holding multiple guitar
passes in place, more than as a
single-channel guitar compressor.
The 2-bus is where the Nu Mu really
shines, especially with the HIP control.
This allows a mix to pop, but not sound
overcompressed or too limited. This is
especially nice for modern music with a

$299; www.uaudio.com
Universal Audio has teamed
up with Manley Labs to craft an
"input to output and all valves in
between" model of the Manley Variable Mu. It's exclusively for use on UAD-2 Powered Plug-in devices as well as all of UA's
Apollo interface boxes.
Like UA's previous Manley models, the Variable Mu is a knob for knob and control for control creation that looks and
functions exactly like the original. It's based on the current T-Bar mod version, without stepped controls (unlike the Manley
Massive Passive model, which was compared to the hardware and reviewed in our February 2015 issue).
In addition to the real-world controls, UA has also included a few plug-in-only additions. These include an optional Mid/
Side mode, and more importantly a headroom control. That's essential for getting the plug-in to distort and saturate like its
real-world counterpart without clipping the channel in your DAW. Lastly the plug-in also has a wet-dry mix control, so you
can do instant blending and parallel processing.
The UA Variable Mu uses the least CPU of all of the UA-Manley family, at 16.3% for a mono instance and 25.0% for
stereo. That gives you 6 mono or 4 stereo instances on a UAD-2 SOLO device, up to 48 mono or 32 stereo instances on an
OCTO. Not that I can see why you might need that many Variable Mu on a mix, but hey, it's your mix...
Mastering engineer Justin Perkins and I set up and compared his mastering version of the Variable Mu alongside the plugin with test tones for proper input levels. As I often experience with plug-ins vs. hardware, the input level controls of the two
are rarely the same, but matching the attack, release and threshold was pretty spot on ballistically.
As with my previous UA-Manley comparisons, these units are sonically so close it's scary. Similar to what we found with
the Massive Passive plug-in, the most noticeable difference between the hardware and software was in the 3-dimensionality
of the low end, more than the high end "air" like it often is with other plug-in models.
Once again, UA have freakin' nailed it on the Manley front and both Universal Audio's and EveAnna Manley's high
standards have paid off. According to Justin, the Manley UA models are the main reason he bought an Apollo Twin, so he
could master and tweak projects in progress on the road!
38

RECORDING August 2017

http://www.uaudio.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2017