Recording - April 2018 - 44

Plug-In Outlet

Universal
Audio Pure

Plate for UAD-2
and Apollo
Review by Darwin Grosse
Plate reverbs, since their invention, have always held a
special place in the hearts of studio rats. The basic construction
is the same in most cases: you have a sheet metal plate that

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RECORDING April 2018

gets 'excited' by a driver (which is basically a speaker element
without a cone), and pickups that capture the sound emanating
through the plate. Since the plate roughly simulates a room-it
has reflecting boundaries, and the sound moves outward from
the driver toward the pickups-it makes for an effective and
interesting-sounding reverb system.
There are many factors that determine how a plate reverb
sounds: the metal used and the thickness of the plate, the size
and type of the driver, the pickups in use, and the electronics
used to push the driver and amplify the pickups. As with many
recording technologies, vintage can be better-and that is the
vibe that is imbued in the UAD Pure Plate.
Pure Plate is part of Universal Audio's ever-expanding lineup
of UAD Powered Plug-ins that take advantage of the powerful
DSP found in their Apollo interfaces and UAD-2 accelerator
cards. The advantages of a DSP-based plug-in is that it makes
few demands on the host computer, and will work consistently
regardless of the complexity of your DAW project.
While many Powered Plug-ins are emulations of specific
gear, Pure Plate is a case where Universal chose an idealized
device: a plate reverb that exhibits the characteristics from
classic designs. It is built using the device modeling
techniques that UA is famous for, but is unique in the way that
it draws you into active use.
The user control options are quite clear, with some simple
frequency adjustments (low cut switching, low and high
shelving EQ), stereo balancing, and an output mix. You control
the reverb algorithm with two controls: a predelay slider and
a reverb time control-which also animates a cool visual of
a damper (the pad that is pressed against a physical plate
to reduce its reverb time). Finally, there is a 'Power' switch
that can bypass the device and a "Wet Solo" switch, which
switches to full-on reverb-a useful option when tuning the
plate's response.
Other than working on the UAD DSP systems, what's special
about this reverb? For my money, it combines a great plate
reverb sound with an engaging user interface-a combo that
is deadly in the hands of a creative engineer. In high-end
reverb plug-ins, the number of controls can be overwhelming,
and can prove to be a disincentive to user edits. As a result,
you tend to interact with those reverbs by clicking through
their endless lists of presets. In the case of the Pure Plate, there
are a few presets (developed by folks like Chuck Zwicky and
Patrick Carney) provided to serve as an introduction, but it's
expected that you will grab your mouse and tweak the
controls to best suit the mix.
In my own use, I found that this was a killer tool for drums,
drum loops and drum machines-as you might expect from
a plate reverb. But it was also effective on more aggressive
sounds. Shredded guitars and screeching synths worked well;
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