Plug-In Thermionic Culture Vulture
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Thermionic Culture Vulture
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D. Marcus
Amazing
So cool to have this beast as a plugin. I love the sounds you can get with..from subtle to full on raging. As always UA hits out of the park with their detailed emulation of classic hardware pieces.
A. Ali
Great sound
It has a great sound, not entirely useful on everything but for things like Bass and thickening up Vocals it really shines.
I've found that you can hit the sweet spot for sounds rather early on and it's quite easy to go overboard and use too much distortion; but when you hit that sweet spot you know that you couldn't have gotten that sound elsewhere.
To summarise I really like this plugin, less is more and it doesn't work for all applications but it has great character.
A. Puro
great sound but has some kinks...
This plug sounds great but unfortunately as of right now for DP users it causes massive glitchy/stuttering sounds when run at a buffer size of 512. Running it at 256 or 1024 is fine however.
K. Dietz
Lots of Culture. Much Vulture.
Really liking this plugin. I haven't used the hardware version (would love to try it) but find that simply putting this plugin across a bus or track adds a new dimension sonically, with very little tweaking. Enhanced harmonics, fuller sound. I love this plugin on a drum bus, acoustic or electric guitar, bass…I need more DSP! There are a few different saturation plugins out there, this one is the best of them, to my ear.
A. Lawson
Distortionmlove
at first i thought it was a bit similar to the soundtoys decap, but as i played there was a much bigger pallette and depth to it.. love this thing on a single drum mic or the drum buss.. also getting some vox and bass love..
G. Pernet
Love it!
Had to sell the original unit 3 years ago.. At the time i only used it to beef up my kick and snare/clap.. the plug has the same low end shimmer(for lack of a better word) as the original unit.. Love it! Absolute no brainer if you're looking for additional ways to shape your sounds!
S. Fusco
Very similar to hardware
I had the thermionic hardware and at its best it would provide some subtle natural warmth at lower levels. It was never a box I would go to for extreme levels of distortion but that's not what this product is all about.
The plugin is about 90% of the hardware. Though I will say the range for the various settings is different between hardware and software. Like 5 on the drive for the software seems like 8 on the drive for the hardware
All in all, a solid effort for UAD. I wouldn't buy another hardware vulture as its value was marginal to me but as a 300 plug it might be worthwhile.
R. Ketchem
Not UAD's finest hour
From the silly promo video to the actual plug-in, this one is a disappointment. I've used the hardware for years and the plug-in manages to capture, maybe 40% of the magic. For $299, it's still a bargain, but I'm hoping for a sweeter version with future upgrades.
L. Sicilia
Il meraviglioso plug in valvolare?
Dirò solo due parole: ho acquistato sia la versione hardware che il plug in del Culture Vulture. Unica differenza: maggiore soundstage dell hardware, soprattutto nel trattare le voci. Per il resto il plug in e l'hardware sono INDISTINGUIBILI !!!!!!!!! Meraviglioso...
B. Marchant
Great Plug!
I am finding myself using the vulture on most mixes :)
J. Jacobsen
Lovely plugin
This is my new fave plug. Just a hint of triode
distortion, mm mm mmm. On vocals it 's gorgeous.
I use it for glue and color, warm color
T. Bulwer
Defo my fav warmth tool ever
I haven't been able to stop using this since I got it. Sounds incredible on drums and top top end drums. Used on my last remix with pride. I had access to the real box for a while and was so happy to see UAD model this. Sounds so true to the hardware although I'm not comparing like for like! Issue is the DSP usage - I mean you really can only have one running and not much else (barely anything in fact!) - BUT the sound this beast makes far outweighs the issue and tbh encourages me to mixdown. Top stars on this. LOVE
G. Piazza
Please don't review based on DSP usage!
Caveats:
I do not yet own this plug-in or the hardware, nor have I demo'd it.
BUT, I have to chime in here on all the reviews complaining about too much DSP usage.
As most professional engineers know, the main point of having UAD cards is to facilitate unrestricted plug-in development. I.E. no compromises circuit emulation.
To me, it is a good thing that UA are developing plug-ins without concern for DSP usage.
Think about it - if you want 'efficient' plug-ins (that often sound so-so) then buy something else.
Eventually, UA will release UAD-3 cards, and we will be glad they did not compromise to save DSP.
Until I try CV, 4 stars for ignoring the 'too much DSP' blowback.
D. King
Well.....I like it
Is this as the original.....no idea?
Is this DSP hungry.....Yes
Is it a good plug.....Yes!!
Started using this on a project I was working on and it now sounds better...
It's as simple as that, and to me that's all that matters.
Thanks again UAD! (Please keep making the best sounding plugs possible and if it takes DSP then so be it)
D. King
Well.....I like it
Is this as the original.....no idea?
Is this DSP hungry.....Yes
Is it a good plug.....Yes!!
Started using this on a project I was working on and it now sounds better...
It's as simple as that, and to me that's all that matters.
Thanks again UAD! (Please keep making the best sounding plugs possible and if it takes DSP then so be it)
M. Ilbert
Greatness !!
This one works like a treat!
Had a mix with some tracks lacking a little in attitude... I banged it on some guitars and bass and now the song glued.
Thanks UAD !!
M. Mcclusky
Beasty
This guy is great it really puts that old world charm on what ever it touches!
J. Carmo
UAD Culture Vulture vs HW
I have give already a bad review to the CV plugin because the type of distortion
this plugin delivers, is IMO very digital, not Warm/Tube like, but after watching the demo
of the original HW unit in a guitar and other stuff, my opinion is different. I really dont´t like the sound otf the HW because IMHO the saturation is not warm like other tube gear, but the emulation of UA is not so bad. If there are people who like the HW, i understand they like the UAD CV and they will be happy with this. I really love UA, but not this particular Plugin, but it depends also of personal taste...
V. Cañas
LaineREC - Dope tips.
As usual a good and useful review. Really appreciate the demo on 4 kinds of instruments really show the possibility of the Culture Vulture. Impatient for getting to the studio and try it. Cheers
M. Olsen
Pros FAR outweigh cons
I just spent over an hour with this plugin, using my electric bass through both the new 1073 and the API Unison Preamp plugins. In both cases, the Culture Vulture was a priceless addition. I also played extensively with the distortion and found it to be incredibly responsive over the full dynamic range of the bass. It's über fat, beautifully harmonic, and full of thick analog personality. If only I could control Console sessions with a MIDI pedal board, I could plug straight into a PA system and have people on their knees, based on the tone alone. Drawbacks are the 15% DSP loss per instance, the delay compensation pop-up warning, and the high price (which will force me to have wait for a sale). Still, five stars for making this a reality!