Universal Audio has unveiled its new LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip plugin, offering “the best of UA’s 610 tube preamp, LA-2A, and 1176 compressors, combined into a single Unison-enabled plugin”.

Available in both UADx (Native) and UAD-2/Apollo formats, the LA-6176 can add warmth and presence on your vocals, guitars, bass and more. It gets its name from the classic 6176 Tube Channel Strip, used on records by artists including Coldplay, Adele, Pharrell, and more.

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Users can record and mix with “three of the most historically-significant pieces of analogue gear ever made”, with the new plugin set to deliver the smooth harmonics and rich overdrive of a vintage UA 610 tube preamp, the famous punch of the 1176, and the smooth warmth of an LA-2A, with the flip of a switch. You can also record in real time with Apollo interfaces.

Unlike the original UA 6176 hardware unit, the LA-6176 plugin lets users select between fast 1176LN Limiting Amplifier compression, and slower, gentler LA-2A Levelling Amplifier compression, a feature never before found in a UAD plugin that lets music creators ‘tune’ the channel strip to better match the source.

“This is really a ‘what if we just…’ type of plugin,” says Bill Putnam Jr., CEO of Universal Audio. “It started out as a 100 percent faithful emulation of our original 6176 Channel Strip in celebration of its 20th anniversary. But our team couldn’t help but add in the LA-2A circuitry that we couldn’t actually fit into our 2U channel strip in the physical world.”

Currently, there is an exclusive introductory price of $99 for the LA-6176 plugin due to UA’s Half Yearly Sale, running from 28 May – 30 June. After this period, it will be priced at $299 MAP.

Find out more over at Universal Audio.

The post “Analogue heaven in a plugin”: Universal Audio introduces the LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip, combining three of its top plugins into one appeared first on MusicTech.