175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection

Now compatible with any soundcard on Mac and PC

Introduced in the early 1960s, Universal Audio's 175B™ and 176™ compressors were the first audio compressors purpose-built for studio recording and mixing music. Often cited among the crowning achievements of audio pioneer and UA founder Bill Putnam Sr., the 175B and 176 are prized for their rich tube gain reduction character, fast attack, and sonic flexibility.

With only roughly 1,000 units made, vintage 175B and 176s easily command well over $5,000 on the vintage market today, and they can be found in the racks of some of the world's finest studios. Now, you can track and mix with the only authentic plug-in emulation of the original UA 175B and 176 compressors.
 

A Pioneering Limiter

With its breakthrough fast attack time and independently variable Attack and Release controls, the UA 175B and 176 went far beyond all previously available broadcast limiters. They were quickly installed in the early 1960's at both United/Western and legendary Sunset Sound studios, where a rack of 176s still reside today. As an all-tube predecessor to the famed 1176, the 175B and 176 compressors have lent warmth and character to thousands of seminal recordings — from the Rolling Stones and Elton John, to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Aretha Franklin, and Miles Davis.
 

Emulating a Masterpiece

Based on a pair of UA's 1960s golden units, the UA 175B and 176 Tube Compressor Collection plug-ins expertly capture Putnam’s tube-based gain reduction designs, as well as the tube amplifier's ultra-musical harmonics and rich, low-frequency transformer saturation. Putnam’s feedback compression circuit is key to the 175B/176 mojo, yielding softer compression at lower input levels and harder, nearly brickwall limiting at higher levels.
 

All-Around Champ

Sonically, the 175B and 176 compressors are often compared favorably to a Fairchild compressor, albeit with more versatile controls. As such, they're perfect for vocals, drums, guitars, and more. The UA 175B and 176 Tube Compressor Collection plug-ins give you all the character and juice of the originals — indistinguishable from the target hardware in blind listening tests.
 

In Action

Delicate when you need subtle control, but colorful when slammed, these plug-ins can add depth to room mics or a drum bus, give your guitars definition, park a bass in a mix, and inject vocals with energy. You can even turn off the compression completely and use the 175B/176 plug-ins as a "tone box," lending rich tube amplifier and transformer textures galore.

Features

• Painstaking circuit emulation of Bill Putnam Sr.'s rare and iconic 175B and 176 tube compressors
• Models the entire circuit path and control set of the original hardware units
• UA 175B features a fixed 12:1 Ratio, 176 features four selectable Ratios: 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and 12:1
• Exclusive plug-in features include Sidechain Link, Dry/Wet Mix parallel processing and Headroom for user-customizable operating level
• Includes artist presets from Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits), Carl Glanville (U2, Bruce Springsteen), Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, Beck), and more

Versions Included with your Purchase

• UAD Native: Runs on your Mac or PC without any UA hardware
• Apollo Realtime & UAD-2: Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD-2 hardware

System Requirements

• macOS 10.15 Catalina, 11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura
• Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit only Editions)
• Intel, AMD, or Apple silicon processor
• Internet connection to download software and authorize UADx plug-ins
• Free iLok account with iLok Cloud or iLok USB (2nd generation or higher)
• A physical iLok dongle is NOT required to activate this product

You can activate this software on an online system (using iLok Cloud) or an offline system (using an iLok USB):

1. Online: an active internet connection and a FREE iLok account are required to authorise UAD Plug-ins using iLok Cloud

2. Offline: you will need a physical iLok USB (2nd generation or higher) to authorise this software

Important note: UAD plugins do not work in Apple's Garageband DAW