Universal Audio (UA) has announced the impending release of the Shadow Hills mastering compressor plug-in for the UAD powered plug-ins platform and Apollo audio interface.
Created by UAD Direct Development partner Brainworx and Shadow Hills Industries founder Peter Reardon, this true-to-life plug-in emulation is intended to expertly temper dynamics and tames transients.
“The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor hardware is capable of delivering so much character and color, from subtle to very dramatic. It was important to me that any plug-in emulation provided the same sonic experience,” says Reardon. “Thankfully, the team at Brainworx and Universal Audio have faithfully brought this hardware product to life in the digital world.”
As the go-to compressor on recordings by Muse, Gnarls Barkley, Coldplay, John Mayer, Regina Spektor, and more, the Shadow Hills mastering compressor controls music dynamics in two stages — first with an Optical section, then with a Discrete (VCA) section. Both sections can be bypassed, providing a variety of compression sounds (Optical, Discrete, and combined).
Like the hardware version, the Shadow Hills mastering compressor plug-in offers selection of three distinct output transformers (Nickel, Iron, and Steel) — taking the signal from “clean” to “colored” and “dirty” — as if selecting from the output stages of three distinct classic analog consoles.=
Available as part of the upcoming UAD Software v6.3.2 release, scheduled for early November, the Shadow Hills mastering compressor will be available for $299 US from UA’s online store.
