Review - UAD Manley VOXBOX 

it's input->compressor->tube preamp->EQ->DeEss/Limit..., so everything you do at the input and compressor stage also affects how the tube preamp reacts, though with the gain setting you can change the tube behaviour without messing with the input and compressor settings you carefully crafted, which is very nice to have. Also, the compressor, which does gain reduction BEFORE the preamp, actually listens to the signal AFTER the preamp, so everything seems to interact in too many ways. the more you saturate the tube, the less volume differences there are for the compressor to handle, and depending on these settings there... my mind just exploded, i will just turn knobs until i'm happy =D

hahaha

Hahahahahaha I'm crying tears!

i wonder what she's talking about, she seems pretty happy with the cruelness

Neither. Production Expert.

how did that go

@@maniperazzoli319 he never returned

Insanely good. Used on a mixes all week and it was super nice on DI guitar and bass as well.

is it the simplicity of not setting up a chain of plugins to do the same thing you like or is there something special about it? The simplicity thing i get i use CLA vocals all the time to quickly get a vocal in shape, but that 1/8th of the price

Well first of all, you can't ever buy a UA plug in when it's released, too expensive. You have to wait for a sale, and sometimes combine that with a coupon which UAD gives out almost every month. If you can be patient you can get it at less than half the price. I know you can just other plugs, it's just that this seemed to be effortless to work with to get stellar results. And the clean guitar sound was crazy good. Pops thing out of a mix in a pretty odd manner, very impressive.

oceantracks Oh yeah i wait out for my UAD vouchers LOL I guess i will have to demo it on the next mix and get a feel. Thanks for replying.

Really?! Doesn't justify the price tag? The hardware version is about four thousand dollars. If they replicate even 50% of the hardware sound (which they most certainly have and more) then it would seem to me the plugin is worth a few hundred bucks. The best plugins are never cheap. much less the hardware.

It does have the preamp built in

mmmm both...... Vox box is awesome and so is the Avalon. A used Avalon with the tubes upgraded can be had for a lot less then a Voxbox... so if budget is a concern then Avalon is the way to go. The comp on the Avalon is not as good as the Voxbox in my opinion.. you cant slam it the way he is doing on the Voxbox. The eq on the Avalon is way more flexible however. They are both fantastic sounding units.

Any answers?

@@Triumphinchrist1 nope

I have the same mic and issue! Did you find an answer? I guess we can increase the output knob, but not sure it's enough. My demo expired, so I can't test it, but it's on sale and I really want it.

No one will notice a difference on a professionally mixed track.

Its lost a LOT in the crappy RU-vid compression.

@@weschilton Opus Audio Codec, I don't think so mate. There are no crappy audio codecs anymore, and there hasn't been for a long time.

Don’t get fooled, there’s maybe a tiny difference between the hardware and plug-in, but in the end if you mix properly no one will notice if you used the hardware vs plug-in. Not to speak about that no one will notice what plug-in you have used in your mix, tracking etc. as long as the end result is enjoyable you can save a few thousand bucks these days with using plugins. Again, no one can tell the difference in the end when the song is released. 😊

I have an Apollo Quad, a SM7B, and the Voxbox in my list of available UAD plugins. In my experience I would say the Apollo's pre amps/unison plugins do an admirable job when dealing with the SM7B and probably perform better than most interfaces, but I still found I was getting noise and hiss when trying to reach the levels I was looking for. I ended up purchasing a DBX 286s unit to use with the SM7B and the results are like night and day! Obviously no one wants the additional expense, but the DBX has made a colossal difference and well worth it in my opinion.

@Jimmy Lopez Hi there. Yeah, that's correct and I don't bother with a fethead/cloudlifter in the chain. The DBX is more than capable of boosting the signal to the necessary level (the output level on mine is usually sitting around 9 o'clock with the mic pre around 4 o'clock), although I have read elsewhere some folk do use a FH/CL with this combo.

@@ConceptCarMusic Hi, I have an older dbx 286A. Is it the same sound quality wise as the 286s? Using it with an SM7B, too, but I feel this chain could benefit from a Cloudlifter or SE Dynamite...especially when adding an UAD compressor or the Voxbox. It just ups the inherent noise. Can you please share your thoughts with me on this?

@@gaborkiss1425 Hi there. I'm afraid I've no experience with the 286A so I can't give you a comparison. The 286S certainly caters for my needs, though. Sorry I can't offer more insight.

@@ConceptCarMusic I see, thank you anyways!

Because it's already been amplified to line level when it was recorded, so setting it to mic in the DAW would amplify it twice. When using it as a preamp whilst tracking, you'd set it to mic level. Since it's already been recorded, if your DAW has level protection and you set it to mic level, it would mute the track (hopefully). Otherwise, it would blow your monitors because you'd be producing an insanely loud signal. Why has no one answered this question for a year?

@@xaosnox Thanks, this answers why my drums were clipping in headphones!

Lol. That's what a condenser mic does. Did you tried without the plug in?

I dig them. Sexy and confident.

It's probably RU-vid's conversion, not fucking Pro Tools.

NO IT AINT...! IT HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE PROTOOLS CODE

Official Poa Okay then. Stay delusional. I wouldn't hire you.

Sam Carlen that is OK, however I bet your facility that IF you listened to the mixes from my studio and my concert CONSOLE you nor a single one of your buddies would be able to distinguish it from an Analog recording from any era WE chose to mix to sound like. I also guarantee on a BLIND A/B comparison in an auditorium OF YOU AND ALL YOUR PEERS, would pick mixes from my system 100%! I know this cause we do these test all the time and have done for years! SO SURE keep your inadequacies and I will keep TAKING THE CLIENTS AWAY FROM EVERY C++ CODED DAW AND DIGITAL CONSOLE USER I CHOSE! NO MATTER WHAT THEIR ((TITLES ARE)) I have been doing it fro years and will continue too

Sam Carlen ps: and doing so with Behringer ADA Convertors ( Mic Pre's) through RME HDSP Cards