Universal Audio has announced the Sound City Studios plugin, a software emulation of one of the most famous recording studios in musical history.
This Los Angeles studio played host to some of the biggest names in rock music, including Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and Rage Against the Machine. This is the studio where Nirvana recorded Nevermind: after the studio shut down in 2011, Dave Grohl purchased its vintage 8028 console and made a feature-length documentary about the place.
UA says its new plugin recreates "every aspect" of Sound City Studios, from the sound of the room to its classic microphones, analogue outboard gear and its legendary mixing console.
Sound City was famed for the unique acoustics of its Studio A room, which UA have recreated using Dynamic Room Modelling technology, enabling you to move any sound source around a virtual model of the room and experiment with different placements of its emulations of classic microphones such as the AKG C414 and Neumann K54.
Guitarists will be able to imitate vintage guitar tones using various modelled cabinet and mic setups, while budding engineers can run their sounds through Sound City's reverb chamber and its collection of analogue outboard gear, including the UREI 1176 compressor and Dolby A-style effects.
The star of the plugin is UA's emulation of Sound City's famed mixing console
The star of the plugin is UA's emulation of Sound City's famed console, which is equipped with a 3-band EQ and bus compressor. The studio's Neve 8020 was custom-built by Rupert Neve in 1973; legend has it that Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were the first artists recorded through the board as they tracked 1973's Buckingham Nicks at Sound City, a recording that later persuaded Mick Fleetwood to join the duo and record Fleetwood Mac's debut in the same room.
UAD Sound City Studios is available now for a discounted price of $299 or can be accessed through UA's Spark subscription service.
Find out more at Universal Audio's website or listen to a demo below.
