Universal Audio is renowned for its top-tier software emulations of classic bits of gear like the Teletronix LA-2A and UA 1176, but the company has also developed some fantastic plugins that recreate the sound of vintage technology without imitating a specific piece of kit.
One such plugin is the Century Tube Channel Strip, a vintage-inspired recording channel that comprises a virtual tube preamp, three-band EQ and an optical compressor. Though it's priced at $199, UA is giving away Century Tube completely free for a limited time.
UA says Century Tube will help you get "warm, vintage sounds" from sterile-sounding digital tracks through its analogue-modelled tube mic preamp, which should gift your recordings with the characterful tone of tube saturation. The plugin's preamp section offers low and high-gain settings for different microphone types and a 80kHz high-pass filter to remove any unwanted low-end.
Alongside this you'll find a three-band EQ with two fixed bands at 10kHz and 110Hz - useful for quickly dialling highs and lows up or down by +/-12dB - and a third, sweepable band that covers the mid-range.
Modelled on an optical compressor, Century Tube's Opto Leveller is a one-knob affair providing basic but effective control over dynamics; dial the compression amount up to 10 to imbue your signal with some analogue-style grit. Finally, a Master section gives you control over the levels of the output stage.
In our review, we described Century Tube as a "great tool for the recording novice" and a "fast, focused plugin with a convincingly analogue sound that utterly flattens the channel strip learning curve", praising its simple and intuitive "do-no-harm" workflow.
Century Tube runs on macOS and Windows and is available in VST/AU/AAX formats. If you're intrigued, don't wait around - this one's only free until September 15th. Head over to Universal Audio's website to find out more.
