If you're recording through it as a Unison input stage, it's not so bad, as you only need to record through it once. One caveat is the enormous DSP demands of the new 1073, consuming 40% of a single UAD DSP chip per mono instance, and 67.6% for a stereo one. The long-throw output fader adds colour- useful for a bit of overdrive. The low shelving band is a coarse control that works to add or subtract weight at 35, 60, 110 or 220Hz, while the passive high-pass filter shaves off bottom-end at 18dB/octave from a 50, 80, 160 or 300Hz rolloff point. The air of the 12kHz shelving band is there, as is the extreme but smooth nature of the mid-range bell band, with its distinct colouration. The new EQ algorithms better portray the tasty non-linearities of the real thing. And all of this is before you've touched the drive levels and the high/low impedance switch. 'Audio recorded through it comes at you with a definition and solidity that you can almost reach out and feel'Īudio recorded through it comes at you with a definition and solidity that you can almost reach out and feel - if you're not already a believer in the theory that the quality of the preamp is as important as that of the mic it's connected to, this will leave you in no doubt. The Apollo's own preamps sound good as they are, but insert the 1073 and the difference is night and day. UA's new 1073 sounds absolutely stunning. The only 1073 input feature not present on the Unison version is the switchable 300/1200 Ohm mic impedance. It works beautifully, too, and with other Unison-enabled plugins (the API Vision Channel Strip and UA 610), the versatility of the system is beginning to be realised.

Uad neve 1073 preamp