And as the UAD EMT 140 shows, there can be considerable difference between units, so it is definitely worth knowing the best one for the job. The Waves Abbey Road Plates are based on four EMT 140 plates, also from 1957. It captures the elements of Plate A and B, but just, makes them sound fancier. UAD Plate C also has a lot more lows and low mids in the reverb and is richer sounding and most balance across the spectrum, although some post EQ might need to be done as well to keep the low end clear in the mix. It also has a lot more late energy than the other two, but aside from that there are many other far more important factors to consider. When comparing the previous plates (A and B) to UAD Plate C (which is the fully serviced and tuned plate with the Martech electronics) Plate C is the most different of the three in the EMT plugin, as a starter you probably notice that what is the one second setting for Plate C is longer than for Plate A and B. It also, we think, sounds the most metallic or ringing. The UAD Plate B does not have as much late energy and has a less complex more slapback reverb sound to our ears (bear in mind that this is not pre delay as these were all set to 0), the slight ‘pitch increase effect’ (from the differential decay across the frequencies) on the decay is most noticeable on this plate, maybe because it doesn’t have the other frequencies masking it as much. Plate B is very similar in energy and decay to the UAD Plate A but is a lot darker sounding. It has a nice little bit of top high mid shimmer to it, and has some good width too it. Quite natural sounding, it does sound a bit scooped compared to some of the other reverbs when you compare, and with a bit less low end - which gives it a clearer sound which is useful in general, but particularly in denser mixes with lots going on in the lows and low mids.
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The UAD Plate A is a nice sounding plate reverb - this reverb mostly has early energy that dissipates very quickly. Our comments below player - to open the player in the shootout window so you can add to it and test yourself in a blind shootout click here Here’s what they look like - If you want to go direct to the SHOOTOUTS CLICK HERE So here is a comparison shootout showing these differences, and our thoughts on The UAD EMT 140 and the Waves Abbey Road Plates.
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The Abbey Road Plates are emulations of the famous four EMT 140 plates at Abbey Rd, which were modded to fit the Abbey Road Standards, creating their individual characteristics. Plate C is an example with the more modern Martech electronics, and fully serviced to provide a greater frequency range than Plates A and B. Plates A and B are how you would hear many of the original units these days, with the original EMT electronics and the plates un-tuned. UAD have been kind enough to provide three different options for the plate of their EMT 140 emulation. Since very very few of us will have access to a EMT 140 and/or the plates at Abbey Road (Lucky you if you do) chances are you will be stuck with a plugin version of them. Both of these are recreations of faithful old-school Plate Units that became a fundamental sound on so many classic records. In this review showcase we will be checking out the UAD EMT 140 (based on the EMT 140 plate reverb from 1957) and the Waves Abbey Road Plates - seven different plates in all.