UAD Capitol Chambers PSA

jim1960 · #1 05-23-2019, 08:18 PM

Warning: If you're a UAD user, do NOT demo the new Capitol Chambers reverb. It will only end up costing you money.

I thought I was done buying reverbs. I really did think I was done.

runamuck · #2 05-23-2019, 11:22 PM

The Capitol Chambers are the very best I've ever heard although this demo doesn't do them justice, in my opinion.

Acustica Audio make a reverb called Ebony that's nearly as good as the Cap. Chambers, in my estimate. I'll stick with Ebony since I don't use the UA stuff.

jim1960 · #3 05-24-2019, 07:49 AM

It's really quite lush and easy to dial in. I did a quick remix of an old song of mine to which I added a cello line that kicks in after the first chorus. I used the Capitol Chambers reverb on everything on this track. I really like what this verb brings to the table. I'm going to be sad when the demo runs out but I'll likely pick it up when they do the next big sale.

gwlee7 · #4 05-24-2019, 08:53 AM

Note to self: Please ingore jim1960’s posts in the recording forum. He makes me poor.

jim1960 · #5 05-24-2019, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwlee7

Note to self: Please ingore jim1960’s posts in the recording forum. He makes me poor.

hehe... I do apologize for that. It happens to me too.

KevWind · #6 05-24-2019, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960

Warning: If you're a UAD user, do NOT demo the new Capitol Chambers reverb. It will only end up costing you money.

I thought I was done buying reverbs. I really did think I was done.

Ha !! your never done until ya die. Or get a Bricasti M7

Bricasti's Sunset Chamber is my go to almost exclusively.

Doug Young · #7 05-24-2019, 11:22 AM

too late....

I've only had a chance to check it out briefly on guitar. I suspect it works better on vocals, and it's striking me as a "character" reverb, with a distinctive sound. Different from the Bricasti where you can really pile reverb on heavily and still not really notice it. There's a lot of flexibility with choosing mics, mic position, and so on. It will require more experimenting! I sort of hope I don't end up liking it, I think that's around the most pricey UAD plugin they have.

jim1960 · #8 05-24-2019, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind

Ha !! your never done until ya die. Or get a Bricasti M7

Bricasti's Sunset Chamber is my go to almost exclusively.

I'm not sure that I'll picking up the rack version anytime soon, but the plugin is fantastic. Between that, the Altiverb, and the Capitol Chambers (once I pick it up), I can't imagine what I'd be missing ...but I'm sure someone will come up with something eventually that will separate me from my money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Young

too late....

I've only had a chance to check it out briefly on guitar. I suspect it works better on vocals, and it's striking me as a "character" reverb, with a distinctive sound.

Vocals for sure. And I think it can shine especially for slower ballad types of vocals. I haven't tried it on guitar yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Different from the Bricasti where you can really pile reverb on heavily and still not really notice it. There's a lot of flexibility with choosing mics, mic position, and so on. It will require more experimenting!

Like anything else, it will take a little time to learn how to use it best. I just threw that remix together quickly because I wanted to see what the plugin could do. It certainly will shine on vox, of that I have no doubt. But I really do like what it did for that cello track. That was done with Emotional Cello (which is as good as I've ever heard so far as a vst cello is concerned). All I did was re-mic it using UAD Ocean Way, then put Capitol Chambers on an aux track and picked a preset and mic position that I thought worked.

I think it can also be nice for piano but it will take a bit more dialing in than I did for that demo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Young

I sort of hope I don't end up liking it, I think that's around the most pricey UAD plugin they have.

They've set the hook on me already with this one. I haven't bought a UAD plugin in a long time but I'm feeling a bit lusty for this one. UA does a big sale in June or July. As of late that included a custom bundle where you could get 4 plugins for $400. I'll pick it up that way and add a few other things to my UAD toolbox.

KevWind · #9 05-24-2019, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960

I'm not sure that I'll picking up the rack version anytime soon, but the plugin is fantastic. Between that, the Altiverb, and the Capitol Chambers (once I pick it up), I can't imagine what I'd be missing ...but I'm sure someone will come up with something eventually that will separate me from my money.

Vocals for sure. And I think it can shine especially for slower ballad types of vocals. I haven't tried it on guitar yet.

.

But just like buying guitars it's not missing something,, it's OHHH that sounds nice.
I agree I like the Sunset Chamber specifically on my vocal.

Doug Young · #10 05-25-2019, 12:53 AM

I spent a bit of time trying this on solo guitar tonight, mostly running thru the presets. It works quite well, lots of different sounds. I may be suggestible, but the preset named "awesome room" sounded really nice :-) There's an "Acoustic Guitar" preset that has a shorter decay, just adds some ambience, which is also nice. Soloing the reverb is interesting, it kind of sounds like I'd expect, like a resonant room, lots of character to it, like you can hear the echoes building up, bouncing off the walls on some settings. Quite a bit different from the Bricasti, for example. Not as transparent, but it sounds good to me when mixed in. The EQ, high pass, bass, mid, treble, has a pretty drastic effect. Between that and the selection of different rooms, different mics, and different mic placement, there's a lot to play with.

SpruceTop · #11 05-25-2019, 07:01 AM

Also, the real, physical, Capitol Chambers are a part of the wonderful sound of the Voyle Gilmore-engineered Capitol Records, pre-1964, Kingston Trio albums! Listen to Dave Guard's banjo solo on "The Escape Of Old John Webb" for a stellar example of the magic of Capitol's chambers, and listen especially for the high banjo note at the end of Dave's solo where the Vega's Tubaphone tone ring, the note's frequency, and the Capitol chamber all come together:

rockabilly69 · #12 05-25-2019, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960

It's really quite lush and easy to dial in. I did a quick remix of an old song of mine to which I added a cello line that kicks in after the first chorus. I used the Capitol Chambers reverb on everything on this track. I really like what this verb brings to the table. I'm going to be sad when the demo runs out but I'll likely pick it up when they do the next big sale.

Yep the only way I'd buy it is if they had a big sale, and I mean big

jim1960 · #13 05-25-2019, 12:45 PM

Twice a year they do a sale where you can grab a custom bundle and pick up 4 plugins for $400 (you can average even lower if you buy more). I'll pick it up that way.

Warning... I checked the instance chart and this thing uses about 75% of a chip, so be aware of that.

rockabilly69 · #14 05-25-2019, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960

Twice a year they do a sale where you can grab a custom bundle and pick up 4 plugins for $400 (you can average even lower if you buy more). I'll pick it up that way.

Warning... I checked the instance chart and this thing uses about 75% of a chip, so be aware of that.

Yep that's how I've bought most of my UAD plugs

jim1960 · #15 05-25-2019, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Yep that's how I've bought most of my UAD plugs

Me too. I've never paid anywhere near the full price for any of them. Anything regularly priced $150 or below requires a bit of patience because then can be had for less than half price. For the expensive ones, bundle bundle bundle.