On the top end there are similar characteristics to what is exhibited on the mid range boosts. The Pultec sounds very very similar to the real Massive Passive with maybe just being ever so slightly less boxy in the low mids.
On the mid range boost the UAD Massive Passive sounds a touch brighter whereas the analog Massive Passive retains its smoothness on the boost and gives some more width. The Pultec has a wider Q so it extends up a bit more into the midrange of the acoustic. In the low end the analog Massive Passive seems to have a little bit more warmth to the low end compared to the UAD version.
Very very close between the UAD and the analog Massive Passive, with the analog beasty having a touch more forwardness, lushness and spaciousness. On the midrange and top end it is the same sort of deal as exhibited on the vocal shootout. The UAD Massive Passive sounds ever so slightly tighter or less rich but they are very close. When comparing the UAD to the original the analog Massive Passive sounds warmer and fuller and pulls the bass a bit more forward because of the that. the (much sort after) transformers the Pultecs use. Again this could be because of the very wide curves on the Pultec and could potentially be achieved on the Massive Passive by having a wider Q setting, although it could be the circuitry differences e.g. On the low end the Pultec compared to the Massive Passive(s) brings up more of the harmonics on the bass. The analog Massive Passive has a bit more forwardness and fullness compared to the UAD plugin but again, we are impressed with how accurate their modelling is. In the top end the Pultec and the Massive Passives (both of them) are a lot more similar. That's all there is too it really, not as much of an obvious peak point as the Massive Passive (both analog and digital) and a very smooth lush boost which shows why Pultecs are so popular for vocals. The Pultec on the mid-range is really smooth. Especially consider this is just compared with the sound of our Manley unit and other units sound different depending on factors such as tubes etc. In saying that - they are still damn close. For whatever reason I don't think the UAD is quite recapturing this characteristic, but would you hear that amount of difference in a mix with 50 tracks, or on a standard home system? Maybe not. The UAD is very very similar but as we find in general with analog pieces of gear, the analog Massive passive sounds wider and cleaner. You would potentially be able to get this same effect out of the Massive Passives with a wider curve of the boosts - but these were tested at a slightly different Q (to be more closer to many of our other EQs in Gearshoot) and the EQP 1A3 was tested with the Bandwidth set to 12 o’clock for the high end band.įrom listening to the mid range boosts on this the analog Manley is cleaner than the UAD. The extension of the curve of the boosts into the lower mids seems effectively the same, whereas the Pultec, with its wider curves has an extended range and adds some 3-400Hz into the vocals. There is really no disparity in the low end between the real Manley and the UAD on the low end - Granted there is not much low end in the sample to begin with. Our comments below player - to open the player in the shootout window so you can add other EQs from our collection to it click here Here’s what they look like - If you want to go direct to the SHOOTOUTS CLICK HERE So here is a couple of tests we’ve set up of the analog Massive Passive vs the UAD emulation and a vintage Pultec from 1971 so you can compare and decide for yourself. The Massive Passive is often referred to as a ‘Pultec on steroids’, but what does that really mean unless you can hear it for yourself (and compare it to an actual Pultec)? So that brings up the often asked question "How does it stack up to the real thing?”.
That was until the folks at Universal Audio spent the time modelling it so now you can run a bunch of them at once in a mix. Up until recently that meant that it was out of the reach of many engineers. It’s a complex beast and one that takes a long time to learn all its tricks and subtleties and comes with a price tag to reflect its complexity and quality. For those that do not know the Massive Passive is a 2 channel 4 band passive tube EQ. The Manley Labs Massive Passive is a favorite tool of high end studios and mastering engineers for its ability to open out and when needed color a mix.