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Description

Transform your sound with the Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ, a versatile plugin designed to elevate your music production. This EQ plugin stands out with its unique approach to equalization, embodying a smooth and musical character that seamlessly integrates into any mix. The three-band EQ offers flexible and creative control over your audio, allowing you to sculpt your sound with precision. Each band is equipped with a unique set of curves, and the plugin’s intuitive interface makes it easy to dial in the perfect tone.

The Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ is not just about precision; it's about adding a touch of warmth and character to your tracks. Whether you're looking to enhance the clarity of a vocal track, add punch to drums, or give your mix that final polish, this plugin delivers. The saturation control is particularly noteworthy, offering a rich harmonic enhancement that can transform sterile digital recordings into dynamic, analog-like soundscapes.

Compatible with major DAWs, this plugin is perfect for producers and engineers seeking a reliable tool that combines creativity with high-quality audio processing. Its efficient CPU usage ensures that you can stack multiple instances without compromising your system's performance, making it a valuable addition to any digital music production setup.

Key Features:

  • Three-band EQ with unique curves for creative sound shaping
  • Intuitive user interface for easy operation
  • Saturation control for adding harmonic richness
  • Designed for low CPU usage, perfect for multiple instances
  • Compatible with major DAWs and platforms
The House of Kush

The House of Kush

How to Get Movement & Density in Your Mix with the UBK-1 by Kush

Video thumbnail for How to Get Movement & Density in Your Mix with the UBK-1 by Kush by The House of Kush

How to Get Movement & Density in Your Mix with the UBK-1 by Kush

The House of Kush

The House of Kush

Video thumbnail for Kush UBK1 Video Review by Production Expert

Kush UBK1 Video Review

Production Expert

Production Expert

Video thumbnail for Kush Audio UBK-1 Review by Production Bytes

Kush Audio UBK-1 Review

Production Bytes

Production Bytes

Video thumbnail for Kush Audio UBK-1 First Look by Sonic Academy

Kush Audio UBK-1 First Look

Sonic Academy

Sonic Academy

Video thumbnail for UBK1 by Production Expert

UBK1

Production Expert

Production Expert

Video thumbnail for KuSh Audio UBK 1 by HarmonyCentral

KuSh Audio UBK 1

HarmonyCentral

HarmonyCentral

Video thumbnail for UBK-1 by Kush Audio [WARNING EXTREME SETTINGS] Crunch The Compressor by Vertigo Pulse

UBK-1 by Kush Audio [WARNING EXTREME SETTINGS] Crunch The Compressor

Vertigo Pulse

Vertigo Pulse

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ.

Features and functionality

  • The UBK-1 is favored for its stability and low CPU usage, making it ideal for drum bus compression.

    Source
  • The UBK-1 is praised for its color compression and saturation capabilities, enhancing the tonal character of audio tracks.

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  • Omega Transformer plugins emulate transformer color, with Omega A boosting highs/lows and Omega N enhancing low mids and darkening the sound.

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Software and compatibility

  • Users report multiple instances of Kush plugins can cause playback issues, especially on less powerful laptops, even with oversampling turned off.

    Source

Use cases and applications

  • The UBK-1 excels as a drum bus compressor, frequently used by hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music producers.

    Source
  • UBK-1 is effectively used for adding character to drum buses, with a focus on color and saturation.

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  • Clariphonic DSP is frequently used on vocal chains for its effortless enhancement of the high-frequency "air."

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  • Omega plugins are used for adding glue to mix buses, simulating the effect of multiple transformer stages in hardware setups.

    Source

User experience

  • Owners appreciate the musicality of the Hammer DSP EQ, highlighting its ability to effectively manipulate frequencies.

    Source

Comparisons

  • Unlike the UBK-1, the Electra EQ is noted for transforming poorly recorded tracks by adding significant personality and character.

    Source

Critic Reviews

Kush Audio UBK1

soundonsound.com

Kush Audio's UBK1 plug-in is a standout for its unique approach to dynamics and distortion, offering a fresh take on analog emulation. Its intuitive interface encourages experimentation, making it accessible yet capable of producing a wide range of effects from subtle sweetening to intense distortion. The lack of traditional controls like attack and release may deter some, but the broad-stroke controls allow for creative sound shaping. While it excels in sound quality, it misses out on features like side-chain input, and some preset access issues in certain DAWs. Overall, the UBK1 is a versatile tool for those looking to push the boundaries of compression and saturation in their mixes.

positive

Kush Audio UBK-1 review | MusicRadar

musicradar.com

The Kush Audio UBK-1 is a sonically stunning plugin known for imparting a warm, analogue character to various audio sources. Musicians and producers will appreciate its broad sonic color spectrum and intuitive interface, making it an excellent tool for creative compression. While it lacks attack and release controls, which might not satisfy those seeking aggressive tones, its saturation and density features add significant value to softer genres. Though limited to RTAS format on Windows, its performance on drum busses and acoustic mixes is exceptional, offering both subtle and dynamic results. Overall, it's a musical engineer's secret weapon.

positive
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4.5 out of 5

Based on 2 Reviews and 3 Ratings

5 star
4 star
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1 star
karl321

Kush Audio Plug-Ins

It sounds great as a compressor, but if you buy the Kush plug-ins without doing the monthly plan, it's nearly impossible to transfer them, once you get a new computer. I want to give them three stars for this, but their user agreement is the best I've ever seen, so they get an extra star for that.

Judging solely by his videos, Kush hardware is some of the best on the market. This outlandish statement seems backed up by the fact that they use them at Electric Lady Studios.

P

Unique Sonic Character...!!! (and that COMPRESSOR section... OMG...!!!)

We've all experimented with a variety of EQ's through the years and we all have our top 5 that we always go to for certain applications (example: API 550a for guitars, FabFilter Pro-Q 2 for 'Shaping' whole frequency sections, Neve 1084 for vocals, etc...) the 'ubk 1 EQ' by Kush Audio is definitely on my list of: "Top 5 EQ's that I can't live without...!!!" + it also has one of the best compressors built-in to its design and a 'Head Room' knob at the front end of the signal path that makes this unit a work of MAGIC..! Like all Kush Audio products, It has unique sonic character; it's in a class of its own...!

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Chris Martin uses Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ

Chris Martin

Singer, Guitarist

Coldplay

...
Verified via Soundonsound

Used on "Hymn for the Weekend", as mentioned by A Head Full of Dreams co-producer Rik Simpson in this Sound on Sound article.

It was very important to get the development and arrangement of the vocals right. Many of the 45 tracks are effect tracks. There’s only one lead vocal track each for the verses [LV Verse], for the bridge [LV Bridge], and the choruses [LV Chorus], and then Chris sang a number of bridge and chorus vocal overdubs. The main verse vocal has the Avid Channel Strip, which is taking out some low end, an SPL TwinTube, which adds some saturation, the UBK1 compressor adding more crunch, and the UAD Fairchild 670 and SSL E Channel. I don’t use a great deal of compression from each unit. I will just tickle it a little bit with each one, and each one adds a different characteristic. I could just add a whole load of compression from one plug–in, but like this it doesn’t sound over–compressed. The Pro–Q 2 is, again, a high–pass filter. In the sends there’s a Waves H–Delay that I recorded elsewhere, and sends to a main D–Verb and two QL Spaces aux tracks. I have different reverbs and delays for each part of the song so that the vocal sound evolves during the song.

“The main chorus lead vocal has the FabFilter Pro–Q 2 EQ, the Waves Rennaissance Vox, again the UBK1, two instances of the FabFilter Pro–DS de–esser, two instances of the UAD Pultec EQP–1A, and the FabFilter Pro–MB multi–band compressor. I like the FabFilter de–esser. I am still trying to find the ultimate de–esser, because it’s quite a hard thing to do right. I have two because one is doing high top sibilance, and the other lower stuff around 2kHz. The sends on chorus lead vocal go to aux tracks with the Waves H–Delay, the FXpansion Bloom with a lush, wide stereo delay, a small chamber from the QL Spaces plug–in, a mono delay from the UAD Echoplex, and several other delays. The sends to the delays are all automated independently, with different words getting different delays.

“One thing of note is that there also is a ‘Hope House M80’ vocal track, recorded when Chris was still using the Telefunken M80, and it’s mixed in very low. There’s also a lead-vocal double that has ‘251’ marked, indicating that Chris was also using that mic. But the main vocals were recorded using the Soyuz. There are two tracks marked ‘251 Melo Lead’ and ‘251 Melo Double’, again mixed in low. ‘Melo’ stands for Melodyne, and these tracks are raised two semitones. They were recorded in a different key for a different version of the song, and detuning them added a certain alien quality to these vocals which we really liked. At the bottom of the session are the Beyoncé vocal tracks, on which I mainly used the SSL E Channel strip, UBK1, L2, SoundToys Echo Boy, Avid ModDelay and the QL Space.”

See how Will Champion uses Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ

Will Champion

Guitarist, Drummer

Coldplay

...
Verified via Soundonsound

Used for "Hymn for the Weekend", as mentioned by A Head Full of Dreams co-producer Rik Simpson in this Sound on Sound article.

Drums: FabFilter Pro–Q 2 & Pro–G; UA Little Labs VOG; Brainworx BX_refinement; Kush Audio UBK1; UA Maag EQ4; Avid D-Verb; UA SSL E Channel.

See how Beyoncé uses Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ

Beyoncé

Singer

Destiny’s Child

...
Verified via Soundonsound

Used for Beyoncé's feature on Coldplay's "Hymn for the Weekend", as mentioned by A Head Full of Dreams co-producer Rik Simpson in this Sound on Sound article.

At the bottom of the session are the Beyoncé vocal tracks, on which I mainly used the SSL E Channel strip, UBK1, L2, SoundToys Echo Boy, Avid ModDelay and the QL Space.”

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Kush Audio ubk 1 EQ, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

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