UAD‑2 Live Rack Manual
Chapter 1: Introduction
15
UAD-2 Live Rack System Overview
UAD‑2 Live Rack has several components that comprise the complete UAD‑2 Live Rack
system. A brief description of each component is provided below, along with a link to
complete details about the component.
UAD-2 Live Rack Hardware
The UAD‑2 Live Rack unit is the 1U rack hardware that performs audio signal processing
on digital audio streams via MADI. The hardware unit contains four SHARC DSPs that
process the UAD Powered Plug‑In algorithms. Each unit can process up to 16 MADI
streams, and up to four units can be combined to process a total of 64 MADI streams.
The UAD‑2 Live Rack hardware is configured and controlled by the UAD‑2 Live Rack
software application.
For complete hardware details, see
“Chapter 2: Hardware” beginning on page 19
.
Live Rack Software Application
The Live Rack application is the software interface for the UAD‑2 Live Rack hardware
unit. The software configures and controls the hardware unit(s) and UAD Powered Plug‑
Ins. The application runs on select Mac computers and it interfaces to the UAD‑2 Live
Rack hardware via Thunderbolt.
Note: Although UAD Powered Plug-Ins are operated via the Live Rack software,
the signal processing is performed on the hardware unit’s SHARC DSP, not the
computer’s CPU.
For complete details about the software application, see
Application” beginning on page 39
.
UAD Powered Plug-Ins
UAD Powered Plug‑Ins are software plug‑in titles containing DSP algorithms. UAD plug‑
ins are loaded and controlled within the Live Rack software for signal processing on
the four SHARC DSPs in the UAD‑2 Live Rack hardware. Each UAD plug‑in contains a
graphical user interface (GUI) and various control parameters that can be manipulated to
achieve the desired sonic results.
Typical UAD plug-in interface
UAD Powered Plug‑Ins are developed by Universal Audio and also by Direct Developer
(3rd‑party) partners. A wide range of titles are available that are suitable for nearly every
application. The UAD Powered Plug‑In titles that are included with UAD‑2 Live Rack
depend on the bundle included with the retail product package: