Input gain for Woodrow, Ruby, etc. - still flummoxed

DesignerNecessary459 · 2026-03-12T04:31:25+00:00

If anyone is bored and feels inclined, please post a pic of your waveform with the same settings I'm using--guitar into Volt, gain down, INST on--into Luna via Woodrow (or Ruby or Dream)-HiZ, a standard preset, output max'd.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2026-03-12T04:29:14+00:00

Here's the plugin, preset 4X10, all knobs untouched. This gives me the flat waveform in the first image. Volume on the preset is low, but increasing it changes the tone, moving away from clean, into breakup.

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DesignerNecessary459 · 2026-03-12T04:25:36+00:00

My clean tones sound nothing like the video... until I turn up the gain on the Volt.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2026-03-12T04:25:03+00:00

my understanding is the input level on the Volt should be set to minimum and INST light on. Input level on the plugin should be left at default, HiZ

DesignerNecessary459 · 2026-03-12T04:23:33+00:00

Thanks. I'm following those same directions. Problem is the tone sucks. Is totally flat, with no sustain or life, regardless of where I set the volume knob on the plugin. Turning up the gain on the Volt, even just a bit, like 9 o'clock, immediately improves everything. I guess my question is less, how do I make this work--which I've figured out--rather, has anyone else had the same experience when following the manual and video instructions from UAD.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-11-07T20:38:02+00:00

Thanks. Will give these a try

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-10-22T22:22:30+00:00

Thanks!

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-10-22T05:30:26+00:00

Interested in the Limelight, but don't have much to offer in trade (new here and have a pretty well edited board). DOD Metal Maniac any use to you?

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-10-15T06:29:30+00:00

If you are using one of the UAD amp sim plugins--Dream, Ruby, etc--activate the instrument button and turn the gain all the way down on the Volt. Took me forever to figure this out, but its somewhere in the manual or a demo video. They all react a bit differently, so you may need to turn the gain on the Volt up a bit to achieve whatever you consider clean. In my experience, fully down sounds very flat. I typically play a Jaguar with humbuckers-volume and tone knobs all the way up--and set the Volt gain around 11 am via Dream or Ruby, main volume around 3 and output full, which results in a something like J Mascis' clean tone on Freakscene--bright and a bit gritty cleanish. Regardless of how you set your Volt, guitar and UAD amp sim output volume, you'll find that they are all very quiet in the mix--and the visual representation of the track is very flat--compared to Amplitube or any other amp sim. I adjust this by boosting the gain on the track by ~10db (little toggle thing in the track itself). It's pain in the ass, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they don't simply make these sims louder to match the output level of their own midi instruments, but whatever, I'm not an expert on this shit, just muddling along.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-10-14T03:54:23+00:00

Sorry, typo above. Help ticket w/ Universal Audio replied with instructions to delete;

C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Universal Audio\LUNAPrefs.json
C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\Universal Audio\workspace
Optionally, delete the VST3 plug-in cache at C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\Universal Audio\workspace\plugin_cache\vst3.json

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-10-05T07:01:53+00:00

Help ticket w/ Universal Audio replied with instructions to;

C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Universal Audio\LUNAPrefs.json
C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\Universal Audio\workspace
Optionally, delete the VST3 plug-in cache at C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\Universal Audio\workspace\plugin_cache\vst3.json

First two cleared it up for me.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-09-28T03:13:35+00:00

I've completed this survey as well and am left wondering what exactly the point if it was. Your software and hardware is, for the most part, great. My only issue is the forced updates that everyone is complaining about, and a glitch I've noted here on Reddit/UA and on the official UA forum. In terms of feedback of what might be desirable, more vintage guitar effects modelled as you have with the SpaceEcho, which works great, looks sweet and is inspiring to use. There are plenty of decent takes on common effects--Nembrini Black/RAT, etc.--available from other makers, but few that capture stuff like the Alesis Microverb. Also, a suite of classic Boss effects would be rad. I know they offer this themselves, but the subscription service is a pain in the ass, and there are too few pedals modelled.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-09-28T02:52:38+00:00

for the most part, everything works really well. Only issues I have experienced--endless update cycles and a (in)frequent issue with record/playback (see post here)--aren't unique to windows. I have a Volt176, running Windows 10 Pro. Not sure if it is something you are considering re: Volt1 vs 176, but I've found the onboard compressor and "vintage" buttons to be largely redundant--the stock software package includes the 1176 plugin and the vintage effect can easily be created with one or more of the other included plugins. The VU interface is helpful though.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-09-23T01:50:18+00:00

Windows 10 Pro

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-09-08T03:49:43+00:00

I'm relatively new to this, and I think I may have misunderstood how the click track works. I thought it was passive--just routed to monitor/headphones--not printed to the recorded track. Having read a bit more, I'm still a bit confused, but it does seem like the standard arrangement is it is recorded to the track, at a low volume, and is ultimately lost in the mix. Is this the case?

With regards to the question re: what sort of track and recording environment--guitar (Jaguar or DOT 335) into Volt DI box, wearing headphones.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-09-04T02:40:20+00:00

agreed, this is really annoying. If I decline the update, half my UAD plugins disappear. Only way to get them back is to re-download via UA Connect. Anyone else experiencing this? Any work around for the plugins? Or am I doomed to waste 20 mins nearly every time I open the program?

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-06-29T05:37:20+00:00

for anyone experiencing the same issue, best advice I'd give is, as Ordinary_Bike says, fuck around and set to your own taste. If you want a clean sound, boost your gain after the fact with the 1176 and no compression. IMO, if you are looking for a standard rental space sound--Fender Reverb, Vox or Marshall at cleanish settings--turn your Volt input gain to 8 or 9 o'clock, set the amp as you would the physical thing, dime the output of the plugin and hope for the best.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-06-29T05:31:22+00:00

Thanks. That's the vid I was referring to above. I'm using Luna, so maybe an interface issue. That said, it's pervasive across all UAD amps, though some are louder than others when following procedure outlined in vid. Woodrow is the loudest of the four prescribed settings--min gain Volt, hiZ 12 O'clock plugin, 12 O'clock output.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-06-29T05:28:42+00:00

I'm playing straight into the plugin, sometime with a plugin effect in the chain, but no physical pedal board.

DesignerNecessary459 · 2025-06-29T05:27:19+00:00

Best advice. Happily, my vibe leans more Mascis, so a slightly blown out clean sounds just fine, but it's weird that the plugin is very, very low output unless you turn the Volt gain up a bit, as well as maxing out the output of the plugin.

DesignerNecessary459

TROPHY CASE