The Best UAD Plugins For Crushing Metal Mixes

The Universal Audio platform is a beast. With its DSP-powered hardware and massive library of world-class plugins, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of classic gear emulations. But let’s cut through the noise. Which UAD plugins actually make a difference when you’re trying to dial in a punishing, modern metal mix?

This isn’t about collecting every vintage emulation under the sun. Plugin Acquisition Syndrome is real, and it’s a trap. The truth is, your skills as a mixer matter infinitely more than the specific brand of EQ or compressor you use. A pro can get a killer mix with stock plugins because they know what to do and why.

But—and this is a big but—some plugins are designed for very specific tasks. They aren’t magic bullets, but they are specialized tools that can help you get a certain sound faster and more effectively. When you need to slam a drum bus, add analog weight to your master, or dial in the perfect high-gain guitar tone, the right UAD plugin can be a game-changer.

This list isn’t about what you need. It’s about the workhorse UAD plugins you’ll see the pros using time and time again to craft heavy, impactful, and polished metal records.

The UAD Plugins That Get Used On Metal Records

We’re focusing on the tools that excel at the jobs required for modern metal: aggressive compression, surgical and musical EQ, tape saturation, and authentic high-gain amp tones.

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

If there’s one compressor that screams “rock and roll,” it’s the 1176. It’s a FET compressor known for its lightning-fast attack time and aggressive character. For metal, it’s an absolute necessity. The UAD collection gives you three distinct flavors of this legend.

Why it’s essential for metal:
The 1176 adds punch, energy, and attitude. It’s perfect for making drums snap, pinning a vocal in place so it cuts through a wall of guitars, and adding bite to a bass guitar.

Actionable Tips & Tricks:

• The "All Buttons In" Trick: This is the 1176’s most famous feature. Pressing all four ratio buttons at once creates an explosive, trashy compression curve with a ton of harmonic distortion. It’s incredible for parallel drum busses to add aggression or on room mics to make them sound larger than life.
• Snare Crack: Use the Rev E on your snare top mic. Set a fast attack (around 6-7) and a fast release (7). Push the input to get about 6-10dB of gain reduction. This will emphasize the crack and smack of the snare, helping it cut through the mix.
• Vocal Aggression: For a screaming vocal, try the Rev A. It's the grittiest of the bunch. Don't be afraid to drive the input hard to get some of that signature distortion. It can help a vocal feel more urgent and raw.

Learning how to properly apply this kind of aggressive compression is a core skill. For a deeper dive, check out our guide on metal compression secrets.

Pultec EQP-1A & MEQ-5

The Pultec is the polar opposite of a surgical plugin. You don’t use it for narrow cuts. You use it for broad, beautiful, musical tone shaping. It’s a passive tube EQ that just makes things sound better.

Why it’s essential for metal:
Metal mixes can easily become harsh and sterile. The Pultec adds warmth, weight, and analog character. It’s especially powerful on the low end and high end of your mix.

Actionable Tips & Tricks:

• The Low-End Trick on Kick Drums: This is a classic. Set the EQP-1A to 30Hz or 60Hz. Boost the low frequency knob by a few dB, and at the same time, use the attenuation knob to cut by a similar amount. This creates a resonant bump right at the chosen frequency while tightening up the sub-bass below it. The result is a kick drum that is both huge and tight.
• Adding "Air" Without Harshness: Use the EQP-1A on your mix bus. A slight boost at 12kHz or 16kHz with a broad bandwidth can open up the entire mix, adding a high-end sheen that doesn’t sound brittle or digital.
• Shaping Mid-Range on Guitars: The MEQ-5 is the Pultec’s mid-range counterpart. Need your guitars to have more bite without adding fizz? A small boost around 1.5kHz or 3kHz can bring out the pick attack and aggression in a very musical way.

SSL 4000 E Channel Strip

The Solid State Logic 4000 E console is the sound of thousands of rock and metal albums. Its VCA compressor has a legendary "smack," and its EQ is punchy and aggressive. The UAD emulation captures this character perfectly.

Why it’s essential for metal:
It’s an all-in-one workhorse for shaping drums. The compressor, gate/expander, and EQ work together to turn lackluster drum tracks into polished, punchy weapons.

Actionable Tips & Tricks:

• Gating Toms: The gate on the SSL channel strip is ridiculously fast and effective. Use it on your tom tracks to get rid of cymbal bleed between hits. Set a fast attack, adjust the release to match the natural decay of the tom, and tweak the threshold until only the tom hits open the gate.
• The SSL Drum Smack: Insert the channel strip on your snare track. Engage the compressor with a fast attack and medium release, ratio at 4:1. Push the signal into it until you’re getting consistent gain reduction. You’ll instantly hear that signature SSL "smack" that helps a snare dominate a mix.
• EQing Guitars for Clarity: The SSL EQ is fantastic for broad strokes on rhythm guitars. Use the high-pass filter to clean up low-end mud, and try a wide cut in the 400-500Hz range to carve out space for the bass guitar. Learn more about EQing metal guitars for max impact here.

ENGL Savage 120 Amplifier

While you can often get away with any good EQ, it sure as hell matters which amp sim you use. For tight, modern, and aggressive metal tones, the ENGL Savage 120 is a top-tier choice. It’s known for its clarity and percussive attack, even with heavily downtuned guitars.

Why it’s essential for metal:
This amp delivers the articulate, high-gain chug that defines modern metal. It doesn't get flubby or overly saturated, making it perfect for complex, fast riffing.

Actionable Tips & Tricks:

• Tight Rhythm Tone: Use Channel 4. Keep the gain around 5-6 (it has more than enough). Engage the "Contour" and "Bright" switches. The key to tightness is often in the low-end—don't be afraid to back the Bass knob down to 3 or 4 and use a high-pass filter in your DAW afterward.
• Pair with the Right IRs: The built-in cab sims are good, but the real power comes from pairing the amp with your own impulse responses. Load up an IR from a Mesa/Boogie or Orange 4×12 cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers for a classic metal guitar sound.

Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder

Slapping a tape emulation plugin on your mix bus is one of the fastest ways to make a digital mix sound more "finished." The Ampex ATR-102 is the king of tape plugins, offering incredible control over the subtle warmth, saturation, and dynamic smoothing that real analog tape provides.

Why it’s essential for metal:
It "glues" the entire mix together. It can tame harsh high frequencies from cymbals and distorted guitars, add perceived weight to the low end, and subtly compress the mix in a way that makes it feel more cohesive and powerful.

Actionable Tips & Tricks:

• Choose Your Tape & Speed: For a fatter low-end bump and more coloration, try the 456 tape formula at 15 IPS (Inches Per Second). For more high-frequency detail and less saturation, go with the GP9 formula at 30 IPS.
• Don’t Overdo It: This is a mastering-grade tool. You don’t need the needle to be slamming. Just kissing the red on the loudest parts of your song is often enough to get the benefit of the tape saturation and compression without audibly squashing your mix.

The Most Important Plugin is… Your Brain

Here's the bottom line: you could have every plugin on this list and still end up with a weak mix. These are powerful tools, but they don’t make decisions for you. Your taste, your critical listening skills, and your understanding of fundamental mixing concepts are what truly matter.

Many of the world’s best metal producers—guys like Will Putney, Jens Bogren, and Joey Sturgis—use these exact plugins. You can see many of them in our list of Nail The Mix instructors. But their incredible mixes aren't a result of the plugins they own; they're a result of thousands of hours spent honing their craft. They know how and why to use these tools to achieve their vision.

See How The Pros Use These Tools

Reading about the "Pultec low-end trick" is one thing. Watching a Grammy-winning producer actually dial it in on a real-world kick drum, in the context of a full song, is another thing entirely.

If you’re ready to move beyond just collecting plugins and start mastering the techniques behind professional metal production, Nail The Mix is for you. Every month, you get the real multi-tracks from a massive song and watch the original producer mix it from scratch, explaining every single decision along the way.

Check out our full catalog of sessions and see which of your favorite songs you can learn to mix, step-by-step, from the pros who made them.