Home recording has come a long way. Gone are the days of bulky analog mixers, tape recorders, and complicated rack equipment. The modern studio is lean.
But even a quality DAW and plug-ins can be expensive. Our UAD Explore FREE changes that — giving you everything you need to get professional-quality mixes at home. In this article we’ll show you how to download it, get up and running, and start creating.
Download the UAD Explore FREE bundle today! Learn more ›
UAD Explore FREE is a plug-in bundle featuring classic compressors, tube preamps, a plate reverb, virtual instruments, and the LUNA DAW. It’s everything you need to start creating professional-sounding mixes right away.
Start Creating in Minutes
You can get your UAD Explore FREE plug-ins in just a few steps:
After filling out a brief questionnaire, you’ll be able to download your free plug-ins in the UA Connect application. Once in the app, you’ll find your software in the “UAD Explore Free” tab.
After redeeming UAD Explore FREE software, your licenses are available to download in the UA Connect app. An iLok account is required to manage your plug-in licenses, so you can access them from any computer you work on.
Your Free Ticket to Better Mixes
There’s a reason pro engineers keep coming back to the same handful of tools. Classic compressors like the LA-2A or 1176, and vintage tube channel strips like the UA 610 are more than iconic names — they’re the building blocks of how records have sounded for decades.
With UAD Explore FREE, they’re all yours! And they’re free to use from the day you download them.
Included in UAD Explore FREE
- 1176 Classic FET Compressor
- Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor
- UA 610 Tube Preamp & EQ Collection
- Pure Plate Reverb
- Vibe Analog Machines Essentials
- Showtime ’64 Tube Amp
- Century Tube Channel Strip
- PolyMAX Synth
- LUNA DAW
A DAW That’s Built for You
A DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, is the software at the center of any modern home studio. It’s where you record instruments or vocals, arrange them into a song, and mix everything together until it sounds the way you want it to.
There are plenty of options out there. But when it comes to sound quality, nothing comes close to LUNA.
LUNA is the only DAW in the world with authentic analog sound built right in. With vintage tape machines and classic analog channel strips and summing, LUNA gives your productions the same warmth and character as music on the radio.
But LUNA doesn’t stop at great sound. It’s packed with AI-powered features designed to keep you focused on creating, not menu diving. Just say “Hey Luna…” to start or stop your recording from anywhere in the room — no more stopping mid-performance to run back to your computer.
LUNA can even listen to what you’re playing, identify the instrument, and set up your tracks automatically. It’s like your personal studio assistant, helping you get from demo to finished recording in minutes instead of hours.
UAD Explore FREE includes the LUNA, our award-winning DAW with AI-powered workflows and classic analog sound.
Get Vocal Tracks That Stand Out
When recording vocals with a microphone, your signal goes through a preamp first. Because it’s at the front of your signal chain, the preamp can have a big impact on the character of your track.
Along with the hardware preamps on your audio interface, there are also plug-in emulations. Many of these are versions of classic analog consoles and channel strips, prized for their warmth and vintage tone.
Included in the UAD Explore FREE bundle, our UA 610 Tube Preamp and EQ Collection gives you authentic emulations of preamps at the heart of the greatest recordings ever — from the Beach Boys to Neil Young to Arcade Fire. Both the 610-A and 610-B plug-ins add natural tube warmth and saturation. They can make tracks recorded in a bedroom sound as if they were captured in a multi-million-dollar studio.
UAD Explore FREE plug-ins can give you studio-quality vocals at home.
Once you’ve captured a great vocal recording, it’s time to make it stand out. A compressor can make your track sit perfectly in the mix. And the UAD Explore FREE bundle includes two of the most iconic compressors ever made, each with its own unique personality.
The Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor is an optical tube design, meaning it’s slow and gentle on transients. You can use it to give a vocal added warmth and presence — perfect for singer-songwriters, jazz vocals, or any style where you want the emotion of the performance front and center, without feeling overly-processed.
“The LA-2A compressor is my go-to for lead vocals and acoustic guitars.”
Ariel Borujow (Chromeo, Mac Miller, Madonna)
The UA 1176 Classic FET Compressor is a different beast. It reacts fast, adding energy and presence to vocals so they can cut through a busy mix. If you’re recording pop, rock, hip-hop, or anything where the vocal needs to command attention, the 1176 is your go-to.
Finally, to put the finishing touch on your vocal sound, you’ll want to explore a studio-quality reverb. The Pure Plate Reverb gives you the smooth, lush studio sound that sits beautifully behind a vocal without muddying things up.
Craft Huge Guitar Tones, No Amp Required
A great live guitar tone starts with your fingers, your guitar, and your amp. Capturing it on a recording takes more. You need the right mic, sometimes two, precise placement, and a room that flatters the sound.
The included UAD Showtime ’64 Tube Amp gives you access to one of the most beloved tube amplifiers ever made. When you plug your guitar into the Hi-Z input on your audio interface and pull up the Showtime ’64 plug-in, you get all the inspiring harmonics, saturation, and tube “sag” when you dig in harder.
But UAD amp emulations go further, delivering something even the best real amp can’t.
In a traditional session, recalling a tone means remembering mic placement, amp settings, and hoping the room sounds the same. With plug-ins, your tone is saved with your session, so you can reopen it later and pick up exactly where you left off.
When you plug your guitar into your audio interface and pull up a plug-in like UAD Showtime ’64 Tube Amp, you’re hearing the exact tone of a classic vintage guitar amp.
Synths and Samples to Fuel Your Inspiration
UAD Explore FREE isn’t just for traditional audio recording and mixing. If you want to make beats, produce electronic music, or just add some interesting synth tones to your tracks, this bundle has you covered.
Pads, leads, bass lines, atmospheres — if you’ve heard it in modern music, chances are it came from a synth. The included Polymax Synth puts all of this at your fingertips. With a range of presets, you don’t need any technical knowledge to get started. Just find a sound that inspires you, play some notes, and you’re making music.
“I thrive when things are easy. PolyMAX is very much that. From Pads and keys to wonky leads, it’s a great-sounding instrument.”
Grieves
The bundle also includes Shape, LUNA’s built-in sampler. Where a synthesizer generates sounds electronically, a sampler works with recordings of real instruments and sounds.
Shape comes loaded with a library of ready-to-use sounds covering everything from lush keys and strings to punchy, hard-hitting percussion. Drop a beat, layer some sounds, and you’ve got the foundation of a track in minutes.
With the Polymax Synth to the Shape virtual instrument toolkit, you can build beats from the ground up.
Add Vintage Tape Texture
Once you’ve built out your sounds, the Vibe Analog Machines Essentials plug-in is where things get really interesting. Digital sounds can sometimes feel a little cold and sterile. Vibe adds saturation and grit with tools inspired by quirky vintage gear like analog tape machines and tube preamps.
If you want anything in your mix to sound more alive, Vibe is the secret ingredient that can pull a clean-sounding track into new territory.
Go Make Something Great
Making professional quality music at home has never been more accessible. With LUNA’s world-class analog sound, AI-powered tools that keep you in the creative flow, and a bundle of incredible UAD plug-ins for vocals, guitars, and electronic production, UAD Explore FREE gives you everything you need to start making great music right now.
The only thing left to do is make some noise! Download UAD Explore FREE today.
— Austin Lyons
UAD plug-ins mentioned in this article:
- 1176 Classic FET Compressor
- Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor
- UA 610 Preamp & EQ Collection
- Pure Plate Reverb
- Vibe Analog Machines Essentials
- UAD Showtime ‘64 Tube Amp
- Century Tube Channel Strip
- PolyMAX Synth
- LUNA (Free)
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