New Music Gear Monday: United Plugins Quick AG Acoustic Guitar Plugin

Mixing acoustic guitars can be finicky mostly because there’s such a wide variance between them and the ones you have handy might not compliment the track. Many mixers who can get an electric guitar to fit in the mix in no time sometimes can take ages with an acoustic, and that’s why the new Quick AG acoustic guitar plugin from United Plugins can really be a time saver.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Quick AG is its user interface, which is in the shape of the top half of an acoustic guitar body. The parameters are grouped into unique sections like EQ, Comp, Reverb, a special section called Extra (we’ll look at that soon), and instrument selection. The presets are available on a separate section on the simulated strap of the guitar on the top right of the interface.

Although it was primarily developed for acoustic guitars, Quick AG has presets for all acoustic string instruments including baritone guitar, Spanish (nylon string) guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. The EQ section is divided into a Low Cut parameter that cuts the frequencies between 20 and 500Hz; Body, which adds weight to your instrument; De-Harsh, which cuts problematic frequencies (the higher the value is the more is cut); and Spark, which adds highs that make your instruments sound bright. The last 3 parameters vary depending upon the type of instrument selected.

The Comp section offers three kinds of compressor types with the ability to blend the style of the neighboring ones (FET to Vari-mu or Vari-mu to Clean). Clicking the compressor names sets the value to 100% of the particular style (FET, Vari-mu or Clean). A Release parameter controls the compressor recovery time, while Amount controls the dry/wet signal ratio of the compressor section.

Quick AG also has built-in reverb with 3 types available – plate, hall and room. As with the compressor you can also blend between plate and hall, and hall and room. The Length determines the decay time of the reverb section, while Dry/Wet sets amount of effected to dry signal. The range is 0-40% to avoid using too much. 

The Extra section is probably the most unique. There you’ll find a Transient control that adds more focus on the processed signal transients, a Width control for stereo widening of the instrument signal, and a Doubler to give it a bigger sound. 

Each section has an enable switch with a green On indicator, and there are two VU style meters for Input and Output along with level controls on the bottom of the UI.

While there’s a trial version, Quick AG is currently on sale for just $22 (19€). The price is normally 99€, so this is a great deal.

You can find out more and purchase the plugin here, or watch the video below.

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