My so very big Christmas Gift (to myself)

[Grem]

1 hour ago, Zo said:

compare appolo unison to rme fx ?

My Fireface 400 was and older unit that didn't have any fx with it.

1 hour ago, Zo said:

Having an isa one (neve certified design) with the old transformer

Mic-preamp?

1 hour ago, Zo said:

Are those silent (no vents ? ) becuase they tend to heat quiet much at school

My Apollo Twin X Quad does get warm. I wouldn't say hot, but definitely warm. I have left it on for days and it never gets above that "warm" temperature.  It does have lots of vents on it. And it is silent. However, when you change sample rate or change the input impedance (by switching between Unison plugins) it will make a clicking noise. 

[Bapu]

I just wanted to say that I also added to my mic locker a Slate ML-1 microphone. It arrived yesterday. $499 with 48 months no interest from Sweetwater.

[lawajava]

On 12/21/2022 at 7:45 AM, Bapu said:

Finally got the 2nd and 3rd Apollo x8p units installed and all is well at Chez Bapu.

 

Chez Bapu

(couldn't resist after all this dribble).  (I'm an RME man myself).

Edited December 24, 2022 by lawajava

[Fleer]

Bapuji Manor!

[Bapu]

1 hour ago, lawajava said:

 

Chez Bapu

(couldn't resist after all this dribble).  (I'm an RME man myself).

 

33 minutes ago, Fleer said:

Bapuji Manor!

If only. More like:

[Bapu]

19 hours ago, Bapu said:

That plus 24 mic inputs instead of 20 (4 on UFX and 8 each on the two OCTAMIC II). And since I got the Apollo Twin X it's actually 26 Unison mic inputs.
Lastly the RME only had 8 line outs (2 for monitor, 6 extra) now I have 24 line ins and outs.

So much more flexibility for my 4 hardware compressors (Serpent 500 series bus, TK Audio 500 series, Warm Audio Bus Comp and Heritage Audio Successor).

I'll start out with doing final mixes with:
HRK tape emus into Serpent - Master Bus 
HRK tape emus into TK Audio - Vocals Bus
Fatso into Successor - Drum Shells  Bus
HRK tape emus into Warm Audio - Bass Bus

I've yet to acquire the Fatso and the HRK emus for the bass (these will be bought in 2023).

My old band (from High School Days) is getting together here in February. I need 16 mics for drums, 2 for bass amp (10" and 15"), 2 for Guitars (amp and DI) and 2 for vocals. If we have a third guitarist I will need 2 for him as well (amp and DI).

 

Well, I ordered the 2 HRK tape emu units for the Warm Audio since they sent me a 10% off coupon.

[Grem]

2 hours ago, Bapu said:

I just wanted to say that I also added to my mic locker a Slate ML-1 microphone. It arrived yesterday. $499 with 48 months no interest from Sweetwater.

Do you already have the interface that goes with it? Or can it operate standalone?

[smallstonefan]

I love my UAD gear. I upgraded to the new x series after a mix with the masters with Andew Scheps. He was raving about the quality of the converters and converters are a big reason he went in the box. 
 

I have a Dangerous d Box and I used its converters rather than my old silver UAD converters. The new x series absolutely blows away the converters in the Dangerous. 

The x series are seriously good pieces of kit, congrats  ?

[mibby]

OK all of you UAD guys,  I've always looked the other way when I saw a UAD sale/thread because they were waaaaay too expensive.  But, IF one were to dip a toe into the UAD pool, what is a good entry level step in that direction?  Mostly mixing and some collabs...  Asking for a friend.  ?

 

[Zo]

there's no usb c v ersions .?

[smallstonefan]

1 hour ago, mibby said:

OK all of you UAD guys,  I've always looked the other way when I saw a UAD sale/thread because they were waaaaay too expensive.  But, IF one were to dip a toe into the UAD pool, what is a good entry level step in that direction?  Mostly mixing and some collabs...  Asking for a friend.  ?

 

It depends on whether or not you want an interface or just access to the plugin ecosystem...

What are you thinking?

As for plugin suggestions - that will depend on if you get an interfaced or not and how many cores you get. I LOVE the 1176, LA2A, and Pultec emulations but if you are limited on horsepower it might not make sense to use it for those plugins as there are many others out there. In that case, going for something unique to UAD (like reverbs) is a good thing to consider. If you get an interface, you'll probably want a plugin that gives you a nice recording chain - like a channel strip.

Edited December 24, 2022 by smallstonefan

[Bapu]

4 hours ago, Grem said:

Do you already have the interface that goes with it? Or can it operate standalone?

I read on the Slate website that it can stand on its own. But it 'should' be best with a VMS ONE preamp.

Found a used VMS ONE on ebay for $280 (and I had $30 in points on my ebay card). Snagged it for $250 + tax + free shipping.

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Bapu

[Grem]

19 hours ago, mibby said:

I've always looked the other way when I saw a UAD sale/thread because they were waaaaay too expensive. 

I was exactly the same way. In fact, a user here was going to give me a great deal on a UAD card but I turned it down because I didn't want to get caught up in that money pit!!

Then Larry had a used USB Apollo he was getting rid of and offered me a great price. I took him up on it.

Having that Unison tech just changed the way I record. And I am really not overstating this. Those channel strips, when paired with a good mic (I have a middle of the road AT 4040) just get the job done. Flat out done. I am no longer fighting to get my vocals sitting in my mixes. I pick a channel strip (SSL is my fav, followed by a very close second API), get a vocal sound I like, record, and I am done! Very minor eq'ing needed. And when I add a little reverb, icing on the cake.

I am by no means an expert. I am just telling my story. 

BTW, I got some extra processing power to help with mixing. And when I thought it couldn't get any better I upgraded that USB Apollo for the improved Apollo Twin X Quad TB3. To me, it was worth every cent.

Edited December 25, 2022 by Grem

[mibby]

22 hours ago, smallstonefan said:

If you get an interface, you'll probably want a plugin that gives you a nice recording chain - like a channel strip.

Most likely this - and mixing of course!  Apollo 2?  Would I need a Thunderbolt card for my PC - or is USB good enough?  Like I said, I've never paid much attention to this brand because of the cost...

4 hours ago, Grem said:

Having that Unison tech just changed the way I record. And I am really not overstating this. Those channel strips, when paired with a good mic (I have a middle of the road AT 4040) just get the job done. Flat out done. I am no longer fighting to get my vocals sitting in my mixes. I pick a channel strip (SSL is my fav, followed by a very close second API), get a vocal sound I like, record, and I am done! Very minor eq'ing needed. And when I add a little reverb, icing on the cake.

I am by no means an expert. I am just telling my story. 

BTW, I got some extra processing power to help with mixing. And when I thought it couldn't get any better I upgraded that USB Apollo for the improved Apollo Twin X Quad TB3. To me, it was worth every cent.

Oh no...

[smallstonefan]

On 12/25/2022 at 1:20 PM, mibby said:

Most likely this - and mixing of course!  Apollo 2?  Would I need a Thunderbolt card for my PC - or is USB good enough?  Like I said, I've never paid much attention to this brand because of the cost...

I'm not certain about USB or Thunderbolt. I use TB and have three UAD devices. I think USB would be fine if you were running a smaller interface.

I have an x8 and I love just about everything about this interface. It's expensive - and it might be overkill for some - but it's a killer unit. I think a twin Quad would be a good entry point for UAD and I would avoid a Twin Duo - 2 sharks is simply not enough horsepower IMO. I'd highly consider a used one in good condition. A lot of time sellers will have purchased plugins and since you can't resell the plugins they transfer with the unit. If going new, talk to a Sweetwater rep about promos and maybe go to the UAD forums. People track the offers - sometimes you get bigger dollar discounts and sometimes you get more plugins when buying new so you have a little flexibility in your path.

After that I'd demo the channel strips and choose the one that you like best - being mindful that you have enough processing power to run it on all of your unison inputs at the same time if you'll be recording that way. That will cover your recording. While it might be nice to add other plugins in your recording chain, everything else can be added in mixing. You'll want the channel strip while recording, however, to take advantage of the Unison technology.

I think UAD makes the best versions of the Pultec, 1176, and LA2A, and Fairchild out there and some are friendly in power while some are not as much. You'll usually use a number of these in a project, however, so if processing power isn't plenty then I'd go straight for some of the plugins that are UAD only - such as their reverbs (which are fantastic).

You can demo any and all of the plugins and purchasing a plugin resets to the demos. I think they reset over time as well but I can't remember. Test them and be discerning; I have a master template that uses a lot of different UAD plugins in Pro Tools and I can get to max out if I push it - and I have 18 cores, so you'll want to choose wisely.

Oh, and NEVER buy a plugin for the UAD platform that is available natively - I've heard that UAD may upsample differently but I don't notice a difference so I see no reason to chew up precious processing power.

I LOVE my x8. I love the UAD plugins as well - and they are even releasing some of them natively! Some that I own for the shark chips I've received free copies of natively. There aren't many, but it's really encouraging that they are on the path to release more. Over time you could use the native versions for things like the analog classics and save the sharks for bigger jobs - potentially.

All this said, UAD is a bit of a rabbit hole. You'll be looking at charts to balance processing power with what you have, and it will at times seem like you simply never have enough shark chips - because you won't. UAD does run better sales these days than they used to though, so you can get pretty good pricing on plugins if you're patient.

Let me know if you have any questions - happy to help.

Edited December 26, 2022 by smallstonefan