UA Apollo First Look (user review)

[Snoggin]

That must be awesome to create music with your wife Cowboy. My girlfriend love music but doesn't play or sing much as I encourage her. She CAN actually sing but has a big complex because Her daughter has told her to stop every time she starts to sing . Kinda sad and I'm working in that.

I really like the song.. I'm a sucker for a toe tapper like that

Originally Posted by cowboycoalminer

Here's a cool old New Grass Revival tune my wife and I did last night while polishing off a bottle of good cabernet. Happy fourth

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by Snoggin

That must be awesome to create music with your wife Cowboy. My girlfriend love music but doesn't play or sing much as I encourage her. She CAN actually sing but has a big complex because Her daughter has told her to stop every time she starts to sing . Kinda sad and I'm working in that.

I really like the song.. I'm a sucker for a toe tapper like that

[Besottedly]

Originally Posted by cowboycoalminer

Here's a cool old New Grass Revival tune my wife and I did last night while polishing off a bottle of good cabernet. Happy fourth

Cowboy, i'm always so impressed by your music. unlike some of the rest of us here who don't know country and opted out because of social identity and or other various constraints i am familiar with country and bluegrass. My mother is from the south, my favorite cousin honey combs (who is now dead) was a beautiful country singer in nashville. Anyway i must say you are incredible!

[Wheelomatic]

Here's a cool old New Grass Revival tune my wife and I did last night while polishing off a bottle of good cabernet. Happy fourth

I always look forward to seeing this kind of post from Cowboy. It's like the bonus CD in your favorite music mag.

It's also both inspiring and daunting to marvel at the skills that enable him to crank out the level of quality stuff in half a night that'd take me weeks to produce and which would lack the musicianship and character he commands at will. All I got to say, is keep 'em coming, Cowboy!
Wheels

[MJB]

Got the new 1176 plugs, just tried the 1176 AE as a substitute for the 1176LN that came with the Apollo, and all I can say after 3 minutes of listening is whoa, now we're talking! It's sooo much smoother, it's what I felt was missing from the vocal tracks all along. I'll most likely change over all the plug in's on previous sessions to the new versions, but I kept getting "plug disabled" pop ups from exceeding limits, do the new plugs use more DSP power?

[Gatortail1]

Here's one I did. Air conditioner in the background. :(
Don't Do Me No Wrong - Recorded at The Stagger Inn by poiupoiu on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[MJB]

Gator, this was done through the Apollo? That's a good vocal sound for a live recording.


Can't figure out if this is heaven or hell...

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by MJB

Got the new 1176 plugs, just tried the 1176 AE as a substitute for the 1176LN that came with the Apollo, and all I can say after 3 minutes of listening is whoa, now we're talking! It's sooo much smoother, it's what I felt was missing from the vocal tracks all along. I'll most likely change over all the plug in's on previous sessions to the new versions, but I kept getting "plug disabled" pop ups from exceeding limits, do the new plugs use more DSP power?

Hey Mjr, yes they do but here's an opportunitty for you to track Vox with the 1176 in console and trust your ears. Maybe set it how you like it do a test take and then comit ?


Check too your sampling rate and what other plugs you are running ? You could run a dry track and record it with the 1176 to another track in your session setting then ?

Experiment with your FW bandwidth settings too !

Kcat

[bdenton]

Originally Posted by MJB

I gotta get that master fader thing working in Logic too. When doing a vocal, I simply want to bring all the music down a bit, not lower every track individually. One more thing to learn how to do digitally. I'm going to Apple this afternoon for a 1/2 hour Logic one to one session, mainly to refine editing and perhaps begin automation..

So, my getting the 1176 upgrade, and the Studer seems to be a good cost effective first move guys?

You could use the old radio trick...

Throw a compressor across the mix bus, and bring in the mic a little hot.

Adjust your compression so that when you're doing your vocal, the slightly hot mic will cause the compressor to push the level of everything down, including the music. Stop singing, and the compressor will return the music to its original level.

It takes a little bit of work to get the compressor adjusted properly, and this technique is not suitable for every type of music, but it's a nice addition to your "toolbox"...

[Gatortail1]

thanks man. L47 on vox in cardiod. great mics.

[MJB]

Great suggestions, thanks guys.

[euphoria89]

Just spend an hour or two recording down ideas for a new track.

Had a very sudden burst of creativity and wanted to capture as much of it as i could.

Used my TLM102 straight into the Apollos pre's and just hit record. Used the studer @ tracking, and Ampex @ mixdown, along with VCC, and harrison EQ filtering.

I have to admit, this unit is great for inspiration on the fly. The 140 reverb for tracking acoustic instruments is so beautiful. I must have spent a good 10 minutes just playing over the top of the guitar part and thinking 'wow, this sounds great'. Then i realised i had about half hour before work.

Don't have a bass/fiddle at mine. Heck, i can't play them so it is of no use! But yeah, want to add those in maybe. You'll have to forgive my banjo playing. I've only picked it up a couple of times since i've had it.

[cowboycoalminer]

Originally Posted by MJB

Can't figure out if this is heaven or hell...

Heaven

No question...

[cowboycoalminer]

Originally Posted by bdenton

You could use the old radio trick...

Throw a compressor across the mix bus, and bring in the mic a little hot.

Adjust your compression so that when you're doing your vocal, the slightly hot mic will cause the compressor to push the level of everything down, including the music. Stop singing, and the compressor will return the music to its original level.

It takes a little bit of work to get the compressor adjusted properly, and this technique is not suitable for every type of music, but it's a nice addition to your "toolbox"...

I use this sidechain technique on everything I do. Usually only strapped across the sub mix though. It pulls the bass and kick out of the way in the middle giving room for the vocals. Sometimes I'll use a sidechain comp on a snare too if it's a driving tune and I want that snare to pop in the gaps.

[cowboycoalminer]

Originally Posted by euphoria89

Just spend an hour or two recording down ideas for a new track.

Had a very sudden burst of creativity and wanted to capture as much of it as i could.

Used my TLM102 straight into the Apollos pre's and just hit record. Used the studer @ tracking, and Ampex @ mixdown, along with VCC, and harrison EQ filtering.

I have to admit, this unit is great for inspiration on the fly. The 140 reverb for tracking acoustic instruments is so beautiful. I must have spent a good 10 minutes just playing over the top of the guitar part and thinking 'wow, this sounds great'. Then i realised i had about half hour before work.

Don't have a bass/fiddle at mine. Heck, i can't play them so it is of no use! But yeah, want to add those in maybe. You'll have to forgive my banjo playing. I've only picked it up a couple of times since i've had it.

That sound is as good as it gets, period. How you liking your Apollo now?

[MJB]

Coiwboy wrote: "Heaven, No question..."

I think heaven, if I could just add a skylight.

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by euphoria89

Just spend an hour or two recording down ideas for a new track.

Had a very sudden burst of creativity and wanted to capture as much of it as i could.

Used my TLM102 straight into the Apollos pre's and just hit record. Used the studer @ tracking, and Ampex @ mixdown, along with VCC, and harrison EQ filtering.

I have to admit, this unit is great for inspiration on the fly. The 140 reverb for tracking acoustic instruments is so beautiful. I must have spent a good 10 minutes just playing over the top of the guitar part and thinking 'wow, this sounds great'. Then i realised i had about half hour before work.

Don't have a bass/fiddle at mine. Heck, i can't play them so it is of no use! But yeah, want to add those in maybe. You'll have to forgive my banjo playing. I've only picked it up a couple of times since i've had it.

Hey euphoria89,

charming and lovely musically and natural and had that liquidly sonic quality

please describe settings if you have a minute.

I bought a number of plugs due to the sound quality of your recordings and your technique so I am alway curious about your chain and settings.

Thx for posting: look forward to hearing more of that !

kcat

[C//AZM]

Just got PT10(demo) for my new Mac Mini and will spend the day hooking up, connecting and making sure everything talks with everything else. This is a strange situation for me because this is the first time i've changed everything at once. I went from pt6.4, Reason3, Melodyne Uno and waves Gold bundle(from 2003) to the new versions of all of those, Plus I've added The Apollo. Gotta spend a few days in the cave getting used to the shiny new upgrades of all of these.
Reason 6.5 with the new rack extensions is a great new tool.

One thing though, and I know this is a newbie question but regarding plugin lists, How do I make the list only show what UAD plugs I actually have versus the entire UAD library of available plugins? When I go to open a plug in on a track, I don't want to continually see a gigantic list of available plugins, this makes it harder to get to the meager few that I have.

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by C//AZM

Just got PT10(demo) for my new Mac Mini and will spend the day hooking up, connecting and making sure everything talks with everything else. This is a strange situation for me because this is the first time i've changed everything at once. I went from pt6.4, Reason3, Melodyne Uno and waves Gold bundle(from 2003) to the new versions of all of those, Plus I've added The Apollo. Gotta spend a few days in the cave getting used to the shiny new upgrades of all of these.
Reason 6.5 with the new rack extensions is a great new tool.

One thing though, and I know this is a newbie question but regarding plugin lists, How do I make the list only show what UAD plugs I actually have versus the entire UAD library of available plugins? When I go to open a plug in on a track, I don't want to continually see a gigantic list of available plugins, this makes it harder to get to the meager few that I have.

Hey Welcome,

I don't think you can edit the plug lists , you will just get used to finding your plugs and thinking about all the plugs you don't have .

but in ptx you can list plugs by type or manufacturer

you may wish to install snow leopard rather than lion as some are having problems with lion.

Kcat

[C//AZM]

Originally Posted by Kcatthedog

Hey Welcome,
....

you may wish to install snow leopard rather than lion as some are having problems with lion.

Kcat

Yeah I read that and I'm waiting for a couple of crashes or problems before I do the OS switch. So far so good. Too bad about the plugin list. it could become a problem especially after I spend all I want to spend and have decided that I definitely don't want plugin X but there it is on my list.

[cowboycoalminer]

Here's one I wrote for my daughters demo album. I did these scratch vocals so I could track around it and she could learn the tune. I'll post it up when she does it. She's defiantly the singer in the family.

[StoneinaPond]

Originally Posted by C//AZM

One thing though, and I know this is a newbie question but regarding plugin lists, How do I make the list only show what UAD plugs I actually have versus the entire UAD library of available plugins? When I go to open a plug in on a track, I don't want to continually see a gigantic list of available plugins, this makes it harder to get to the meager few that I have.

Go to Library, Application Support, Digidesign, and move the plug-ins you don't want to see into the Plug-Ins (Unused) folder.

[Kcatthedog]

After listening to the quality of the trx here (props to cowboy , euphoria 89 et al), i personally am very comfortable with the value of the apollo.

In Craig Anderson's detailed review after noting that one is really paying about a grand for the interface not including the uad card , included plugs and $100 voucher and after popping the hood , he states:

" Although $2,499 for the Apollo Quad isn’t inexpensive, you can only appreciate the pricing when you take the unit apart and see the level of quality it has, both inside and out. This is a beautifully engineered piece of gear that justifies its price,,,"

Kcat

[MJB]

I finally worked out how to create a reverb bus in Logic, and saved around 30% or more DSP power. No problem using the 1175AE now. Thanks to Bruce Macpherson at UAD for pointing the way. I'll certainly be needing that once I add a few new plugs. I wish I could afford a satellite, and get it over already ;-)

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by MJB

I finally worked out how to create a reverb bus in Logic, and saved around 30% or more DSP power. No problem using the 1175AE now. Thanks to Bruce Macpherson at UAD for pointing the way. I'll certainly be needing that once I add a few new plugs. I wish I could afford a satellite, and get it over already ;-)

Great Mjr !

Yes a satalite would be nice but more potential plug thoughput will still be limited by the FW 800 bandwidth.

A satelite quad will give you 6 dsp chips so your dsp will have trebled 2 to 6 but your FW bandwidth is the same.

The TB is the solution to this presuming one has it @$500 US, at least one TB cable: apollo to computer(presuming a computer with TB out) and either TB drives (external plus at least 1 other cable) or a lacie hub ect..

Not to be negative, just realistic , personally I am saving my pennies and running at 44.1 to use Bandwidth as efficiently as possible. !

Looking forward to your next mix !

Kcat

[MJB]

Sounds really good Cowboy, that tune's ready to go, and we all know that ain't easy to do.

kcat, I hadn't really thought through all the aspects of the TB option. First thing is , I'd need a new computer, ugh.. I'd rather do at least six months to a year with my 2010 imac, too bad it doesn't have TB, and then a new drive. I think I'd rather spend the cash on UAD plugs first.

I'm holding my first Rock & Roll Schoolhouse Bootcamp this week, full time, teaching kids to play like a real band, so I won't have a minute to track, but I'm grateful to be making any money in the summertime.

"Looking forward to your next mix ! Kcat"

I still need a new lead guitar track, (the Blackstar amp I used is really buzzy and the parts are just temporary filler), and I'm hoping to get a pedal steel done eventually when I visit friends in Nashville in a month or two. I'd love to hear Cowboy's fiddle on this too. That said, maybe the guys here might enjoy comparing the vocals through the 1176AE to the last mix with the stock 1176. I didn't track with it, but I think it helped smooth out what I'd done. Also, the bridge (" I've been waiting all my life" ), was done on a different day, I tracked with much less gain, and it came out cleaner, and meatier, don't you think? An small example of what Cowboy recommended.

[MJB]

I don't see why, but the old mix won't load, even though it appears to.

[MJ Heck]

For any of you guys worrying about FireWire bandwidth - I am running a Satellite Quad into an Apollo Quad; while attempting to establish the limits of my system (lots of Fatsos and Massive Passives) I ran out of processing power with tons of FireWire bandwidth still to spare.

Now, this was mixing rather than tracking, but it still wasn't even close.

MJH

[Kcatthedog]

Originally Posted by MJ Heck

For any of you guys worrying about FireWire bandwidth - I am running a Satellite Quad into an Apollo Quad; while attempting to establish the limits of my system (lots of Fatsos and Massive Passives) I ran out of processing power with tons of FireWire bandwidth still to spare.

Now, this was mixing rather than tracking, but it still wasn't even close.

MJH

Cool !

Please post your settings ?

I have a quad and have bumped into my FW limit but at a higher sampling rate.

Depends to on whether One is using internal or external drives and HDD or SDD and their configuration raid etc . I am just curious about people's set ups and experiences ?


Kcat

[phillipc421]

Is that demo recorded only with apollo?