So , I was an analog engineer for decades and worked on lots of great recordings. I’m totally spoiled because I cut my teeth on lots of tube outboard gear and some of the finest consoles ever made. (Neve 8088 , API 2448, SSL G-J) That being said , These days mixing in the box never had the workflow that I missed and craved. So I went from Pro Tools to Logic to many other DAW’s and finally got a excited over Harrison’s Mixbus offering but didn’t find myself using it much. And then I picked up an Apollo and eventually downloaded and fired up Luna. Quick intuitive workflow coupled with the * Unison console emulations really flipped my switches. I can honestly say I’m truly excited to deep dive into this DAW. Can’t wait to see you do your stuff with Harrison Mixbus 32 !! Ohhh. By the way. Great watching and listening to you work.
It's important to remember that LUNA is still a work in progress. I still record in Logic as, I'm sure is the case with the likes of Ableton etc., the included stock instruments and features are far more complete BUT for mixing LUNA has been a bit of a revelation. Using the Neve Summing in conjunction with the Studer Tape has given my mixes a 'sound'....I'm not sure how to describe it but it seems more 'pro' than when I do the same thing in Logic. I got off Pro Tools long ago but the workflow is definitely closer to that DAW. Eventually this will have a full feature set and they are constantly upgrading. One editing feature that is, so far, the best in the business that I've used, is the audio quantize. Also the ease and stregngth of the time stretching algorithm is second to none.
@@who_is_dis I'm just now starting to experiment with gain staging through the Studer tape and neve summing extensions by getting signals to hit zero on those weirdly calibrated VU meters, and then gaining things down to -18 before hitting my plugin chains. It's better.
I'm using LUNA alongside REAPER, with REAPER (heavily customized) as my main. You're actually missing two huge draws for LUNA. The first is during recording -- it basically eliminates needing UA Console up to control the session. You have all your mix, cues, Unison plugins, UAD rec/UAD monitor stuff all handled for you in an integrated way. An example use case would be: you do a test recording, mix it later with UAD, then the next time you record, you simply drag all the monitor plugins up to the record slots and save it as a template. Boom, you're printing essentially a finished mix every time you record, AND your musicians can monitor through that finished mix. And you don't have to print it all either, say you just want to monitor thru -- just keep the UAD plugs in the inserts. The second one is the UA extensions -- having inline easy to add tape machines, summing, and the API vision console. It's so nice to mix with this stuff at your fingertips and on CPU rather than DSP. Surprised they didn't send you some demo licenses for those things, because they are a big reason to mix in LUNA. Also, I think they are targeting the PT user base somewhat, so if you have any shortcuts memorized from PT, it's worth it to just try them and see if they do the same thing. I got the impression watching the office hours crew that they intentionally tried to match some of them. I'm not a PT user myself so can't confirm. Another cool thing is LUNA can create a thumbnail of every plugin (it's in a menu on the insert), so you don't need to have that generic icon everywhere. Now for criticisms: definitely a work in progress. Lacks hardware inserts. Lacks multi-outs for Virtual Instruments. No Windows support. Only AU plugins. I don't think they have ARA for Melodyne. MIDI editing is there but a little basic. Obviously no 3rd party interface support -- I think you have a decent workaround with Source Nexus? But as I said with the recording workflow, it is VERY juiced out if you have an Apollo system. All these things combined mean I typically still use REAPER more often, but LUNA works a charm when I want to throw on all the tape/summing/console stuff and work FAST.
This is all very interesting. The comment about recording is huge. I didn’t make that connection because it wasn’t recording with it. I don’t have a flushed out system to be able to do it. I see a ton of potential with Luna and wish I could get more into it. But I’m not in a place to switch my entire studio over hardware wants to be able to do that. You make very good points though About the tape I’m not sure why they didn’t give me licenses. Multiple people have mentioned the same thing. When I found that feature and then had to blow right past it, that was kind of a bummer
@@RecordingStudioLoser Yeah, that absolutely makes sense that you have a big fixed investment into non-UA hardware and want to stay with it. It's very clear they made LUNA for the home team. The more you use Apollos, the better it becomes because of all the synergy. I wish my recording laptop (which is my secondary) was powerful enough to handle LUNA -- then I could do exactly what I said. That is take a test recording session, do a rough mix it at home, then use the mix as the starting point for a monitor mix. Yeah, very weird about the trials. It's very nice to have all that stuff at a click. The summing extensions actually change the fader taper of the tracks that feed the summing buss to match the real life console taper. Anyways, cheers, glad you liked what you saw. I hope they address the shortcomings soon!
you mean you like the plugins(thats where the "sound" is...and I agree. It will in a few years probably become one of the best DAWs.. if only they will port it to Windows also.
Fun watching you mix -- I'm a nerd for that stuff. I use Luna exclusively as I'm completely ensconced in the UA Apollos and like you in the Apple ecosystem. My home studio is smaller and much less pro than yours, so this works for me. I've remixed things I recorded and mixed in PT and I think Luna sounds better,...not sure what it is. Wish they would have included the tape emulation/saturation and Neve/API summing. I will say I do wish it wasn't tied to the hardware -- would give more flexibility to expand in different areas. Really enjoyed this one. Thanks.
I’d be curious after all the daws which one you’re leaning toward? I’m kind of in the same boat. I have Ableton, Luna, Logic, Studio One, PT, and I use Cubase. It just looks like i have commitment issues is all lol.
Studio one a cubase are high on the list. I will probably use Luna contacts, but it will never replace my main rig because I would have to go full Apollo…
@@RecordingStudioLoser Interesting because one of the main programmers for studio one came from Steinberg cubase, and that is why the two software's share some many similarities.
Bro, you should give this another try now that they have API Console’s extension and summing. Your analog style mind will love it. U also don’t need an apollo anymore.
I have considered the Luna platform as well. I am currently nerding on how deep and intuitive studio one is. I am also a pt longtime user... Im literally an ex avid learning center teacher haha.
So one great feature is all of our PT shortcuts are ported over to Luna. There are a few differences but I like the workflow so far. It’s nice color grouping tracks and submix busses at the same time instantly and it’s great typing LA 2 and never finishing because it went through your plug ins and found it again instantly or all of the versions you have. If you use tracks from other people remotely it doesn’t matter the sampling rate. You mix at 44.1 and export at 96 without any conversion jitters. Hey just pointing out a few pluses I like not trying to sell it. I still think PT and Logic are great for tracking but I’m doing parallel mixing in Luna and other DAWs to suss it out for myself. So far so good.
Hi! I'd love your opinion about the treble in vocal recordings :) I record my singing with the Stellar X2...now I compared it with the TLM 102 and it has tiny bit less harsh treble & sound slightly more pleasant in the upper range - do you think it's a good enough reason to buy it - easier to mix?🤔 thank you 🙏 Love the channel 😉
Harsh top end is really hard to fix. A mix that may be slightly darker but take EQ really well is so much easier in my opinion. The JZ vintage 11 is a dark mic that I’ve really come to like. Kinda like a TLM 103.
@@RecordingStudioLoser thank you! I compared my Stellar even to TLM103 and haven't heard much difference so I'll told myself that is too expensive for just the good brand.. but TLM 102 I could buy without feeling guilty 😁
The only thing that is STILL bumming me out is the lack of out of the box support. I’m a Luna only guy. Love it.. just... got a lot of outboard gear that is essentially useless at the moment.
I loved using Luna when I had the Apollo systems, and would probably switch back if they eventually were to open it up to non UA hardware. One of the things they do really is not over complicating the process while still making things “relatively” full featured. The lack of hardware inserts on channels is a bummer at the moment, but I’m with you, if there was a way to use Dante/Madi or similar to connect a UA Apollo to Burl/RME/etc… it would be a game Changer
I totally get it. We need hardware inserts. The other thing you said about opening it up to non-UA hardware is the same argument people made about Pro Tools when Digidesign was running it. Some of the people that worked on Pro Tools when it was owned by Digi are working on LUNA. Pro Tools always ran better when it was only allowed to be used with Digidesign hardware (and third party that had digi-connectors). Everyone got what they wanted with Pro Tools being opened up to thirdparty hardware, and now everyone wants to get away from it.
Exactly, no hardware inserts is the ONLY thing keeping me from Luna. Ironic that a company known for analog gear has no means of letting you mix with analog gear. Laughable, actually.
First off hope you feel better soon! ooo now that you have an apollo, I really wanna know what you think of the townsend sphere mic. and i'm kinda surprised you didn't demo/show some of the amazing UAD plugins. like their reverbs are top notch hardware emulations. Also their summing solutions for LUNA are pretty freaking cool (i don't have them though). I think the ability to link UAD plugins directly into LUNA are what really set it apart and that's why it's exclusive. I really hope they go dante at some point too. dante is pretty badass.
A lot of the demos weren’t working… I’m not sure why that wasn’t happening. Lotta my demos expired. I haven’t used UAD stuff in ages so it should’ve reset.
@@RecordingStudioLoser oof sorry to hear that! but yeah what really sets luna apart is the seamless integration with UAD hardware/plugins. you can print or not print FX and other stuff while mixing/recording. aka like pre insert/clip gain FX. theoretically i don't know 100% because i haven't messed with it, but between that and the console emulations yeah it's good stuff.
Yeah. I didn’t that’s where my brain went. For sure. But when I’m in it I like it. I have to imagine they will separate that hardware-software link soon.
@@RecordingStudioLoser Why would they? UA has made a fortune by making their overpriced DSP systems necessary to use any of their excellent software. It's a closed ecosystem.
@@JayfkProductions876 They have UAD Spark now, which offers some of their plugins in native format, so no hardware required. Not too too many available yet, but they add a couple every month
I truly believe that UA and Luna will siphon off a vast majority of the Pro Tools users moving away from Digidesign hardware. Locking into another hardware base is still risky in terms of longevity, but UA is far superior to Avid IMHO. Luna has room to grow, and the Apollo system has been top-notch for me and my studio set-up, both tracking and mixing.
Another great video. I was a Pro Tools user for a decade plus which I "bought for life" in the early aughts. Then they boxed me in where the only way to renew was going to their subscription. They ticked me off too far after giving them a few thousand dollars over the years to "buy it for life" in the first place, then pay a few rounds of mandatory "update/support" packages and then to force me to a subscription after all that???? It was just for my personal use, a hobby, I don't make any income from recording etc. So the idea of a monthly fee..... but I digress. I will say I get where you're coming from on the Luna being tied to their hardware and in this day and age it's off putting... however Luna is FREE. The price of admission is the hardware, but then no purchases after that. Of course you want to get all the add-ons etc. So personally I'm all in in this eco-system.... so to me if they ever make it available to everyone regardless of hardware, like Pro Tools eventually did back in the day... its the beginning of the end for me b/c here come's the subscription model. Which business wise I don't blame them, but it'll be a bummer for me. Like others have said the Summing and Tape stuff is next level. My stuff certainly sounds "better" in Luna over other DAWs and it's tough to put your finger on it, but it does. It keeps getting better and better. Keeping my fingers crossed it's free for life!!
I started using LUNA a week or so ago. Coming from Logic, I really like it. My favorite part is the summing which you didn't cover. But I agree about the conversion. I have a Twin, and a Titan. I can't use the Titan in LUNA (unless it were slaved to a rackmount apollo). So now I'm using Logic for I/O and opening the printed tracks in LUNA. Then after summing in LUNA doing bus compression and effects back in Logic. A bit more work, but LUNA cuts me off from my hardware. Nice idea with the SDFX for metering. I've been metering by ear, need to try that.
Do you think you will do a final summary video? Would be interested in your final thoughts on all of them and what you would choose if you left Pro Tools. I ended up with Studio One, it made the most sense to my brain. Cheers.
I'm curious to see if your opinion changes at all with LUNA's latest update now that we're not required to use a UA device to record in LUNA! Any thoughts, sir?
Try Luna out again they just did a nice update on it. You can run it with ANY interface now as well as some other nice updates. Still waiting on multi out but I have a feeling that’s coming soon.
I loved LUNA when I was in the UAD ecosystem. I understand the integration with the unison tech keeps it in the ecosystem but I think it's a huge missed opportunity from UAD. Id buy it.
Question. Like you I have other branded interfaces as I got rid of my Apollos awhile back. I do still have my satellite Octo to run the plugins. Can you comment how it would work if I had a cheap Apollo Solo to run Luna but still use my other hardware as I use 32 channels of non-Apollo (RME) I/O for hybrid inserts into a 48ch console. I can’t get my head around how this would work since the Apollo has to be the main interface and the solo is a single TB unit. I am not even sure I am making sense. Lol. I found I can get a solo cheap, but it basically would be a hardware dongle for Luna in my scenario. Perhaps I should just let the idea go.
At the moment it could be done… But you will be doing so many workarounds with weird back door. I/O. The only problem with universal audio as it seems like you’re either all in or you’re not at all …
You right click down near the fader to change track width. Mono/Stereo. And on the top left of every plugin there's a plus sign and says create plugin Icon. Click it to get rid of the shitty grey plugin icon in inserts and change it to the actual plugin snapshot.
Filters above human perception but below nyquist to reducing aliasing. Something I was playing with at the time. The low one I was playing with how my outboard comp hits that low ended. Even brickd it still passes through on the low end
I agree with you 110% about not having the apollo to use Luna. I have 3 satellites and 2 PCIe cards and would love to be able to use Luna without getting another monitor system. Waiting for them to come into 2020's with that. Hopefully they heard you on this. Great video!
@@brianvillage5 Not true for people that don't own an Apollo unit. LUNA has to see a Apollo unit in your account before it will load. UA said they are working on it for 100% native but it's not there yet. The new version is just for people that have an Apollo and don't want to have to use it if they don't want too. I hope that makes sense. Thanks, Marc
Why not mention who the band is? They deserve some credit because it’s a really well put together song and I’d like to hear the whole song as well as other material they have done.
Big UA user and fanboy here, so my bias might be showing, buuuuuuut: I love Luna, and I’m turning it into my main DAW for recording and mixing. The biggest reason why you need an Apollo interface to use it is because they built it as a recording DAW first, and every part of its main recording functions is directly integrated with the way the Apollos work. This is why the Console app is built in, so you don’t need it while using Luna. In terms of just being able to use your Burls with an Apollo system, I totally think you could, as long as you have a rackmount Apollo that has digital I/O. (The Burls are just converters, right?) Also, were you using that Source Nexus plugin as a hardware insert?
Not all the way through yet. But it always feels dangerous when other daws use PT hotkeys or try to do things in a similar way to get a potential convert more comfortable because I think at some point they'll say, well why don't I just use PT. Or they find the differences and get frustrated because it's indeed not protools when you have a subconscious expectation of how things should work or behave. That was like me and Reaper at first. I tried too much to make it PT, and wasn't able to be productive. Then finally I said, okay I'm going to stop trying to force it and just learn it how it really is and completely cut the cord kind of thing. You seem to take a similar approach which is why I like this series. Anyway, back to the video
WOW! You are maybe the greatest engineer I have ever experienced. Not only I.Q. but brain waves combined with spiritual energy. We at Global Citizens MUSIC want to save the world and help the planet though music. GOD BLESS YOU. Besides entertainment MUSIC can heal an is powerful tool to save lives etc. You are a genius . Please reply if you really read these comments. Kevin Sorbo " Hercules " is producing awesome movies. We feel if you introduce yourself , then you 2 great people will hit it off. LETS STOP WARS and save humanity.. OK? Sincerely. Global Citizens Music.
I did some Googling. The short answer is no 🥹. There’s way around it but it involves 3rd party pick up. Thanks anyway. Love the content. I’ll find a Europe equivalent ❤️
I've got Apollo x4 and Luna Pro. And straight away could see at least 10 limitations that you conveniently ommited. I may not be fair as I am a Cubase user, so any other DAW may look to me, like full of shortcomings, but still..... next time, don't blame it on the flu and be objective.
@RecordingStudioLoser Thank.ypu for coming back to me. I love Luna and Apollo integration. That's why I got a Pro version, which isn't cheap. Allow me to lay down my favourite pros and cons below. Pros. Resolution doesn't matter. You can drop 96, 48, and 41 kHz samples or files onto the same project, and they will play in the project set resolution. Integration with Apollo interfaces - they both work like a charm, as long as you load plugins into the right slot. Interface. Utilitarian, slick, modern, easy on eyes after many hours of mixing. Cons. Resolution. Poor oversampling. It has to happen on the DSP side. Integration with Apollo mixer. If you loaded a nice setting on your plugins, routed them to busses/auxiliary channels, they all are instantly being overridden if you fire up Luna. You got to set the stuff up again. Bus summing. I bought - as many others - a Pro version to use Neve summing, which is an additional 200 quid! Thsts a price for the whole Luna Pro. So, to experience what you did in a video, you need to buy the plugin or go for the Spark. Luna exclusive plugins. If you paid for the pri version, you can use them extra plugins in Luna only. Interface. To see what's really going on, you need to limit your real estate of the tracks on the left and right. Poor reaction time to Ape silicon upgrades. It took them 6 months to fix apollo and Luna issues with Pace and iLok. Apple exclusivity. Windows people have no chance to use it, despite the native equivalent if each available plu8n. Price! To be able to use Luna and apollo in any reasonable way, you need to spend some serious dosh. Customisation of the interface. Or the lack off. If you work also on the other daw and would like to import keyboard shortcuts, you're out of luck. Geeeez, I could go on and on. But I've got to say that I love Luna, second best daw on the market, even considering prices for the whole, "full Monty" it still beats the ProTools, fruitcake loops, Blablaton Live and many many more.
probably wont, coming fr Protools FL wouldnt suit his mixing and recording needs, im a Fl user and its made great improvements with now version 21 but given how he works probably a pass
the only option UAD has unfortunately is ADAT... would you run the risks with ADAT? I definte think UAD have dropped the ball not making a digital interface. MADI, DANTE or even a AES interface!!! An X16D? I am not a fan of the noninclusive eco system as a whole... but I'm broke and I get a Apollo Solo with a fully featured DAW, so love it on a budget!!! But would be Protocols right away if I had a fully equipped studio. Their HDX system runs all plugins not just AVID's... all that will run in Protools anyway, which is a million times more. Also Protools is widely used and a easy format for this reason to share projects with
No DAW is better, No DAW platform is worse.... But monetarily , realistically, has come down to your workflow. 4 track compact synced via an anatek sync box is not a thing... Nor a sampler , the cost of a car, with 2 Mb.... Im here to say... Who cares... Comparing is but the canvas... How you use the colours might not be the best brushstroke... But hey... Thats just me. I hate Avid,, But loved it when it was digi.. Hated Apple, When I couldn't afford one, Hated Syquest drives dying, But loved my Zip's until they did to.. Luckily , my 1k + floppies still work.. My Point? No Daw writes music, (PSA: Not drag and drop droppists) , Its just workflow.. Alas, I have to use PT due to audio film post... Im hoping BM DR Fairlight makes it suck the custard.. I digress.. Best sounding DAW,.. Mixbuss.,.. As in... Mixing Reaper ,, Solid az. etc etc etc
Bro love the channel but the adds are such a bummer. I know why they’re there but can you scale them back a bit? It feels like they break in every 30 seconds
Hey man thank you for the response! Maybe try watching from someone else’s account. It can’t just be me but then again maybe it is haha. Idk, if you have it set that low then that doesn’t make sense for how many commercials you ended up with. Just so you know no disrespect was intended by my comment. I really dig your channel but watching this 1 video I’m sure there was nearly 15 or 20 commercial breaks while I watched today.
I own a TON of UA gear Apollo 8, Apollo 8Xp, Apollo twin and an Octo Satellite. LUNA is Terrible. They called it an audio recording platform in the beginning. Because it had absolutely NO MIDI Whatsoever. Because no one uses MIDI LOL. It's a TERRIBLE Platform. They tell you its free then you have to pay for summing and the use of the API console that should be FREE and come with it. This company has no more Cash Cows. They should have been working on VSTi's and VST3 10 years ago and did not. Now they are behind the 8 ball. RME and the Protools hardware are about to Blow By them.
Dude Luna isn’t my favorite. But… 1.0 released with 3 new virtual instruments. The mini moog, their piano and a partnership release with Spitfire. That was one of the selling points to get people on the platform. That it included midi instruments…
Bud they are giving all that away for FREE because no one will buy it. They tried selling this stuff for years now. So they are giving it away with there DAW to try to lure a few people in. Universal Audio had YEARS to make make VST instruments that could run off there Sharc chips and they didn't. That was a Major Ball drop. They could have done vintage Synths and set the outputs up like the Unison plugins do and copy the Vintage Synths output. What a FAIL. @@RecordingStudioLoser
It’s not Terrible at all. sounds like your attitude is terrible though. They are working on things as they go and many people love it. It keeps improving.
If you don’t have the plug-ins get them. WAVES R Vox - $29 - waves.alzt.net/kjx5M0
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That Sweetwater clip is easily one of the best sponsor segments I have ever seen in a RUclips video. 👏
Be sure to tell them that!!
@@RecordingStudioLoser Sweetwater seems like a great company but I'm in Germany, so I'll stick to Thomann. 😅
@@error8418 that’s fair. Lol
Agreed
So , I was an analog engineer for decades and worked on lots of great recordings. I’m totally spoiled because I cut my teeth on lots of tube outboard gear and some of the finest consoles ever made. (Neve 8088 , API 2448, SSL G-J) That being said , These days mixing in the box never had the workflow that I missed and craved. So I went from Pro Tools to Logic to many other DAW’s and finally got a excited over Harrison’s Mixbus offering but didn’t find myself using it much.
And then I picked up an Apollo and eventually downloaded and fired up Luna. Quick intuitive workflow coupled with the
* Unison console emulations really flipped my switches. I can honestly say I’m truly excited to deep dive into this DAW.
Can’t wait to see you do your stuff with Harrison Mixbus 32 !!
Ohhh. By the way. Great watching and listening to you work.
It's important to remember that LUNA is still a work in progress. I still record in Logic as, I'm sure is the case with the likes of Ableton etc., the included stock instruments and features are far more complete BUT for mixing LUNA has been a bit of a revelation. Using the Neve Summing in conjunction with the Studer Tape has given my mixes a 'sound'....I'm not sure how to describe it but it seems more 'pro' than when I do the same thing in Logic. I got off Pro Tools long ago but the workflow is definitely closer to that DAW. Eventually this will have a full feature set and they are constantly upgrading.
One editing feature that is, so far, the best in the business that I've used, is the audio quantize. Also the ease and stregngth of the time stretching algorithm is second to none.
They should’ve comped you the neve summing and studer tape extensions. They add something super subtle but special
I don’t disagree
You can also really crank those, but it's all in finding the right balance to get the most out of it as anything.
@@who_is_dis I'm just now starting to experiment with gain staging through the Studer tape and neve summing extensions by getting signals to hit zero on those weirdly calibrated VU meters, and then gaining things down to -18 before hitting my plugin chains. It's better.
@@who_is_dis pretty most ppl already know that unless they literally started doing music yesterday
I'm using LUNA alongside REAPER, with REAPER (heavily customized) as my main.
You're actually missing two huge draws for LUNA. The first is during recording -- it basically eliminates needing UA Console up to control the session. You have all your mix, cues, Unison plugins, UAD rec/UAD monitor stuff all handled for you in an integrated way. An example use case would be: you do a test recording, mix it later with UAD, then the next time you record, you simply drag all the monitor plugins up to the record slots and save it as a template. Boom, you're printing essentially a finished mix every time you record, AND your musicians can monitor through that finished mix. And you don't have to print it all either, say you just want to monitor thru -- just keep the UAD plugs in the inserts.
The second one is the UA extensions -- having inline easy to add tape machines, summing, and the API vision console. It's so nice to mix with this stuff at your fingertips and on CPU rather than DSP. Surprised they didn't send you some demo licenses for those things, because they are a big reason to mix in LUNA.
Also, I think they are targeting the PT user base somewhat, so if you have any shortcuts memorized from PT, it's worth it to just try them and see if they do the same thing. I got the impression watching the office hours crew that they intentionally tried to match some of them. I'm not a PT user myself so can't confirm.
Another cool thing is LUNA can create a thumbnail of every plugin (it's in a menu on the insert), so you don't need to have that generic icon everywhere.
Now for criticisms: definitely a work in progress. Lacks hardware inserts. Lacks multi-outs for Virtual Instruments. No Windows support. Only AU plugins. I don't think they have ARA for Melodyne. MIDI editing is there but a little basic. Obviously no 3rd party interface support -- I think you have a decent workaround with Source Nexus? But as I said with the recording workflow, it is VERY juiced out if you have an Apollo system. All these things combined mean I typically still use REAPER more often, but LUNA works a charm when I want to throw on all the tape/summing/console stuff and work FAST.
This is all very interesting. The comment about recording is huge. I didn’t make that connection because it wasn’t recording with it. I don’t have a flushed out system to be able to do it.
I see a ton of potential with Luna and wish I could get more into it. But I’m not in a place to switch my entire studio over hardware wants to be able to do that.
You make very good points though
About the tape I’m not sure why they didn’t give me licenses. Multiple people have mentioned the same thing. When I found that feature and then had to blow right past it, that was kind of a bummer
@@RecordingStudioLoser Yeah, that absolutely makes sense that you have a big fixed investment into non-UA hardware and want to stay with it. It's very clear they made LUNA for the home team. The more you use Apollos, the better it becomes because of all the synergy.
I wish my recording laptop (which is my secondary) was powerful enough to handle LUNA -- then I could do exactly what I said. That is take a test recording session, do a rough mix it at home, then use the mix as the starting point for a monitor mix.
Yeah, very weird about the trials. It's very nice to have all that stuff at a click. The summing extensions actually change the fader taper of the tracks that feed the summing buss to match the real life console taper.
Anyways, cheers, glad you liked what you saw. I hope they address the shortcomings soon!
I love the 'twin cuts'! Keep doing that! It's like hoodie-guy from Daniel Thrasher's channel. And fast edits are the best!
I love Daniel Thrasher. He’s a big influence for these.
I love LUNA! It’s the best sounding DAW🥇
you mean you like the plugins(thats where the "sound" is...and I agree. It will in a few years probably become one of the best DAWs.. if only they will port it to Windows also.
Fun watching you mix -- I'm a nerd for that stuff. I use Luna exclusively as I'm completely ensconced in the UA Apollos and like you in the Apple ecosystem. My home studio is smaller and much less pro than yours, so this works for me. I've remixed things I recorded and mixed in PT and I think Luna sounds better,...not sure what it is. Wish they would have included the tape emulation/saturation and Neve/API summing. I will say I do wish it wasn't tied to the hardware -- would give more flexibility to expand in different areas. Really enjoyed this one. Thanks.
I’d be curious after all the daws which one you’re leaning toward? I’m kind of in the same boat. I have Ableton, Luna, Logic, Studio One, PT, and I use Cubase. It just looks like i have commitment issues is all lol.
Same here! Ableton, Luna, logic, and reaper! I’m most comfortable and familiar with reaper though.
Studio one a cubase are high on the list. I will probably use Luna contacts, but it will never replace my main rig because I would have to go full Apollo…
@@RecordingStudioLoser Interesting because one of the main programmers for studio one came from Steinberg cubase, and that is why the two software's share some many similarities.
Bro, you should give this another try now that they have API Console’s extension and summing. Your analog style mind will love it. U also don’t need an apollo anymore.
I’ll give it a shot
I have considered the Luna platform as well. I am currently nerding on how deep and intuitive studio one is. I am also a pt longtime user... Im literally an ex avid learning center teacher haha.
Oh wow. I’d be interested to see where you land. Given your background.
So one great feature is all of our PT shortcuts are ported over to Luna. There are a few differences but I like the workflow so far. It’s nice color grouping tracks and submix busses at the same time instantly and it’s great typing LA 2 and never finishing because it went through your plug ins and found it again instantly or all of the versions you have. If you use tracks from other people remotely it doesn’t matter the sampling rate. You mix at 44.1 and export at 96 without any conversion jitters. Hey just pointing out a few pluses I like not trying to sell it. I still think PT and Logic are great for tracking but I’m doing parallel mixing in Luna and other DAWs to suss it out for myself. So far so good.
Hi! I'd love your opinion about the treble in vocal recordings :) I record my singing with the Stellar X2...now I compared it with the TLM 102 and it has tiny bit less harsh treble & sound slightly more pleasant in the upper range - do you think it's a good enough reason to buy it - easier to mix?🤔 thank you 🙏 Love the channel 😉
Harsh top end is really hard to fix. A mix that may be slightly darker but take EQ really well is so much easier in my opinion.
The JZ vintage 11 is a dark mic that I’ve really come to like. Kinda like a TLM 103.
@@RecordingStudioLoser thank you! I compared my Stellar even to TLM103 and haven't heard much difference so I'll told myself that is too expensive for just the good brand.. but TLM 102 I could buy without feeling guilty 😁
The only thing that is STILL bumming me out is the lack of out of the box support.
I’m a Luna only guy. Love it.. just... got a lot of outboard gear that is essentially useless at the moment.
Was recently thinking of trying Luna at some point too. Thanks for this - useful! Loving this series of DAW videos - keep it up :)
Thanks, will do!
Luna has blown me away. I actually left protools because of how awesome it sounds. Pretty quick and easy to mix in
I loved using Luna when I had the Apollo systems, and would probably switch back if they eventually were to open it up to non UA hardware. One of the things they do really is not over complicating the process while still making things “relatively” full featured.
The lack of hardware inserts on channels is a bummer at the moment, but I’m with you, if there was a way to use Dante/Madi or similar to connect a UA Apollo to Burl/RME/etc… it would be a game Changer
Totally. I hope it’s coming down the line
I totally get it. We need hardware inserts. The other thing you said about opening it up to non-UA hardware is the same argument people made about Pro Tools when Digidesign was running it. Some of the people that worked on Pro Tools when it was owned by Digi are working on LUNA. Pro Tools always ran better when it was only allowed to be used with Digidesign hardware (and third party that had digi-connectors). Everyone got what they wanted with Pro Tools being opened up to thirdparty hardware, and now everyone wants to get away from it.
@@robfulco4739 fair enough, i never used pro tools so can’t connect much on that.i just love the GUI and feel of Luna.
@@JimCardoza Agreed. It feels great!
Exactly, no hardware inserts is the ONLY thing keeping me from Luna. Ironic that a company known for analog gear has no means of letting you mix with analog gear. Laughable, actually.
First off hope you feel better soon!
ooo now that you have an apollo, I really wanna know what you think of the townsend sphere mic. and i'm kinda surprised you didn't demo/show some of the amazing UAD plugins. like their reverbs are top notch hardware emulations. Also their summing solutions for LUNA are pretty freaking cool (i don't have them though). I think the ability to link UAD plugins directly into LUNA are what really set it apart and that's why it's exclusive.
I really hope they go dante at some point too. dante is pretty badass.
A lot of the demos weren’t working… I’m not sure why that wasn’t happening. Lotta my demos expired. I haven’t used UAD stuff in ages so it should’ve reset.
@@RecordingStudioLoser oof sorry to hear that! but yeah what really sets luna apart is the seamless integration with UAD hardware/plugins. you can print or not print FX and other stuff while mixing/recording. aka like pre insert/clip gain FX. theoretically i don't know 100% because i haven't messed with it, but between that and the console emulations yeah it's good stuff.
Great Video! Irrelevant to Luna, How do you like your Focal Twins in the vertical Position?
When I switched them to vertical I loved it.
I wish I had done it years ago. So much more defined stereo image. A clearer center.
Thanks for that info! I just upgraded to the new Focal Twin 6’s from Adam S2A’s. I’m loving them!
I liked Luna when I played around with it, but realized that I can't just take a laptop outside to edit. I need to bring a UA device with me.
Yeah. I didn’t that’s where my brain went. For sure. But when I’m in it I like it. I have to imagine they will separate that hardware-software link soon.
@@RecordingStudioLoser Why would they? UA has made a fortune by making their overpriced DSP systems necessary to use any of their excellent software. It's a closed ecosystem.
@@RecordingStudioLoser as far as i kno they never seperated their plugins fr the cards so highly unlikely that they will with the daw
@@JayfkProductions876 They have UAD Spark now, which offers some of their plugins in native format, so no hardware required. Not too too many available yet, but they add a couple every month
Wow!!! That new guy is back!!
Cool! U just convinced me to give Luna a second chance. Tried it a year ago and it was too unstable to carry my workload. Thanks!
I truly believe that UA and Luna will siphon off a vast majority of the Pro Tools users moving away from Digidesign hardware. Locking into another hardware base is still risky in terms of longevity, but UA is far superior to Avid IMHO.
Luna has room to grow, and the Apollo system has been top-notch for me and my studio set-up, both tracking and mixing.
Will you be using Reason 12.5 next for mixing 🤔?😁
This was great to see man! Thank you!
Another great video. I was a Pro Tools user for a decade plus which I "bought for life" in the early aughts. Then they boxed me in where the only way to renew was going to their subscription. They ticked me off too far after giving them a few thousand dollars over the years to "buy it for life" in the first place, then pay a few rounds of mandatory "update/support" packages and then to force me to a subscription after all that???? It was just for my personal use, a hobby, I don't make any income from recording etc. So the idea of a monthly fee..... but I digress. I will say I get where you're coming from on the Luna being tied to their hardware and in this day and age it's off putting... however Luna is FREE. The price of admission is the hardware, but then no purchases after that. Of course you want to get all the add-ons etc. So personally I'm all in in this eco-system.... so to me if they ever make it available to everyone regardless of hardware, like Pro Tools eventually did back in the day... its the beginning of the end for me b/c here come's the subscription model. Which business wise I don't blame them, but it'll be a bummer for me.
Like others have said the Summing and Tape stuff is next level. My stuff certainly sounds "better" in Luna over other DAWs and it's tough to put your finger on it, but it does. It keeps getting better and better. Keeping my fingers crossed it's free for life!!
i think they should have open up luna to satellite owners as well! i really wanna try it but not gonna buy another interface for that.
Which of the daw's is your favorite at the moment? :-) Thank you for that video.
I started using LUNA a week or so ago. Coming from Logic, I really like it. My favorite part is the summing which you didn't cover. But I agree about the conversion. I have a Twin, and a Titan. I can't use the Titan in LUNA (unless it were slaved to a rackmount apollo). So now I'm using Logic for I/O and opening the printed tracks in LUNA. Then after summing in LUNA doing bus compression and effects back in Logic. A bit more work, but LUNA cuts me off from my hardware. Nice idea with the SDFX for metering. I've been metering by ear, need to try that.
You can use whatever interface you want with Luna now!
@@iamvelour yes. but they need to add delay compensation.
Just binge watching ur channel❤
Haha that’s awesome!
Do you think you will do a final summary video? Would be interested in your final thoughts on all of them and what you would choose if you left Pro Tools. I ended up with Studio One, it made the most sense to my brain. Cheers.
I'm curious to see if your opinion changes at all with LUNA's latest update now that we're not required to use a UA device to record in LUNA!
Any thoughts, sir?
Oh snap. Really I didn’t no see that ! I need to do some digging. That could definitely change things
Great channel! Btw i tried every daw possible out there just cause i had time to do that. Ended back to PT..
hey man. the ads are great! well done!
Try Luna out again they just did a nice update on it. You can run it with ANY interface now as well as some other nice updates. Still waiting on multi out but I have a feeling that’s coming soon.
If you need that little interface for Luna to work, then how are you supposed to record drums? There's not enough channels on the interface.
Optical input. Or you can use a larger Apollo interface.
Best sponsor ad ever. I mean I love the series but that ad made me laugh out loud. And that’s coming from a Sweetwater shopper.
Hah be sure to let them know that!!
def waiting on the Cakewalk by Bandland(not the browser DAW) trial.
Love the ad. Great way to do an ad for something but make me not want to skip it LOLOL
Did you do a video where you record from scratch with Luna?
I’m liking that song and the vocalist
I loved LUNA when I was in the UAD ecosystem. I understand the integration with the unison tech keeps it in the ecosystem but I think it's a huge missed opportunity from UAD. Id buy it.
It is the biggest bummer on one hand you definitely see people doing perambulations with any transparent.
Can you use a protools keyboard with Luna?
Can you use Wave Plugins in Luna?
Question. Like you I have other branded interfaces as I got rid of my Apollos awhile back. I do still have my satellite Octo to run the plugins. Can you comment how it would work if I had a cheap Apollo Solo to run Luna but still use my other hardware as I use 32 channels of non-Apollo (RME) I/O for hybrid inserts into a 48ch console. I can’t get my head around how this would work since the Apollo has to be the main interface and the solo is a single TB unit. I am not even sure I am making sense. Lol. I found I can get a solo cheap, but it basically would be a hardware dongle for Luna in my scenario. Perhaps I should just let the idea go.
At the moment it could be done… But you will be doing so many workarounds with weird back door. I/O.
The only problem with universal audio as it seems like you’re either all in or you’re not at all …
Have you tried the split EQ? You might like it better than the transient shaper.
do you prefer Luna's workflow to StudioOne?
dude you didnt even try the summing extensions or console emulations! those are what truly make LUNA special and imo the future
I didn’t have any to try. 🤷♂️
You right click down near the fader to change track width. Mono/Stereo. And on the top left of every plugin there's a plus sign and says create plugin Icon. Click it to get rid of the shitty grey plugin icon in inserts and change it to the actual plugin snapshot.
Wow what's with the brick wall filters on the mix bus?
Filters above human perception but below nyquist to reducing aliasing. Something I was playing with at the time.
The low one I was playing with how my outboard comp hits that low ended. Even brickd it still passes through on the low end
I love all DAWs and their differences. This one is really great too. This video must be old became you don’t need any UAD hardware
You can open a protools session in luna?
Don't need Hardware anymore to run Luna. Recent update
Could you send a finished mix as a MP3 file ?
How well do people really know the back of their hand?
As well as their favorite daw. 🤷
Duplicate the mono track you want to make stereo and select both, then you can pull up the track menu and select make the mono track stereo
I agree with you 110% about not having the apollo to use Luna. I have 3 satellites and 2 PCIe cards and would love to be able to use Luna without getting another monitor system. Waiting for them to come into 2020's with that. Hopefully they heard you on this. Great video!
You can now use Luna without an Apollo.
@@brianvillage5 Not true for people that don't own an Apollo unit. LUNA has to see a Apollo unit in your account before it will load. UA said they are working on it for 100% native but it's not there yet. The new version is just for people that have an Apollo and don't want to have to use it if they don't want too. I hope that makes sense. Thanks, Marc
Why not mention who the band is? They deserve some credit because it’s a really well put together song and I’d like to hear the whole song as well as other material they have done.
It’s linked in the description.
Anna Zey
Nice Job... AND Entertaining!🎶
Big UA user and fanboy here, so my bias might be showing, buuuuuuut:
I love Luna, and I’m turning it into my main DAW for recording and mixing. The biggest reason why you need an Apollo interface to use it is because they built it as a recording DAW first, and every part of its main recording functions is directly integrated with the way the Apollos work. This is why the Console app is built in, so you don’t need it while using Luna.
In terms of just being able to use your Burls with an Apollo system, I totally think you could, as long as you have a rackmount Apollo that has digital I/O. (The Burls are just converters, right?)
Also, were you using that Source Nexus plugin as a hardware insert?
Great video by the way
Nice work!!
not using the tape extensions and the summing extensions is not getting the full experience
Not all the way through yet. But it always feels dangerous when other daws use PT hotkeys or try to do things in a similar way to get a potential convert more comfortable because I think at some point they'll say, well why don't I just use PT. Or they find the differences and get frustrated because it's indeed not protools when you have a subconscious expectation of how things should work or behave.
That was like me and Reaper at first. I tried too much to make it PT, and wasn't able to be productive. Then finally I said, okay I'm going to stop trying to force it and just learn it how it really is and completely cut the cord kind of thing.
You seem to take a similar approach which is why I like this series. Anyway, back to the video
WOW! You are maybe the greatest engineer I have ever experienced. Not only I.Q. but brain waves combined with spiritual energy. We at Global Citizens MUSIC want to save the world and help the planet though music. GOD BLESS YOU. Besides entertainment MUSIC can heal an is powerful tool to save lives etc. You are a genius . Please reply if you really read these comments. Kevin Sorbo " Hercules " is producing awesome movies. We feel if you introduce yourself , then you 2 great people will hit it off. LETS STOP WARS and save humanity.. OK? Sincerely. Global Citizens Music.
Does sweet water deliver to the UK?
I’m not sure. Anyone else know the answer?
I did some Googling. The short answer is no 🥹. There’s way around it but it involves 3rd party pick up.
Thanks anyway. Love the content. I’ll find a Europe equivalent ❤️
Try Harrison MixBus 32C v8
FL Studio next?
Why not!
@@RecordingStudioLoser Watch Benn Jordan's video: "FL Studio 21 Is WAY More Powerful Than Most People Think".
This might be out of your element but I would love to see you try and record/mix a band in fl studio 😂
I think you'd love ableton
Already did it! I liked it!
Required to use UA hardware in order to use LUNA is a no go for me.
Try Fl studio next
I've got Apollo x4 and Luna Pro. And straight away could see at least 10 limitations that you conveniently ommited. I may not be fair as I am a Cubase user, so any other DAW may look to me, like full of shortcomings, but still..... next time, don't blame it on the flu and be objective.
All this is based on personal use right. Throw out the limitations. I’m not perfect.
@RecordingStudioLoser Thank.ypu for coming back to me. I love Luna and Apollo integration. That's why I got a Pro version, which isn't cheap. Allow me to lay down my favourite pros and cons below.
Pros.
Resolution doesn't matter. You can drop 96, 48, and 41 kHz samples or files onto the same project, and they will play in the project set resolution.
Integration with Apollo interfaces - they both work like a charm, as long as you load plugins into the right slot.
Interface. Utilitarian, slick, modern, easy on eyes after many hours of mixing.
Cons.
Resolution. Poor oversampling. It has to happen on the DSP side.
Integration with Apollo mixer. If you loaded a nice setting on your plugins, routed them to busses/auxiliary channels, they all are instantly being overridden if you fire up Luna. You got to set the stuff up again.
Bus summing. I bought - as many others - a Pro version to use Neve summing, which is an additional 200 quid! Thsts a price for the whole Luna Pro. So, to experience what you did in a video, you need to buy the plugin or go for the Spark.
Luna exclusive plugins. If you paid for the pri version, you can use them extra plugins in Luna only.
Interface. To see what's really going on, you need to limit your real estate of the tracks on the left and right.
Poor reaction time to Ape silicon upgrades. It took them 6 months to fix apollo and Luna issues with Pace and iLok.
Apple exclusivity. Windows people have no chance to use it, despite the native equivalent if each available plu8n.
Price! To be able to use Luna and apollo in any reasonable way, you need to spend some serious dosh.
Customisation of the interface. Or the lack off.
If you work also on the other daw and would like to import keyboard shortcuts, you're out of luck.
Geeeez, I could go on and on. But I've got to say that I love Luna, second best daw on the market, even considering prices for the whole, "full Monty" it still beats the ProTools, fruitcake loops, Blablaton Live and many many more.
Biggest downside (for me) on this DAW is man, that text is TINY! Holy crap. I couldn't read anything but "output" on those tracks.
I could’ve been my screen I reduced to the resolution quite a bit, and it was still pretty small
@@RecordingStudioLoser aside from that, I really dig how their sends are set up... sort of like in PT with the "expanded" view
When will you try FL Studio?
probably wont, coming fr Protools FL wouldnt suit his mixing and recording needs, im a Fl user and its made great improvements with now version 21 but given how he works probably a pass
@@JayfkProductions876 yeah, you're probably right.
Edit: just saw he replied 'why not?' to someone asking if he would do FL next, so maybe????
the only option UAD has unfortunately is ADAT... would you run the risks with ADAT?
I definte think UAD have dropped the ball not making a digital interface.
MADI, DANTE or even a AES interface!!!
An X16D?
I am not a fan of the noninclusive eco system as a whole... but I'm broke and I get a Apollo Solo with a fully featured DAW, so love it on a budget!!!
But would be Protocols right away if I had a fully equipped studio.
Their HDX system runs all plugins not just AVID's... all that will run in Protools anyway, which is a million times more.
Also Protools is widely used and a easy format for this reason to share projects with
No DAW is better, No DAW platform is worse....
But monetarily , realistically, has come down to your workflow.
4 track compact synced via an anatek sync box is not a thing... Nor a sampler , the cost of a car, with 2 Mb....
Im here to say... Who cares...
Comparing is but the canvas... How you use the colours might not be the best brushstroke...
But hey... Thats just me.
I hate Avid,, But loved it when it was digi.. Hated Apple, When I couldn't afford one, Hated Syquest drives dying, But loved my Zip's until they did to.. Luckily , my 1k + floppies still work..
My Point?
No Daw writes music, (PSA: Not drag and drop droppists) , Its just workflow..
Alas, I have to use PT due to audio film post... Im hoping BM DR Fairlight makes it suck the custard..
I digress..
Best sounding DAW,.. Mixbuss.,.. As in... Mixing
Reaper ,, Solid az.
etc etc etc
You should try FL Studio :)
Bro love the channel but the adds are such a bummer. I know why they’re there but can you scale them back a bit? It feels like they break in every 30 seconds
I have it set to do 4 over 30 minutes. Should be that much.
Thats way less than RUclips wanted to do automatically
Hey man thank you for the response! Maybe try watching from someone else’s account. It can’t just be me but then again maybe it is haha. Idk, if you have it set that low then that doesn’t make sense for how many commercials you ended up with. Just so you know no disrespect was intended by my comment. I really dig your channel but watching this 1 video I’m sure there was nearly 15 or 20 commercial breaks while I watched today.
I didn’t take any disrespect. It’s good to know.
Holy crap there should not be that many ads! Uh. I’ll do some digging.
You have a cold.
Bro it was so bad. This is me on the up swing.
UA's total lack of regard for Windows users is pretty disappointing.
I own a TON of UA gear Apollo 8, Apollo 8Xp, Apollo twin and an Octo Satellite. LUNA is Terrible. They called it an audio recording platform in the beginning. Because it had absolutely NO MIDI Whatsoever. Because no one uses MIDI LOL. It's a TERRIBLE Platform. They tell you its free then you have to pay for summing and the use of the API console that should be FREE and come with it. This company has no more Cash Cows. They should have been working on VSTi's and VST3 10 years ago and did not. Now they are behind the 8 ball. RME and the Protools hardware are about to Blow By them.
Dude Luna isn’t my favorite. But… 1.0 released with 3 new virtual instruments. The mini moog, their piano and a partnership release with Spitfire. That was one of the selling points to get people on the platform. That it included midi instruments…
Bud they are giving all that away for FREE because no one will buy it. They tried selling this stuff for years now. So they are giving it away with there DAW to try to lure a few people in. Universal Audio had YEARS to make make VST instruments that could run off there Sharc chips and they didn't. That was a Major Ball drop. They could have done vintage Synths and set the outputs up like the Unison plugins do and copy the Vintage Synths output. What a FAIL. @@RecordingStudioLoser
It’s not Terrible at all. sounds like your attitude is terrible though. They are working on things as they go and many people love it. It keeps improving.
Don’t need the Apollo any more because people broke and don’t wanna invest in gear anymore and always wanna take the easy way out
The fact that you need a UAD Card to use Luna is a big L, thats fucked up
first:)
💥 got it
I will *NEVER* buy a specific $$$ hardware object so I can try a specific DAW that I MIGHT like. Full Stop. UA Are You Listening?
When are you gonna try out FL Studio🥲☹
Keep up the great work though👍🏼☀️➕