Great review! I have been an early adopter of APB16- fantastic unit! they keep making it better by adding more “plugin like interfaces” to control analog circuits. 1. compressors and saturators are wholly analog 2. EQ is digital with analog saturator 3. too much latency to track through - but they could fix this in the future 4. Mix down has to be realtime to print the processing because this is analog
I'm seriously looking into APB for my setup, mostly for bus processing. Do you find the eq flexible enough for musical boosts across different instrument groups (drums, guitars, vocals, etc.)?
You have the best demo songs out of every RUclips tutor and very professional, well thought out ways of showing us products or techniques in depth. My most trusted source, thank you!
@@BunkerAudioPanama And theres people that dont understand what the APB actually is... This isn't about replacing your UAD interface running DSP..... Sorry if I'm missing your point,.... And if i am.. Ill ask again.... Do you understand what APB is?
I can hear the difference on the iPhone. That’s how you know it’s real. 12:03 when you bypassed it, it went from like this digital crunchy to lush instantly.
I have been waiting a while to have a review that wasn't just repeating the marketing and specs!! Great job!! One correction though the EQs are digital. The compression and saturation is analog but the EQ isn't.
Cool idea. I was offered one at nearly 1/2 price recently, but passed. Main reason was lack of true analogue integration. If it had a d-sub in rather than built in conversion I’d have snapped it up. As it stands it felt like a great idea that was a cul-de-sac. Would be great as part of a portable rig though. For this to truly be the future of analogue they’d have to open up the platform I think, and allow others to develop plug ins for it.
In my opinion the thing you are loosing is the ability to plug other analog processors in. There are definitely enough flavors of analog in this box that you could use with your current setup and have mostly everything you need. I have an Apb 8. My inertace is a UA x6 , Ssl gbus 500 series, bae 500c, burl b1, a singular audio Tubedrv and a couple Wa eqps. So I pretty much have my bases covered for what I need. The Apb gives me 8 channels of extra analog. Also I think you would probably be fine with just an Apb 16 and nothing else. But I guess it depends on how you work.
@@Soundslikeden indeed. I have 12 racks of analogue gear. I’m not buying anything that can’t be patched into the flock network to route. If I was starting from zero this would be very appealing as it covers a lot of bases (well at least those without any valves involved) for a small footprint. And when you consider it is 8 or 16 channel and does not need a Patch-bay - as a stand alone box of tricks it is very compelling. But for established analogue setup it makes little sense in my mind…… unless it can directly integrate into existing analogue chains. Maybe next version will do that in the future? Lets hope it os a success so that we have more options like this down the road. If it could be integrated into my existing chain I’d have bought 4 already.
Truth is it is analog... But there is also the requirement of digital contingency..... I guess my analogy is an old school synth... DCO's but the rest analog.. There are variables that the hardware must be able to Do I guess.. However... Maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing...
Skeptic here... I have no doubts it sounds great. I have no doubts it's "all analogue" after D/A. But, my theory is it's actually an 8 or 16 channel "analogue saturation" box whilst the plugins do the EQ, compression etc. digitally. McDSP have been very careful not to say otherwise... and the thing that struck me as very odd is the iLok. If the plugins are only controlling ICs in the hardware they are of no possible use to anyone without an APB unit - ie. the APB unit is already a dongle. So what exactly is McDSP trying to protect with the iLok?
Hmm…it also makes me wonder why no other companies seemed to care enough about making IC based saturation boxes. If McDSP can make one that sounds this good, why aren’t other audio manufactures?
@@GeoffBoscothe bar is set very high and the investment might not be worth the risk, especially with a lot of plugin companies moving over to subscription only products. Subscription only models are primarily based on coaxing new users in with a high value/low price pitch, typically without much upfront investment by the consumer.
It's impressive how this sounds and how they can basically create new gear from the boards they already have laid out inside. This is defiantly a crazy idea and imagine in the future they could create a digitally controlled console? Imagine this technology with the space of a console? Maybe even 4 or even 8 channels per channel so you can pick and chose what is on each channel... then a control surface much like much like the AVID Protools one but a entire hybrid console... if that came into being it could then bridge the gap for analogue and it's use in ATMOS... for some reason I always get my mad hatter hat on when I see a new product. This isn't new but haven't seen a decent understanding of it yet and honestly had thought is was too expensive for what it was until your review. It is expensive but it is worth it and if we think of the cost of consoles then the console idea wouldn't be a far stretch to imagine given the price of consoles and what they could achieve in that price bracket.
How are you doing teacher. Love this demo with a unit like this, we can sell all the hardware that we have, and do a great mix and Mastering… I am impressed; amazing analog/digital unit..
Great demo video as always David! I was recently appalled at a certain jealous, low life amateurs on a certain audio forum trying to shit talk you and your accolades. Fuck them! Seriously, thank you for all of your hard work demoing audio gear and sharing your knowledge with us!
I'd been thinking of getting an SSL big six purely for saturation and some fun EQ's but I think what I really need is more something like this... something with recal I can just run on my 8 summing busses
One thing a lot of people don’t know is that the eq is not analog. The eq is a well designed digital plug-in which then runs through the apb for saturation. But all the actual eq is done digitally itb. It sounds great and fools many pro engineers into thinking it’s fully analog.
Would not technically be additional ins and out as the audio and control signal both travel through the thunderbolt cable. But daisy chaining will work though it really is only effective if for say you only have a few thunderbolt ports and need to connect more gear than you have thunderbolt ports for. In fact that’s how mines is connected. But if you have multiple Apbs they are daisy chain able. It doesn’t talk to Apollos or anything like that via thunderbolt it just passes through to cpu.
That just sounds great! However it may, and probably will face the same issue as any other computer dependent gadgets. After couple of years a $10k piece of gear may become obsolete and useless for various reasons, while pure self sufficient analog gear will still work on its own :). It may not be a problem if you're rich :P but I would hesitate to spend that much money on it, though it doesn't change the fact that it sounds HELL AMAZING !
One more question... Since those aren't actual plugins but instead controls for the unit. That means I can clip in the "plugin" but it won't sound harsh like a regular plugin would because its really the hardware that's clipping, right?
The plug-in will not clip digitally and you cannot clip the converters. They are calibrated so that only analog saturation will be present in the return signal.
Great video. I wonder though, since this is an analog unit, why didn’t they put a db25 connector or something so you could bypass the converters? If they did that, it may have live use- in addition to already being a fantastic studio unit.
Hi Dave I hope all is well, I have a question on this unit. I am just confused if all the components are analog in the box then how are the plugins are really any different? Are there different transformers, for each plugin, are there tubes inside the box since there is a tube plugin? It is giving some snake oil vibes.... This seems like an intriguing product how 2024 should be. Are you using this in your day to day?
Don't use the line snake oil here and definitely not while referring to any of Colin's products because he's one of the few geniuses in the audio world. With that out of the way, you can take a look at the inside of the unit, there are various components, depending if you get 8 or 16, enough to make the equivalent analog channels. In fact, while this is still an absolute bargain, it's not cheap. The components can be controlled digitally, not just what's in the path but also the variables, too deep into the technology for anyone other than Colin to explain. Yes I use it every day, in fact I just moved it to my personal room
Contenuto pazzesco. Complimenti per la preparazione che dimostri ad ogni video. Vorrei farti una domanda, sto valutando un upgrade del mio home studio. Ho già comprato ssl fusion e vorrei integrarlo con qualcosa di più. Questo APB-8 sembra davvero fantastico e in pratica io vorrei passare i singoli suoni di synt o vst instrument o in generale i singoli buss all'interno dell'APB-8 per dare carattere e colori diversi. Secondo la tua esperienza può essere il prodotto giusto o valuteresti altre scelte? Il mio budget di spesa è di circa 5000 euro. Scusa per il papiro e grazie di una tua eventuale risposta. Complimenti ancora.
The APB is totally the right unit for what you want to do, it's an amazing piece of engineering and we now have the 16channel version in the new studio here in LA. Everyone loves it
One thing that piques my curiosity about this is iirc all of the analog circuitry in this is I-amp based. No transformers or discreet transistor circuits. How are they able to get such rich saturation that way? I mean no other analog gear manufacturers are marketing “vintage saturation” without all that vintage based circuits. Or, maybe they’re are at least some transformers in there, and I remember incorrect info.
That's not the big question. You don't know what ingredients are in your dish or how long they cooked for but I'm sure you can tell the difference between McDonald's and a 5 stat restaurant when you eat
I'm still quite unsure how the channels are dispatched. For example, I read that the multiband compressor will use 3 channels. SO how do you know how many effects you can use, and if you need an 8 or 16?
Apb has an app that shows how many channels are being used. Multiband uses 3 mono channels, 6 stereo. If Apb 8 you have two channels left. The rest of the processors use 1 channel for mono 2 for stereo respectively.
@@Soundslikeden OK so basically that's one channel per channel in an effect, except multiband which used three comps in one correct? So 8 mono comps for example for an ABP 8?
@@ZOgrameMusic yep! That’s it. There is a compression circuit, limiting circuit, and three different saturations circuits per channel though. But again that channel is mono. The plug-in tells the circuits which ones should be used and how they should react to the source material. Some plugins use all the circuits available in one channel.
The original is Miley Cyrus Midnight Sky, but that not her singing here, that's a rock cover Izzy T made of that song and I mixed and mastered: ruclips.net/video/Ht1O-PZqxbI/видео.htmlsi=vNvy4N4qJBA5VsPh
From what I understood if I would update my Monterey OS to the next OS, I will loose my 3 firewire soundcards because the next OS does not support them anymore. Unless I'm mixing up stuff here. I will try to find the video I got it from
I have a question i want a real analog box to run my master through and want to know my options and if anyone would know it would be you 😊..stuff like the neve 5057 orbit.. can you think of a list i can check out. Thank you.. another great video
@gear7057 oooh I see. In what situation would mono be beneficial for that? Because I wanted to buy that apb box, but if it's a hassle with ableton, I'm not sure.
@@devinkei1469 It's not a hassle, you just have less channels available for processing. In DAWs that have mono channels (most DAWs besides Ableton do), the APB8 can process 8 mono tracks total, or 1 stereo 6 mono, 2 stereo 4 mono, 3 stereo 2 mono or 4 stereo. For the APB16 double that. Using the APB8 with Ableton, you can only use 4 APB plugins total, no mono plugins. So 4 APB plugins total no matter if the sounds you are processing are stereo or mono in nature. So if you are using a lot of sounds that are mono, you miss out on having more channels of the APB processing available.
@gear7057 ooh. I see. That's annoying. I still want to grab it despite that. 😆 how have they not hot fixed it? Ableton isn't the only daw that would run into this issue
Imagine I would sell my house and my car and all my guitars and then... maybe I would get enough cash together and settle for 8 channel version and change my entire Studio from PC to MAC... or maybe not.... 🙂
ok ok !!!! so we get 8/16 analogue channels... and digital plugins... but all plugins run through the same circuitry in each channel... so what's the point? all these companies that have been making all these eq ,compressor and saturator circuitry different for each purpose. a pulteq is build differently than an api eq than a neve eq than a trident eq than a ssl eq. Same for all the compressors etc. So how can this box emulate all these different stages schemantics etc in the analogue world? really wanna know... and it's expensive as well.
I see you don't understand. In the unit there are enough components to create different eqs, compressors, saturators. Not all plugins use the same components. THAT'S why is "expensive"
The plug-ins send a control signal that tells the Apb how to configure itself. The components are all the same but can be controlled via voltage signals to sound a certain way. I don’t think however McDsp is trying to emulate any of the gear manufacturers you mentioned as every Apb plugin has been it’s own thing. I will say sometimes it’s hard to hear differences between the plugins but there are differences. Just subtle. I suspect that will get better overtime or it may just be a side effect of have the same components for each channel I don’t know but it sounds great though. *I meant to say it’s hard to hear differences in tone plugin to plugin. The compressors all sound very different.
Was said Collin thinks Eq curved can be represented perfectly digitally, so he combined that with analog saturation to make it complete. Also I read that the box would probably get too hot to have 8 or 16 analog eqs plus compression and saturation.
Too bad the industry drag-azzed for so many decades. If they had pursued this kind of thing back in the 80s, it would be the norm now and actually affordable. It was possible back in the day. It would have been physically bigger of course but they just didn't want to develop the technology. Instead they wanted to effectively eliminate all analog by the year 2010. What we ended up with analog simply becoming unaffordable for most. A shame. In the 80s it was quite affordable.
I'm a huge fan of McDsp. But this thing is Overpriced for all it offers (This is just a big saturator with converter). For the same amount of money you can get 3-4 high end gears with better resale value. 🙃
@@MrlegendOr no no lol since you're so smart you now list 4 (four) high end units AND converters for 4K lol, learn math man, it's not hard 1K a piece 😂 you can repeat it as much as you want, it doesn't change
@@mixbustv According to you, high-end means expensive, in which case I think we both need to brush up on our maths. I know how and where to find 3-4 pieces of high-end 4k equipment if I want them. I don't have to buy them at full price, I can buy them used. It's always better to have 3-4 pieces for 4K than to put all your eggs in one basket for a box that combines a converter (which you can't use like a real converter) and a saturation box. If you just want a converter with a saturation box, you can just buy an Analog Electron Heat that does the same thing for less money (ok to be fair, Apb have more channels). Don't get me wrong, I think Apb 8-16 are good. But they are way overpriced. 🙃
Great review!
I have been an early adopter of APB16- fantastic unit!
they keep making it better by adding more “plugin like interfaces” to control analog circuits.
1. compressors and saturators are wholly analog
2. EQ is digital with analog saturator
3. too much latency to track through - but they could fix this in the future
4. Mix down has to be realtime to print the processing because this is analog
I've had my APB 16 for two years, and picked up an APB 8 six months ago. APB is one of the best purchases of my entire career.
Thank you so much for supporting the APB! 😁
I BET. SOUNDS PHENOMENAL TO MY EARS
I'm seriously looking into APB for my setup, mostly for bus processing. Do you find the eq flexible enough for musical boosts across different instrument groups (drums, guitars, vocals, etc.)?
I love my APB it’s amazing and I wish more companies would do what Mcdsp are doing it’s incredible.
This is what analog should be in 2023. All the control and convenience of digital. We shouldn't have to choose anymore gimme it all!
You have the best demo songs out of every RUclips tutor and very professional, well thought out ways of showing us products or techniques in depth. My most trusted source, thank you!
I’ve been using one of these for months. Love it. Sold all my normal analog gear and will get more of these.
This is a genius concept! And a great demonstration as always! Imagine if UAD could do something like this.
UAD has stagnated/gone backwards and are stuck in the early 2000s
McDSP and WES Audio are embracing the future.
They could do their own version of this soon Im guessing
It's funny how UAD sounds so much better at half the price.. oh yeah, and Preamps! 😮
@@BunkerAudioPanama And theres people that dont understand what the APB actually is...
This isn't about replacing your UAD interface running DSP.....
Sorry if I'm missing your point,.... And if i am.. Ill ask again.... Do you understand what APB is?
@@BunkerAudioPanamaI think u may be confused on how the apb works it’s true analog not just dsp
I own two APB-16 units and I love them. Every plugin is amazing!
I can hear the difference on the iPhone. That’s how you know it’s real. 12:03 when you bypassed it, it went from like this digital crunchy to lush instantly.
true
I have been waiting a while to have a review that wasn't just repeating the marketing and specs!! Great job!! One correction though the EQs are digital. The compression and saturation is analog but the EQ isn't.
Cool idea. I was offered one at nearly 1/2 price recently, but passed. Main reason was lack of true analogue integration. If it had a d-sub in rather than built in conversion I’d have snapped it up. As it stands it felt like a great idea that was a cul-de-sac. Would be great as part of a portable rig though. For this to truly be the future of analogue they’d have to open up the platform I think, and allow others to develop plug ins for it.
In my opinion the thing you are loosing is the ability to plug other analog processors in. There are definitely enough flavors of analog in this box that you could use with your current setup and have mostly everything you need. I have an Apb 8. My inertace is a UA x6 , Ssl gbus 500 series, bae 500c, burl b1, a singular audio Tubedrv and a couple Wa eqps. So I pretty much have my bases covered for what I need. The Apb gives me 8 channels of extra analog. Also I think you would probably be fine with just an Apb 16 and nothing else. But I guess it depends on how you work.
@@Soundslikeden indeed. I have 12 racks of analogue gear. I’m not buying anything that can’t be patched into the flock network to route. If I was starting from zero this would be very appealing as it covers a lot of bases (well at least those without any valves involved) for a small footprint. And when you consider it is 8 or 16 channel and does not need a Patch-bay - as a stand alone box of tricks it is very compelling. But for established analogue setup it makes little sense in my mind…… unless it can directly integrate into existing analogue chains. Maybe next version will do that in the future? Lets hope it os a success so that we have more options like this down the road. If it could be integrated into my existing chain I’d have bought 4 already.
@@infojunkie4989 for sure!
Truth is it is analog... But there is also the requirement of digital contingency..... I guess my analogy is an old school synth... DCO's but the rest analog.. There are variables that the hardware must be able to Do I guess..
However... Maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing...
Sound like y’all just really can’t afford it 🤷🏻♂️
Love the video David! We're so glad you loved the APB 😁
It's a game changer!! 🙌
Yeah this analog unit is unreal! Game changing work flow.
I wish it worked for Windows
FINALLY!!!!!!! Let's GO!!!!!!!! Thank you David!!!!
the saturation sounded really good, i need to rewatch this video with my headphones so i can properly hear it in action
good video!
Skeptic here... I have no doubts it sounds great. I have no doubts it's "all analogue" after D/A. But, my theory is it's actually an 8 or 16 channel "analogue saturation" box whilst the plugins do the EQ, compression etc. digitally. McDSP have been very careful not to say otherwise... and the thing that struck me as very odd is the iLok. If the plugins are only controlling ICs in the hardware they are of no possible use to anyone without an APB unit - ie. the APB unit is already a dongle. So what exactly is McDSP trying to protect with the iLok?
Hmm…it also makes me wonder why no other companies seemed to care enough about making IC based saturation boxes. If McDSP can make one that sounds this good, why aren’t other audio manufactures?
@@GeoffBoscothe bar is set very high and the investment might not be worth the risk, especially with a lot of plugin companies moving over to subscription only products. Subscription only models are primarily based on coaxing new users in with a high value/low price pitch, typically without much upfront investment by the consumer.
good critical thinking
It's impressive how this sounds and how they can basically create new gear from the boards they already have laid out inside.
This is defiantly a crazy idea and imagine in the future they could create a digitally controlled console?
Imagine this technology with the space of a console?
Maybe even 4 or even 8 channels per channel so you can pick and chose what is on each channel... then a control surface much like much like the AVID Protools one but a entire hybrid console... if that came into being it could then bridge the gap for analogue and it's use in ATMOS... for some reason I always get my mad hatter hat on when I see a new product.
This isn't new but haven't seen a decent understanding of it yet and honestly had thought is was too expensive for what it was until your review.
It is expensive but it is worth it and if we think of the cost of consoles then the console idea wouldn't be a far stretch to imagine given the price of consoles and what they could achieve in that price bracket.
The sort of have created a digitally controlled console with the Moo X mixer.
How are you doing teacher. Love this demo with a unit like this, we can sell all the hardware that we have, and do a great mix and Mastering… I am impressed; amazing analog/digital unit..
Great demo video as always David! I was recently appalled at a certain jealous, low life amateurs on a certain audio forum trying to shit talk you and your accolades. Fuck them! Seriously, thank you for all of your hard work demoing audio gear and sharing your knowledge with us!
🙏 thank you, let them talk. You never see someone more successful than you saying negative things.
Great Vid! EQ are digital but they use the Saturation circuit ;)
this thing is SOOO worth it imho. it GETS YOU THERE FAST....LIKE analog
Insane! 🔥💯 The 32bit AKM converter 🤯 DAC and ADC. That's sick
You're a legend at this point I'll just leave it at that..
I'd been thinking of getting an SSL big six purely for saturation and some fun EQ's but I think what I really need is more something like this... something with recal I can just run on my 8 summing busses
4 buses man with the 8
@@SydneyValette Not everything has to be L & R / Linked.. YMMV
It sounds mind-blown Jiz!
One thing a lot of people don’t know is that the eq is not analog. The eq is a well designed digital plug-in which then runs through the apb for saturation. But all the actual eq is done digitally itb. It sounds great and fools many pro engineers into thinking it’s fully analog.
Great review and I want one! 😂😂
Sound amazing! Please do a demon in the other plugins as well 😃
Question... So with this being thunderbolt 3 I can daisy chain this with my Apollo and Satellites and use it as 8 additional ins/outs?
Would not technically be additional ins and out as the audio and control signal both travel through the thunderbolt cable. But daisy chaining will work though it really is only effective if for say you only have a few thunderbolt ports and need to connect more gear than you have thunderbolt ports for. In fact that’s how mines is connected. But if you have multiple Apbs they are daisy chain able. It doesn’t talk to Apollos or anything like that via thunderbolt it just passes through to cpu.
Yes you can daisy chain them
That just sounds great! However it may, and probably will face the same issue as any other computer dependent gadgets. After couple of years a $10k piece of gear may become obsolete and useless for various reasons, while pure self sufficient analog gear will still work on its own :). It may not be a problem if you're rich :P but I would hesitate to spend that much money on it, though it doesn't change the fact that it sounds HELL AMAZING !
Yet if you think how much 8 channels of analog (and adda) would cost tho
how is its analog quality compared to high end devices like pultec, distressor, etc.?
I love mine owned it since they came out too tier
One more question... Since those aren't actual plugins but instead controls for the unit. That means I can clip in the "plugin" but it won't sound harsh like a regular plugin would because its really the hardware that's clipping, right?
Correct, keeping in mind you do have ad/da in there but the specs are way higher than the average and on par with the best converters, but yes.
The plug-in will not clip digitally and you cannot clip the converters. They are calibrated so that only analog saturation will be present in the return signal.
Always interesting to see people waiting for PC compatibility on something rather than just buying a Mac. Is it not good enough to make the switch?
I'm buying a mac for atmos so yeah
LOL that blue EQ has broken linking functionality, where bringing down Trim only brought down left channel and screwed up the stereo image.
the apb has been around for a hot minute, but you're only the 3rd person I've seen with it!
For a few years actually.
@@Rhythmattica I think I got my point across with "hot minute." It's called figure of speech lol but thanks for the clarity
Great video. I wonder though, since this is an analog unit, why didn’t they put a db25 connector or something so you could bypass the converters? If they did that, it may have live use- in addition to already being a fantastic studio unit.
Because it's digially controlled
YAY!
Would be interested to hear it compared to the Freqtube.
On my Wishlist for heaven
Now I got to sell all of my analog mastering gear ...What the Hell MAN
Hi Dave I hope all is well, I have a question on this unit. I am just confused if all the components are analog in the box then how are the plugins are really any different? Are there different transformers, for each plugin, are there tubes inside the box since there is a tube plugin? It is giving some snake oil vibes.... This seems like an intriguing product how 2024 should be. Are you using this in your day to day?
Don't use the line snake oil here and definitely not while referring to any of Colin's products because he's one of the few geniuses in the audio world. With that out of the way, you can take a look at the inside of the unit, there are various components, depending if you get 8 or 16, enough to make the equivalent analog channels. In fact, while this is still an absolute bargain, it's not cheap. The components can be controlled digitally, not just what's in the path but also the variables, too deep into the technology for anyone other than Colin to explain. Yes I use it every day, in fact I just moved it to my personal room
Damn mac only😢😢
Contenuto pazzesco. Complimenti per la preparazione che dimostri ad ogni video. Vorrei farti una domanda, sto valutando un upgrade del mio home studio. Ho già comprato ssl fusion e vorrei integrarlo con qualcosa di più. Questo APB-8 sembra davvero fantastico e in pratica io vorrei passare i singoli suoni di synt o vst instrument o in generale i singoli buss all'interno dell'APB-8 per dare carattere e colori diversi. Secondo la tua esperienza può essere il prodotto giusto o valuteresti altre scelte? Il mio budget di spesa è di circa 5000 euro. Scusa per il papiro e grazie di una tua eventuale risposta. Complimenti ancora.
The APB is totally the right unit for what you want to do, it's an amazing piece of engineering and we now have the 16channel version in the new studio here in LA. Everyone loves it
@@mixbustv Grazie 🙏
Cool cool Then the vmu is a solid state emulation of tubes ?
Correct
One thing that piques my curiosity about this is iirc all of the analog circuitry in this is I-amp based. No transformers or discreet transistor circuits. How are they able to get such rich saturation that way? I mean no other analog gear manufacturers are marketing “vintage saturation” without all that vintage based circuits. Or, maybe they’re are at least some transformers in there, and I remember incorrect info.
I didn't peek inside
The big question is, Could you tell the difference in blind test with Plugins and this unit on compression, EQ or saturation for eg.
That's not the big question. You don't know what ingredients are in your dish or how long they cooked for but I'm sure you can tell the difference between McDonald's and a 5 stat restaurant when you eat
@@mixbustv Then the Proof is in the Pudding😄 Cause there are some food trucks out there that can give a 5star restaurant a run for their money 😉
I'm still quite unsure how the channels are dispatched. For example, I read that the multiband compressor will use 3 channels. SO how do you know how many effects you can use, and if you need an 8 or 16?
Apb has an app that shows how many channels are being used. Multiband uses 3 mono channels, 6 stereo. If Apb 8 you have two channels left.
The rest of the processors use 1 channel for mono 2 for stereo respectively.
@@Soundslikeden OK so basically that's one channel per channel in an effect, except multiband which used three comps in one correct? So 8 mono comps for example for an ABP 8?
@@ZOgrameMusic yep! That’s it. There is a compression circuit, limiting circuit, and three different saturations circuits per channel though. But again that channel is mono. The plug-in tells the circuits which ones should be used and how they should react to the source material. Some plugins use all the circuits available in one channel.
@@Soundslikeden thanks for the clarification 🙂
@@ZOgrameMusic for sure!
Great david but its only for mac not windows and im vexed
Hopefully we'll get windows soon
On one hand, I am also vexed, on the other, I will probably never be able to afford one so... xD
bit of a bummer that it does not support windows
What’s the last vocal song with the vari mu combo? It was used in a zeds dead song it’s so nice
The original is Miley Cyrus Midnight Sky, but that not her singing here, that's a rock cover Izzy T made of that song and I mixed and mastered: ruclips.net/video/Ht1O-PZqxbI/видео.htmlsi=vNvy4N4qJBA5VsPh
Hey David, any idea what will happen now with Thunderbolt being killed on both mac and pc and this machine for the future?
Where did you get the information that will be cut on Mac?
From what I understood if I would update my Monterey OS to the next OS, I will loose my 3 firewire soundcards because the next OS does not support them anymore. Unless I'm mixing up stuff here. I will try to find the video I got it from
I have a question i want a real analog box to run my master through and want to know my options and if anyone would know it would be you 😊..stuff like the neve 5057 orbit.. can you think of a list i can check out. Thank you.. another great video
Needs real spring reverb in it! 🙃
Unfortunately in ableton you can’t run mono instances of the APB plugins. Wish they would make a solution for that.
You can't? Are you using live 11?
@@devinkei1469 Live (all versions) doesn't have mono channels, only stereo. So you are forced to use stereo instances of APB plugins.
@gear7057 oooh I see. In what situation would mono be beneficial for that? Because I wanted to buy that apb box, but if it's a hassle with ableton, I'm not sure.
@@devinkei1469 It's not a hassle, you just have less channels available for processing. In DAWs that have mono channels (most DAWs besides Ableton do), the APB8 can process 8 mono tracks total, or 1 stereo 6 mono, 2 stereo 4 mono, 3 stereo 2 mono or 4 stereo. For the APB16 double that. Using the APB8 with Ableton, you can only use 4 APB plugins total, no mono plugins. So 4 APB plugins total no matter if the sounds you are processing are stereo or mono in nature. So if you are using a lot of sounds that are mono, you miss out on having more channels of the APB processing available.
@gear7057 ooh. I see. That's annoying. I still want to grab it despite that. 😆 how have they not hot fixed it? Ableton isn't the only daw that would run into this issue
Imagine I would sell my house and my car and all my guitars and then... maybe I would get enough cash together and settle for 8 channel version and change my entire Studio from PC to MAC... or maybe not.... 🙂
So are you keeping it?
I'm on Windows at the moment but my Mac is coming and I'll be keeping this for Atmos
UAD should have done this
ok ok !!!! so we get 8/16 analogue channels... and digital plugins... but all plugins run through the same circuitry in each channel... so what's the point? all these companies that have been making all these eq ,compressor and saturator circuitry different for each purpose. a pulteq is build differently than an api eq than a neve eq than a trident eq than a ssl eq. Same for all the compressors etc. So how can this box emulate all these different stages schemantics etc in the analogue world? really wanna know... and it's expensive as well.
I see you don't understand. In the unit there are enough components to create different eqs, compressors, saturators. Not all plugins use the same components. THAT'S why is "expensive"
The plug-ins send a control signal that tells the Apb how to configure itself. The components are all the same but can be controlled via voltage signals to sound a certain way. I don’t think however McDsp is trying to emulate any of the gear manufacturers you mentioned as every Apb plugin has been it’s own thing. I will say sometimes it’s hard to hear differences between the plugins but there are differences. Just subtle. I suspect that will get better overtime or it may just be a side effect of have the same components for each channel I don’t know but it sounds great though.
*I meant to say it’s hard to hear differences in tone plugin to plugin. The compressors all sound very different.
What is the name of the Dancehall song and artist you demoed?
Don't remember the title/artist name one of the album I did a couple of years ago.
@@mixbustv Artist and producer are very talented. I don't think the song is released for some strange reason.
Bang for buck the APB units seem an obvious choice.
I was about to buy a Fatso but if all the units in the APB sound this good....
You must be a big Prodigy Fan!?
What? Why?
still mac only?
Yes
bummer its mac only ?? we need some windows love !!
I'm pushing!
@@mixbustv We neeeed Windows support for the APB! I got my fingers crossed.
I wish it worked with windows
Then yes a summing box is no need hehe
Why mcdsp make only compressor and saturator, why they don't create equalizers? Maybe this concept don't wotk with equalizer?
Was said Collin thinks Eq curved can be represented perfectly digitally, so he combined that with analog saturation to make it complete. Also I read that the box would probably get too hot to have 8 or 16 analog eqs plus compression and saturation.
Didn't I just show the eq?
@@mixbustv yes there is Eq but it’s digital rather than analog. That’s what I was replying to. Sorry if that was unclear.
@@mixbustv Is the Royal Q full analog equalizer?
In my opinion, this is a digital EQ with analog saturation.
you could use it on every channel, but only by printing each channel :(
Yes like any other piece of hardware. Sad but true.😢
And when the plugins aren't supported anymore you have an expensive paperweight.
McDsp makes plugins. So why would they stop supporting these?
McDSP has been making plugins probably before any of us started mixing
I accendently bough UAD thinking i could do that :/
Too bad the industry drag-azzed for so many decades. If they had pursued this kind of thing back in the 80s, it would be the norm now and actually affordable. It was possible back in the day. It would have been physically bigger of course but they just didn't want to develop the technology. Instead they wanted to effectively eliminate all analog by the year 2010. What we ended up with analog simply becoming unaffordable for most. A shame. In the 80s it was quite affordable.
thunderbolt??? really?!?!?? THis product is doomed to fail.
It’s Mac only so probably not
I'm a huge fan of McDsp. But this thing is Overpriced for all it offers (This is just a big saturator with converter). For the same amount of money you can get 3-4 high end gears with better resale value. 🙃
You can get 4 high end "gear" for 4K? Please list them lol because that makes 1K x piece and I PROMISE you, you ain't gonna get high end lol
@@mixbustv Yes, I repeat, for the same money. If you are smart enough, you can get better high-end saturators, better converters and more. 🙃
@@MrlegendOr no no lol since you're so smart you now list 4 (four) high end units AND converters for 4K lol, learn math man, it's not hard 1K a piece 😂 you can repeat it as much as you want, it doesn't change
@@mixbustv According to you, high-end means expensive, in which case I think we both need to brush up on our maths. I know how and where to find 3-4 pieces of high-end 4k equipment if I want them. I don't have to buy them at full price, I can buy them used. It's always better to have 3-4 pieces for 4K than to put all your eggs in one basket for a box that combines a converter (which you can't use like a real converter) and a saturation box.
If you just want a converter with a saturation box, you can just buy an Analog Electron Heat that does the same thing for less money (ok to be fair, Apb have more channels).
Don't get me wrong, I think Apb 8-16 are good. But they are way overpriced. 🙃
According to me? Lol no according to the world. Again, you didn't list anything 😂
Not the dsp thing again ..
Lol it's not a DSP you didn't even watch the video
It’s digitally controlled analog.