Very nice demo of the new plugin. Sounds quite good. I don't think it beats the Neve 1073 Preamp and EQ collection but for half the price it's an excellent entry into the world of professional, commercial quality channel strips, preamps and EQ's. Great performance by the artist Marty O’Reilly as well. I know that wasn't easy and how hard it must be to give your best performance when you know your dry guitar and vocals will be under such scrutiny. That's a lot of pressure. Great job Marty!
Thank you. I had just downloaded this and messed around a bit and figured I was doing all the wrong things. It was good to know that clipping doesn’t mean clipping in the master and the distortion can be a welcome thing. I was curious about the switches on the preamp. Hitting the mic switch really distorted things but it seems like you use them readily here and it works! I wasn’t aware there were presets so I will look back on some of the files in Studio One with the Century Audio Channel Strip and see if I can try those. I’m curious about the button that allows you to print the settings to the DAW? I’m not very clear on that.
Great video. Ben, you're a terrific teacher, you keep it interesting and explain things really well. And Marty's performance was awesome, I could listen to this music all day. Thanks for posting!
I’m really impressed you got a SM57 to sound that good on an Acoustic Guitar, I’ve always thought they were only good to mic my Electric Guitar Cabs. I was taught to use a SM81 for Acoustic Guitar. You’ve shown me that a SM57 can adequately do the job though, very cool and good for those with limited mics in their collection.
Universal Audio Thanks for the reply, I love my Apollo x8 but I kind of wish I went for the Apollo x16 now. I really didn’t know anything when I bought the Apollo x8 or I would’ve at least gotten the Apollo x8p. So can I hook up an Apollo x8p or Apollo x16 to my Apollo x8 with the extra Thunderbolt 3 port on the Apollo x8? I’ve read confusing pages on which units you can hook together.
Universal Audio So any 4 Apollo? Another Apollo x8 or an x8p or x16? So I could run 4 Apollo x8 units or I could run my Apollo x8 with an Apollo x8p and 2 Apollo x16 like that?
Nice performance and a real nice recording. I find that the is loudness is quite different in those takes and not matched. So, the old louder is better is prevalent in this recording imho. Thanks for the video.
One thing Ben didn’t cover was Mic Placement, take notice of their orientation to singer and guitar. Vocal is angled up (front side up) capsule aimed at singers mouth, guitar angled down, less mic bleed.
Hi UAD developers. I am one of your customers who spend around £5-£6k with you in the last two year - just to say how much I like the stuff you do. Here are the thoughts I have had after watching this video - 1. Develop the control surface with at least 8-16 channel motorised faders for UAD interfaces that could also be used as control surface, 2. Work on the 3rd generation of UAD interfaces (which I guess you already do). DO not waste your time on things like this unless it is costing you nothing. I am not trying to be negative but there are things that people have being asking for years that are still not there (like control surface). Also, if UAD compared with real stuff there is still much difference (hence the price - I understand) but I do believe that the day will come soon. For now - all UAD plugins are incredible and, in my opinion, one of the best on the market, but... too clean and clinical vs hardware. Good luck with that.
Gabriel Gonzalez thank you for your comment. I assume the quality of plugins will improve with the hardware development in the next few years considering how rapid the improvement was in the last 10-15 years.
Great demo! Ok, if i use Volt 476 can i use this preamp inserted into the console (if applicable for volt 476)? Or by default volt has "vintage" preamp already built in and there's no options and no console for external software preamps usage? Can someone explain the situation with volt and software preamps usage? Thanks a lot ))
Nice demo -- I actually preferred Marty's performance on the 2nd take without the Century ch strip, but, the overall sound quality and balance are of course better with it.
It would be really nice if someone could make the same video, but using the plugins that are bundled with Arrow/Apollo (Pultec EQ, LA2A or 1167 compressor, UA610-B preamp, precision mix rack collection ...) I'm sure you cold get similar results with that stuff. I don't want to spend another 150.00$ right now!
tough one to me, think id split the difference more. The plugin def smears stuff up a bit but also has this smokey glaze thing. Unprocessed is more articulate, but kinda more boring...
well of course it is all creative freedom. Really nice performance and feel. For me this kind of music really lives from the dynamics tho, but that’s is just my personal taste. So from everything 10% would it be for me. I’d run this through my outboard 6176s. Some gain on the 610s and then with the lowest 1176 compression, longest attack time and then some EQP1A plus the Oceans ways plugin or the Lex 224 on the buss for some 3D. This of course doesn’t not really demonstrate the new plugin. May you all have a wonderful time making music.
Question: If you set it up in Console to NOT print, but liked how those settings sounded, how similar will it be to apply the processing later? Is the Unison pre really doing much to the gain structure?
it changes the actual physical preamp input impedance, gain staging response and some other things, which does make a noticable difference depending on the mic. Printing isn't a bad thing. Many of our favorite records would commit to a sound and print before mixing. Just don't make huge cuts, boost or gain reduction (past 1-3db) to be safe.
Hi ! Very cool video thanks ! Just bought the Apollo Twin X and I'm wondering how you do the link between Console and Logic Pro ? I understand you insert the plugins in Console but your record with Logic, how do you do ? Thanks !
I’m so glad I’m a member of the UAD cult! I spent decades with shitty interfaces like the Presonus Firestudio, and Focusrite 18i8. I guess they aren’t the worst out there, but it’s night and day compared to my Apollo X Twin!
Ok need some advice should I just get the Apollo 8p instead of the 4-710d? It seems like the pre amps now have reached a point where hardware isn’t needed !
It's best to try a few things out if you can. Personally I went for the Apollo 8 ( 4 unison pre's ) and invested in a few hardware pre's. To me, the hardware pre's are where its at. More important than hardware comps and eq's imo. Though I like those too.
Mark Szymanski thanks for your input I should have said get by without hardware pre’s. I’m just in love with those unison Plug ins ha. What is a good pre amp u would recommend under 2 grand ?
Plenty of variables, just my humble opinion, but I'd prob looking at Daking or Sebatron for a 4 pre rack. Both can be found 2nd hand from time to time and work for plenty of sources.
Just my opinion, but I decided on the 8P. To my ears I often find the plain preamp without one of the modeled unison pres to be just what I prefer. They sound super clean which is sometimes desirable. I have three unison preamp plugins and they each offer different sounds. I think if I went with just the 4 channel unit, I'd likely go for similar settings, fewer options. I wanted enough channels to record a full band and considered the 4 710. I ultimately went with the Apollo 8p and the Audient asp800. Plenty of unison preamps if I want plugins and the clear sounds of the Audient.
Excuse me if I didn't find the answer in the comments if this has allready been asked, but shouldn't we compare the signals at the same level? I mean it is always thaugt that louder sounds better in this context... I mean the signal without the modelled preamp is clearly louder... To me it's really hard to tell a huge difference between those to signals except the loudness... (listened on good headphones)
These VU-meters seem to have everyone concerned about overloads, even with the visual feedback of the recorded waveforms ( @10:05 ), when there is such pleasant saturation and the fullness of second order harmonics. Modern digital blues style? Nah, bring the flavor guys.
David Case people clip on purpose now, I saw a metal band clip a low open bass guitar note and it sounded like an atomic bomb going off. Granted it was one part of one song. However I do agree your take, I wouldn’t have recorded at such a high level. It did sound fine though so as long as they’re happy with it then that’s all that matters. I’m surprised they got such a good acoustic sound out of an SM57, I use them to mic electric guitar amps but not acoustic, I’d use a SM81 for acoustic guitar but it’s nice to see an a SM57 can do the job with enough gain.
Hi Ben Whenever I've tried to record vocals at same time as acoustic guitar I get the inevitable slight bleed of guitar into vocal mic and vocals into guitar mic. I position both mics just as you have in your video. You do not mention this in your video so how did you get over this problem please ? And, yes, the High Pass filter does cut out the foot tapping.
i asked the same... in your guitar track you will have a lower vocal bleed and in your vocal track you will have a lower guitar bleed sound.. but once mix together they sound great...if you need more guitar just volumen up and more vocal turn up vocal.. he advice me to go for the overall vibe and now the bleed is not a problem.. is like having 2 vocals and 2 guitars.... i hopei made sense
Hey Omar, mic choice (some mics have better off axis response than others) and placement (moving closer etc) help, but ultimately at some point you embrace the bleed and use it to your advantage. Go for overall vibe. Hope this helps.
@@UniversalAudio ohhh ok..i used a newman tm103 for vocal and the same one you used for the guitar.. same position as u did... they both had alot of bleed..however mix together it sounds great..i just would like more control that is all.. but yes it sounds great when mix together even w the bleed... thank you for your tips..
Omar, pay attention to how the mics are angled. The Condenser (vocal) is angled up, pretty sure a CARDIOID mic, meaning it picks up from the front, rejecting sounds from the rear, this will minimize bleed, also a little less gain and close to mouth. The Guitar mic if you noticed is angled down, SM 57 is pretty much a straight ahead mic. Will still have some bleed, but when played back will sound good.
Sounds so much better without the plugins! Very good performer btw, nothing against uad ( I'm actually a owner of the Apollo x), I just hate how their marketing is all about selling more fin plugins all of the time
I love UAD. The interfaces are incredible. The plugins are equally incredible. This plugin is a waste. It will eventually see it's way into the free plugin pack that comes with every UAD-2 unit. Sorry UA, Slate Digital has the crown for 500 series plugin that is interchangeable.
Looking at the waves during your recording there seems to be some DC on one of the versions. It's similar for the guitar and the vocal track. What about this issue. DC should be avoided.
With that two mic set up the 57 is not a bad choice at all. Good rejection on the vocal to isolate the guitar. If you're strictly just recording acoustic parts then yes there are better choices.
well I use to own a Apollo twin duo mk2 and let me tell you I was disappointed in it. VERY disappointed . I record acoustic guitar covers, and for the life of me i could not get a clean dynamic loud sound from the play back off my macbook PRO. this is with using all combinations of plugins from UA : 610B, Teletronix la2a legacy 1176 real verb pro. pulteq EQs everything and nothing. settings in logic buffer 256. I don't think im alone in this either but every time I record in logic the playback would be very very LOW almost can't hear it even though when i listen through headphones the meter peaks at 0. second no matter what you record the UA plugins don't do squat no dynamic range unique sound. Im not kidding I use to own a Zoom Q8 camcorder/ xlr input and that sounded better than the apollo cleaner and higher dynamic range. do not buy apollo interfaces in fact don't buy any interface just invest in a Zoom Q8 it will save you $1000s and time because it actually records what you are playing into the SD card
I have Twin X Quad, I get great results. Use Luna now, but even in Logic using console, you buffer of 256 is WAY to high when recording in Logic or any DAW.
Very nice demo of the new plugin. Sounds quite good. I don't think it beats the Neve 1073 Preamp and EQ collection but for half the price it's an excellent entry into the world of professional, commercial quality channel strips, preamps and EQ's. Great performance by the artist Marty O’Reilly as well. I know that wasn't easy and how hard it must be to give your best performance when you know your dry guitar and vocals will be under such scrutiny. That's a lot of pressure. Great job Marty!
Thank you. I had just downloaded this and messed around a bit and figured I was doing all the wrong things. It was good to know that clipping doesn’t mean clipping in the master and the distortion can be a welcome thing. I was curious about the switches on the preamp. Hitting the mic switch really distorted things but it seems like you use them readily here and it works! I wasn’t aware there were presets so I will look back on some of the files in Studio One with the Century Audio Channel Strip and see if I can try those. I’m curious about the button that allows you to print the settings to the DAW? I’m not very clear on that.
Great video. Ben, you're a terrific teacher, you keep it interesting and explain things really well. And Marty's performance was awesome, I could listen to this music all day. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for watching!
I’m really impressed you got a SM57 to sound that good on an Acoustic Guitar, I’ve always thought they were only good to mic my Electric Guitar Cabs. I was taught to use a SM81 for Acoustic Guitar. You’ve shown me that a SM57 can adequately do the job though, very cool and good for those with limited mics in their collection.
Indeed!! use what you got! 😄
Universal Audio Thanks for the reply, I love my Apollo x8 but I kind of wish I went for the Apollo x16 now. I really didn’t know anything when I bought the Apollo x8 or I would’ve at least gotten the Apollo x8p. So can I hook up an Apollo x8p or Apollo x16 to my Apollo x8 with the extra Thunderbolt 3 port on the Apollo x8? I’ve read confusing pages on which units you can hook together.
Absolutely! You can connect up to 6 devices in a system, four of which can be Apollos, and of those 4 Apollos, one can be a Twin, x4 or Arrow.
Universal Audio So any 4 Apollo? Another Apollo x8 or an x8p or x16? So I could run 4 Apollo x8 units or I could run my Apollo x8 with an Apollo x8p and 2 Apollo x16 like that?
Yup, you got it.
Nice performance and a real nice recording. I find that the is loudness is quite different in those takes and not matched. So, the old louder is better is prevalent in this recording imho. Thanks for the video.
One thing Ben didn’t cover was Mic Placement, take notice of their orientation to singer and guitar. Vocal is angled up (front side up) capsule aimed at singers mouth, guitar angled down, less mic bleed.
Yeah it's almost unreal how little bleed of guitar there was into that vocal mic!!
What a great artist. The voice is very soulful and unique. Very good tutorial from Ben as usual although lack of level matching feels cheating.
👍
Ben's always got great tutorials! Thank you, Ben!!!
I absolutely love my Apollo x8 but the the amount of available plugins are overwhelming so videos like this help a lot, thank you!
👍
@@AmateurBlonde I really appreciate you taking the time to reply with good information, thank you!
Hi UAD developers. I am one of your customers who spend around £5-£6k with you in the last two year - just to say how much I like the stuff you do. Here are the thoughts I have had after watching this video - 1. Develop the control surface with at least 8-16 channel motorised faders for UAD interfaces that could also be used as control surface, 2. Work on the 3rd generation of UAD interfaces (which I guess you already do). DO not waste your time on things like this unless it is costing you nothing. I am not trying to be negative but there are things that people have being asking for years that are still not there (like control surface). Also, if UAD compared with real stuff there is still much difference (hence the price - I understand) but I do believe that the day will come soon. For now - all UAD plugins are incredible and, in my opinion, one of the best on the market, but... too clean and clinical vs hardware. Good luck with that.
yarfrol plugs vs hardware? Good luck with that? It’s not meant to be a contest, it’s as close as it gets for an emulation, still badass tho.
Gabriel Gonzalez thank you for your comment. I assume the quality of plugins will improve with the hardware development in the next few years considering how rapid the improvement was in the last 10-15 years.
Great demo! Ok, if i use Volt 476 can i use this preamp inserted into the console (if applicable for volt 476)? Or by default volt has "vintage" preamp already built in and there's no options and no console for external software preamps usage? Can someone explain the situation with volt and software preamps usage? Thanks a lot ))
Is there a difference in using a guitar pick up straight into Apollo vs using a mic such as Sure SM57 for recording? Thank you
This is a wonderful video. Ben does really good with explaining things, and why he does them. Good stuff Ben! And more great stuff from UA
Thanks! Ben says "thank you" as well.
Nice demo -- I actually preferred Marty's performance on the 2nd take without the Century ch strip, but, the overall sound quality and balance are of course better with it.
another great demo and examples.....
Great Rendition, thank you for sharing.
Sounds good and really easy to use!
Should you be recording this hot in digital?? I thought optimal level and also for plugins to work was -18 dbFS
The quality of the results should tell you that it really doesn’t matter for the most part.
Great video! Are you running the rode nt2a in figure 8 polar pattern?
Greetings. Please make a console routing tutorial for apollo twin x usb
It would be really nice if someone could make the same video, but using the plugins that are bundled with Arrow/Apollo
(Pultec EQ, LA2A or 1167 compressor, UA610-B preamp, precision mix rack collection ...)
I'm sure you cold get similar results with that stuff. I don't want to spend another 150.00$ right now!
Johannes Labusch use the free demo, in fact you can use all the demos and then buy one plugin and it resets all the free demos
thank you for the video! to my ears it sounds better unprocessed just lower the rec volume to prevent clips.
andivax same for me..
Glad I'm not the only one who prefers the raw, unprocessed version!
tough one to me, think id split the difference more. The plugin def smears stuff up a bit but also has this smokey glaze thing. Unprocessed is more articulate, but kinda more boring...
well of course it is all creative freedom. Really nice performance and feel.
For me this kind of music really lives from the dynamics tho, but that’s is just my personal taste.
So from everything 10% would it be for me.
I’d run this through my outboard 6176s. Some gain on the 610s and then with the lowest 1176 compression,
longest attack time and then some EQP1A plus the Oceans ways plugin or the Lex 224 on the buss for some 3D.
This of course doesn’t not really demonstrate the new plugin. May you all have a wonderful time making music.
Same here
Big compliment to the guitar guy: Your voice reminds me of Kelly Joe Phelps.
I liked the dry take better. Not the sound, just a better performance. Good thing you can add it post, too!
Question: If you set it up in Console to NOT print, but liked how those settings sounded, how similar will it be to apply the processing later? Is the Unison pre really doing much to the gain structure?
it changes the actual physical preamp input impedance, gain staging response and some other things, which does make a noticable difference depending on the mic. Printing isn't a bad thing. Many of our favorite records would commit to a sound and print before mixing. Just don't make huge cuts, boost or gain reduction (past 1-3db) to be safe.
Also curious about this.
Agree, great question. I think we’ve all been wondering it. Good to know the unison preamps really mimic the structure of the hardware
Please excuse my ignorance but what is the "Unison Slot", many thanks in advance
hello can i recording in real time with century tube .. when i use volt 476P?
You can use the output gain as well
Cool voice
Hi ! Very cool video thanks ! Just bought the Apollo Twin X and I'm wondering how you do the link between Console and Logic Pro ?
I understand you insert the plugins in Console but your record with Logic, how do you do ?
Thanks !
Start here: help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057641051-Get-Started-with-Apollo-Twin. We have videos per DAW.
Cool, another blues / country guitar UAD video. Thanks.
Hola quería saber si me serviría para grabar voces de Broadcasting publicidad etc ?
the version with Century sound good because more loud in level than the neutral version
GREAT SOUND !!!!
I’m so glad I’m a member of the UAD cult! I spent decades with shitty interfaces like the Presonus Firestudio, and Focusrite 18i8. I guess they aren’t the worst out there, but it’s night and day compared to my Apollo X Twin!
😍
Ok need some advice should I just get the Apollo 8p instead of the 4-710d? It seems like the pre amps now have reached a point where hardware isn’t needed !
It's best to try a few things out if you can. Personally I went for the Apollo 8 ( 4 unison pre's ) and invested in a few hardware pre's. To me, the hardware pre's are where its at. More important than hardware comps and eq's imo. Though I like those too.
Mark Szymanski thanks for your input I should have said get by without hardware pre’s. I’m just in love with those unison Plug ins ha. What is a good pre amp u would recommend under 2 grand ?
Plenty of variables, just my humble opinion, but I'd prob looking at Daking or Sebatron for a 4 pre rack. Both can be found 2nd hand from time to time and work for plenty of sources.
Just my opinion, but I decided on the 8P. To my ears I often find the plain preamp without one of the modeled unison pres to be just what I prefer. They sound super clean which is sometimes desirable. I have three unison preamp plugins and they each offer different sounds. I think if I went with just the 4 channel unit, I'd likely go for similar settings, fewer options. I wanted enough channels to record a full band and considered the 4 710. I ultimately went with the Apollo 8p and the Audient asp800. Plenty of unison preamps if I want plugins and the clear sounds of the Audient.
Excuse me if I didn't find the answer in the comments if this has allready been asked, but shouldn't we compare the signals at the same level? I mean it is always thaugt that louder sounds better in this context... I mean the signal without the modelled preamp is clearly louder... To me it's really hard to tell a huge difference between those to signals except the loudness... (listened on good headphones)
You are correct, it is always a good idea. But not always practical in tutorials.
What do you mean by practical? It would only need one step of normalization to show the result equally loud at least during the playback.
nice demo. and love how you use logic. Gives me hope luna is based around Logic
when open up the master button of century tube channel strip my mic output has gone so low. why is that?
Make sure it's set to Mic and then choose lo or hi gain, and finally adjust the final level of the pre with the gain knob.
Bros song was tight
bluesy Samson and Delilah!
These VU-meters seem to have everyone concerned about overloads, even with the visual feedback of the recorded waveforms ( @10:05 ), when there is such pleasant saturation and the fullness of second order harmonics. Modern digital blues style? Nah, bring the flavor guys.
Isn't this being recorded too hot?
Sounds good, that´s the point
It does, but I would still shoot for a lower digital level to avoid clips, lower noise and allow for more options down the road...
David Case people clip on purpose now, I saw a metal band clip a low open bass guitar note and it sounded like an atomic bomb going off. Granted it was one part of one song. However I do agree your take, I wouldn’t have recorded at such a high level. It did sound fine though so as long as they’re happy with it then that’s all that matters. I’m surprised they got such a good acoustic sound out of an SM57, I use them to mic electric guitar amps but not acoustic, I’d use a SM81 for acoustic guitar but it’s nice to see an a SM57 can do the job with enough gain.
I know this is about how the plugin sounds and all but.....am I crazy or are they green screened in a VR studio?
Philip Rogers uad plug ins be taking a toll on that budget !
HAHA!!! Yup!
I thought the same thing!!
Hi Ben
Whenever I've tried to record vocals at same time as acoustic guitar I get the inevitable slight bleed of guitar into vocal mic and vocals into guitar mic. I position both mics just as you have in your video. You do not mention this in your video so how did you get over this problem please ?
And, yes, the High Pass filter does cut out the foot tapping.
i asked the same... in your guitar track you will have a lower vocal bleed and in your vocal track you will have a lower guitar bleed sound.. but once mix together they sound great...if you need more guitar just volumen up and more vocal turn up vocal.. he advice me to go for the overall vibe and now the bleed is not a problem.. is like having 2 vocals and 2 guitars.... i hopei made sense
why dont record a clean session and then load the Century Tube Channel Strip as an insert?
i try that... i had mic bleed on both mics tracks... how u deal w that
Hey Omar, mic choice (some mics have better off axis response than others) and placement (moving closer etc) help, but ultimately at some point you embrace the bleed and use it to your advantage. Go for overall vibe. Hope this helps.
@@UniversalAudio ohhh ok..i used a newman tm103 for vocal and the same one you used for the guitar.. same position as u did... they both had alot of bleed..however mix together it sounds great..i just would like more control that is all.. but yes it sounds great when mix together even w the bleed... thank you for your tips..
@@unofficial4255 My pleasure! Glad to help.
Omar, pay attention to how the mics are angled. The Condenser (vocal) is angled up, pretty sure a CARDIOID mic, meaning it picks up from the front, rejecting sounds from the rear, this will minimize bleed, also a little less gain and close to mouth. The Guitar mic if you noticed is angled down, SM 57 is pretty much a straight ahead mic. Will still have some bleed, but when played back will sound good.
On the vocal clip the microphone. :)
Sounds so much better without the plugins! Very good performer btw, nothing against uad ( I'm actually a owner of the Apollo x), I just hate how their marketing is all about selling more fin plugins all of the time
iwokeupthismorning2 What nerve of a plugin company using their marketing to sell plugins!!
I would play Make it rain with a twist
Was Marty drugged before he was wheeled into the studio?
Cool but you would have a better sound with a Royer 121 and moving them at the perfect position
Oh yet another UA video without volume matched before and after settings!
I love UAD. The interfaces are incredible. The plugins are equally incredible. This plugin is a waste. It will eventually see it's way into the free plugin pack that comes with every UAD-2 unit. Sorry UA, Slate Digital has the crown for 500 series plugin that is interchangeable.
Rob Fulco nah. Slate is crawling.
I hope Marty is doing well
Why is a "5-min Tip" video over 12 minutes long?
Lighten up, Francis.
Because we want to shower you with audio tips, of course!
Boo-hoo, they gave me more than I expected, poor me!
is just a tittle..5 min is no always enough
The more information you know, the better! Who cares if it goes over the 5-minute limit??? What’s a rule for if you can’t break it once in a while???
Lol it does NOT sound better w/o the plug ins idk what people are talking about on here 😂
mminjarez people said that? Lmao... some people are just contrarian for the sake of being so.
Looking at the waves during your recording there seems to be some DC on one of the versions. It's similar for the guitar and the vocal track. What about this issue. DC should be avoided.
i'm sure this is the most redundant comment here but...a 5 minute tip that's 12 minutes...yeeeaaahhh. that's off a bit.
Not sure about using an SM57 on acoustic guitar
cut and dry. it's cool
I think it's a good demonstration of working with basic tools and still getting a decent recording.
With that two mic set up the 57 is not a bad choice at all. Good rejection on the vocal to isolate the guitar. If you're strictly just recording acoustic parts then yes there are better choices.
The guy looks really sad. Also, I don't think he knows what your talking about.
well I use to own a Apollo twin duo mk2 and let me tell you I was disappointed in it. VERY disappointed . I record acoustic guitar covers, and for the life of me i could not get a clean dynamic loud sound from the play back off my macbook PRO. this is with using all combinations of plugins from UA : 610B, Teletronix la2a legacy 1176 real verb pro. pulteq EQs everything and nothing. settings in logic buffer 256.
I don't think im alone in this either but every time I record in logic the playback would be very very LOW almost can't hear it even though when i listen through headphones the meter peaks at 0. second no matter what you record the UA plugins don't do squat no dynamic range unique sound. Im not kidding I use to own a Zoom Q8 camcorder/ xlr input and that sounded better than the apollo cleaner and higher dynamic range. do not buy apollo interfaces in fact don't buy any interface just invest in a Zoom Q8 it will save you $1000s and time because it actually records what you are playing into the SD card
youre most correct i don't know crap about gain staging
BRAAAAAAAAP
I have Twin X Quad, I get great results. Use Luna now, but even in Logic using console, you buffer of 256 is WAY to high when recording in Logic or any DAW.