Thunderbolt interface?

domforr

Further to my previous thread, has anyone had any experience using a thunderbolt interface? Seem to resolve a lot of the latency issues and you'd imagine it would be a bit more future proof than firewire (although you can never tell with Apple).

Quite pricey but something like this: http://www.thomann.de/gb/resident_audio_t4.htm

Bojangles

Yep, been using a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo for about a year now into an iMac.  No issues, UA takes the processing load off the Mac, awesome piece of kit.  Fast, powerful and latency a thing of the past with the UA Console 2.0.  Plug ins are the business as well...

domforr

That does look stunning, but it is damn pricey. Food for thought, certainly.

Catthan

@Bojangles,

Are there any cab emulators in the UAD plugins or is it just full amp models?

I am interested in the Apollo interfaces but must figure out how my rack gtr recording gear (preamps etc) will work with the plugins.

So far the only think I've needed is some IRs.

Jack_

Catthan said:

@Bojangles,

Are there any cab emulators in the UAD plugins or is it just full amp models?

I am interested in the Apollo interfaces but must figure out how my rack gtr recording gear (preamps etc) will work with the plugins.

So far the only think I've needed is some IRs.

Two-Notes Torpedo range sounds more suited to your requirements.

Bojangles

@Catthan yes there are cab emulators.  There is also a load of mic pre's as well, can't fault it really pretty much blown away.  Just bought a Focusrite Claret 8PreX which is on offer for trades at £749.  Can't afford it but that's what credit cards are for.   Make music and be merry!

dindude

I'm using the Zoom TAC-2 thunderbolt interface. Don't be put off by it being Zoom, it's very good, especially for the money - they are generally about £200 but if you look on Amazon they are £125, which is a crazy good deal!

octatonic

There is always going to be latency with a native system, particularly if you want to monitor with effects.

This is the case even with 'high end' systems like Apogee Symphony, which has reached latency but it is still a roundtrip for around 6ms at the bare minimum- practical realities mean it really ends up being about 12ms, which is enough to feel it if you are a tight player.

The advantage that Protools has over native solutions is reduce latency and DSP for effects takes place off the host processor- it is very fast and slick, although you pay through the nose for it and you are locked into Avid's hardware and software if you want the full effect. 

The beauty of the Universal Audio boxes is they have DSP onboard so you can create a cue-mix whilst recording that uses some of the DSP-based plugins.

The downside is that the DSP-based cue-mix doesn't easily translate over to mix time, but you can get a process that approaches the flexibility of a Protools system.

When I upgrade from my legacy PCIE Symphony system in mid 2016 I'll be buying a UAudio Apollo for sure (probably the Apollo 16).

Teetonetal

dindude said:

I'm using the Zoom TAC-2 thunderbolt interface. Don't be put off by it being Zoom, it's very good, especially for the money - they are generally about £200 but if you look on Amazon they are £125, which is a crazy good deal!

@Dindude, how are the Pres on that? I have the zoom r24 and the pres are quite noisy, which put me off.

@Bojangles same question really, the foscusrite claret seems to talk a good game, are the pres as good as they say?

Bojangles

@Teetonetal, the pre's on the Apollo are the bollox.  I had an Apogee system which was great but the UA leaves it standing.  Clear, transparent, loads of headroom and as I said before the plug ins are superb.  I have Neumann U87s down to Rode and Shure Beta 57/58's and they all breathe life through the UA.  Fill your boots...

Bojangles

Picking up the Focusrite tomorrow, will give a review soon after.  Must stay though that I'll be using it mainly as an interface to the Apollo via optical.  

Teetonetal

Bojangles said:

@Teetonetal, the pre's on the Apollo are the bollox.  I had an Apogee system which was great but the UA leaves it standing.  Clear, transparent, loads of headroom and as I said before the plug ins are superb.  I have Neumann U87s down to Rode and Shure Beta 57/58's and they all breathe life through the UA.  Fill your boots...

Interesting - I'm thinking of getting the 2pre version...

I have two uses:

For the band I use the zoom r24 to capture a liver performance and we use a electronic midi kit to send note data.

I then go away, fix the drums and then record everything else track by track on top... Was pretty unimpressed with the noise of the zoom, very hissy and required a lot of work..

For me, I can only ever do 1, possibly two things at a time anyway, so no need for 8+ inputs..

Would be very, very interested to hear how you get on!

Catthan

I think I'm looking at upgrading to a thunderbolt interface (ZOOM TAC 2r) and the 2N Torpedo live as my power amp and CAB emulator.

But then this will be more expensive than the UA twin.. 

Do the UAD amp plugins let you bypass the preamp and hook straight to the power amp?

HippoPete

Dindude, sincere thanks for the heads up on the bargain price on the Zoom TAC2. Been looking for Chrissie present to myself, sorted.

thomasross20

Just got a macbook with two thunderbolt interfaces but if throughput is the main thing do you have to make sure your DAW can keep up? I see some of the interfaces record to 192kHz but my DAW max is 92kHz from memory