Recording - September 2015 - 23

In use
One of the neatest things about MOTU
AVB Control is that even if you've never
used an interface this complicated before,
it's a cinch to set up for your needs.
There's a button on the Device Tab (which
shows basic setup data for the interface,
as well as input and output trim control
and metering) called Launch Quick Setup,
which gives you access to ten preset routing layouts, matched to your needs. You
can use the UltraLite as a
conventional audio interface, as a powerful multichannel A/D and D/A
converter, a monitor
mixer, a standalone console, and more, with just
one click.
My personal favorite
Quick Setup is Interface +
Mixer, which combines full
computer audio I/O with
the effects, controls, Aux
buses, and other functions of
the DSP-based digital console inside the UltraLite AVB.
This mode is probably the
most complex of them all,
but it gives you the most flexibility when using the interface's considerable power.

Even if you elect to just use the unit's conventional Audio Interface mode, working within
your DAW for mixing functions, it's good to
know that the built-in mixer is just a click away
when you need it. A dedicated Routing Tab
lets you customize which signals go where in
an easy and obvious way.
MOTU recognizes that even with all this
added flexibility and ease of programming,
users are going to want to save setups for
easy recall. This is very simple to do. You
can create and load presets for every module (highpass filter, gate, EQ, compressor, Leveler, reverb), or
save the configuration of
the entire console as a preset. Popup dialog boxes
make it easy.
As for audio quality, suffice to say that the UltraLite
AVB holds to MOTU's
exceptional
standards.
Conversion is clean and
clear, the mic inputs sound
great over their 56 dB gain
range (perfectly suitable for
condenser mics, active ribbons, and many dynamics),
and the two Guitar inputs
have a sufficiently high
impedance (1 Megohm) to

record even finicky instruments without tonal
artifacts. Outputs give all the level you'll need
for studio monitors, external recorders, hardware Aux routing to external effects (another
feature of the DSP mixer), and headphone
listening, even with relatively high-impedance phones like the Audio-Technica ATHR70x reviewed elsewhere in this issue.
Final thoughts
In the weeks that I worked with it, I was
so blown away by the UltraLite AVB that it
took me a long while to think about what
it might be lacking. In the end, about all I
missed was CueMix FX's graphical display and editing of parameters in the
parametric EQ and dynamics controllers,
a feature which I'm willing to bet will be
included in a future software update.
The UltraLite AVB is a very different
beast from any of its predecessors, and it
puts the future of audio networking and
remote control into your laptop bag. If
you're in the market for an uncompromising portable interface that brings your rig
into the 2010s in a big way, you'd be
hard-pressed to find one that does what
this one can do.
Price: $649
More from: MOTU, www.motu.com

http://www.motu.com http://mixbus.harrisonconsoles.com http://mixbus.harrisonconsoles.com http://mixbus.harrisonconsoles.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2015