Recording - May 2012 - 64

In use—live

RME Fireface UCX

by how easy it was to dial it in. The Each channel has the eq and dynamics TotalMix FX software was great for moniavailable, as well as Mid-Side manage- toring, and both the eq and the compresment, auto-leveling, switchable highpass fil- sor worked as hoped. Given this first expeters, and effects sends. These sends are pret- rience, I was excited to use the Fireface ty important as they are how you work with UCX in a larger production project. the DSP’s built-in delay and reverb procesSaid large-scale production project wasn’t sors. These processors are handled through long in coming; I was both producer and cona send/receive system; anyone who has tributing sideman for an all-electronic music ever used effects with a hardware mixer will release. I combined a number of tracks from feel right at home with the effects subsystem. the artist with elements I added using heavily The sound of the effect chain is quite effected guitar and my modular synthesizer. good; the reverb is rich and full, and the The DSP functions again came into play, delay sparkles nicely. The options avail- allowing me to use the dynamic controls and able on the effects are just right: not too eq to tame some hefty synthesizer sounds much, and not too little. I used the reverb before they were committed to disk, producoften since it was much easier than plug- ing a clear and tasteful result. My modular ging in a hardware reverb, and using reverb for monitor mixes was a great way to provide inspiring effects during overdub performance. The effects aren’t quite as useful for mixing as you might hope, mainly because it is difficult to pull the effects’ output into the mixdown stream. To do this, you have to create a “Loopback” routing, which takes a mix sent to a hardware output and reroutes it back to the software. This is a little complex to set up, but can be worth the effort if you are shy of quality mix effects. The TotalMix FX interface is both There is also the fact that the DSP featured and comfortably familiar-looking. effects are unaware of your hostPraise be ing environment, so it is not posI have nothing but praise for the RME sible to get the delay to match the timing of synth can make a lot of noise, and the your DAW’s timing. But as an emulation of dynamic range can sometimes be out of con- Fireface UCX. The hardware is the culminaa hardware mixing system, RME has pro- trol, but the built-in compressor of the TotalMix tion of years of RME’s hard work, offering rock solid conversion, a plethora of connecFX software cleaned things up nicely. vided a great implementation. tions, and super-stable clocking. The softIn use—tracking In use—mixing and mastering ware takes full advantage of the built-in DSP My first session use for the UCX was to I also used the UCX for mixdown and of the system, and the drivers are both rockrecord a classical guitarist with a very light mastering on this project. The sound is solid and ultra-fast. The system puts virtually touch. This session was going to stress clear and transparent, and the software zero load on your computer system, leaving every part of the recording chain, so I need- played well with all of the applications that you the freedom to level up DAW sessions ed to focus on quality components through- I used in the process (including Ableton with more virtual instruments and effects. out. I also wanted to limit the amount of Live, Apple Logic, and Adobe Audition). The TotalMix FX environment is a gear between the player and the record- Having the remote control at hand allowed charmer, delivering the perfect environing, so using the built-in DSP tools seemed me to constantly change the monitoring ment for tracking and live work. If your to be a good choice. I went directly from levels, something I am constantly doing to interface wish list has checkboxes for all microphone into the UCX, and spent some double-check my mixes at various volumes. of these features (and it probably should time to carefully set the input levels to get The converters and built-in clock (which for many of you), the Fireface UCX should the most out of the system. RME has dubbed SteadyClock) were also be the first box you consider. The results were spectacular. The clarity doing their jobs well, enabling me to provided by the UCX’s mic preamp and wade through a thick soup of sound to Prices: $1699; Basic remote $209, converters was exceptional, and the play- produce a polished gem. The bottom line Advanced remote $249 er was blown away by the sound of the is that the UCX slipped into my workflow recording. As the engineer, I was blown seamlessly, and helped me pull together More from: RME Audio, www.rme-audio.com. away too—not only by the sound, but also this very complex project.
64
RECORDING MAY 2012

Eq, dynamics, effects

Finally, I decided that the Fireface UCX would be the audio interface I would use for a live show where I performed processed and looped guitar as part of a guitar duet. The UCX filled every role between the instruments and the PA, acting as mixer, recording interface, and dynamics control system throughout the show. It was a blessing to have all that functionality squeezed into an interface the size of a Grisham novel, and the completeness of the mixing environment meant that no compromises were required. The delay effect, added to the mix, provided just the right touch of life to the output, and the result generated grins all around. One interesting addition to the UCX bag of tricks is the ability to act as a class-compliant audio interface, providing up to eight audio inputs and two audio outputs for systems that cannot use the standard RME drivers. What sort of systems are these? Probably the most popular is the iPad, which has gotten a lot of coverage in these pages. The number of iOS audio apps is exploding, with many of them taking advantage of some of the unique functions of the touch screen. The Fireface UCX is probably the top-of-the-line among iPad audio interfaces, and if you are doing professional work with an iPad, you will probably be entranced by the opportunity. However, you don’t get to alter the TotalFX settings like you do with the host software (you have to use preset TotalFX settings), and the beautiful mixer emulation application is not available fullin Class Compliant mode.


http://www.rme-audio.com

Recording - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2012

Recording - May 2012
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
Lynne Arriale’s Solo—A Piano Solo Recording Of Note
Kel Audio HM-7U amd HM-3C Microphones
Fanny Franklin’s Get Wet—A Conversation With Producer/Engineer Jason Gutierrez
AKG Perception 120 USB Microphone
Miking Instruments: The Lost Art
Earthworks SR20 Microphone
SXSW 2012
Radial Engineering MC3 Passive Monitor Switcher
Readers’ Tapes
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 5: Introduction To Microphones—Part Two (Directionality).
Miking A Symphony Orchestra For A Commercial
Audio-Technica AT4050ST Stereo Microphone
Alclair Reference In-Ear Monitors
RME Fireface UCX
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - May 2012 - Recording - May 2012
Recording - May 2012 - Cover2
Recording - May 2012 - 1
Recording - May 2012 - 2
Recording - May 2012 - 3
Recording - May 2012 - Fade In
Recording - May 2012 - 5
Recording - May 2012 - Contents
Recording - May 2012 - 7
Recording - May 2012 - Talkback
Recording - May 2012 - 9
Recording - May 2012 - Fast Forward
Recording - May 2012 - 11
Recording - May 2012 - Lynne Arriale’s Solo—A Piano Solo Recording Of Note
Recording - May 2012 - 13
Recording - May 2012 - 14
Recording - May 2012 - 15
Recording - May 2012 - 16
Recording - May 2012 - 17
Recording - May 2012 - 18
Recording - May 2012 - 19
Recording - May 2012 - 20
Recording - May 2012 - 21
Recording - May 2012 - Kel Audio HM-7U amd HM-3C Microphones
Recording - May 2012 - 23
Recording - May 2012 - Fanny Franklin’s Get Wet—A Conversation With Producer/Engineer Jason Gutierrez
Recording - May 2012 - 25
Recording - May 2012 - 26
Recording - May 2012 - 27
Recording - May 2012 - 28
Recording - May 2012 - 29
Recording - May 2012 - 30
Recording - May 2012 - 31
Recording - May 2012 - 32
Recording - May 2012 - 33
Recording - May 2012 - AKG Perception 120 USB Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 35
Recording - May 2012 - Miking Instruments: The Lost Art
Recording - May 2012 - 37
Recording - May 2012 - Earthworks SR20 Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 39
Recording - May 2012 - SXSW 2012
Recording - May 2012 - 41
Recording - May 2012 - Radial Engineering MC3 Passive Monitor Switcher
Recording - May 2012 - 43
Recording - May 2012 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - May 2012 - 45
Recording - May 2012 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 5: Introduction To Microphones—Part Two (Directionality).
Recording - May 2012 - 47
Recording - May 2012 - 48
Recording - May 2012 - 49
Recording - May 2012 - 50
Recording - May 2012 - 51
Recording - May 2012 - 52
Recording - May 2012 - 53
Recording - May 2012 - 54
Recording - May 2012 - 55
Recording - May 2012 - Miking A Symphony Orchestra For A Commercial
Recording - May 2012 - 57
Recording - May 2012 - Audio-Technica AT4050ST Stereo Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 59
Recording - May 2012 - Alclair Reference In-Ear Monitors
Recording - May 2012 - 61
Recording - May 2012 - RME Fireface UCX
Recording - May 2012 - 63
Recording - May 2012 - 64
Recording - May 2012 - Advertiser Index
Recording - May 2012 - 66
Recording - May 2012 - 67
Recording - May 2012 - 68
Recording - May 2012 - 69
Recording - May 2012 - 70
Recording - May 2012 - 71
Recording - May 2012 - Fade Out
Recording - May 2012 - Cover3
Recording - May 2012 - Cover4
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