Answer these three questions to find the perfect audio interface for your needs.

There’s a lot to consider when choosing an audio interface. While it may seem like a big list of things to keep straight, it isn’t. Here are three questions to help identify the perfect interface for your needs.

1. What Type of Producer Are You?

Do you track and mix full bands, or just record alone at home? Maybe you're a singer/songwriter looking to deliver polished demos to a backing band, or a professional producer who needs a full arsenal of inputs and outputs for large mixes. Let’s hone in on the features you should be most aware of based on your production needs.

Bedroom Producer, Guitarist, Singer-Songwriter

Until recently, there simply wasn’t a way to record and mix professional‑sounding audio without spending thousands of dollars on bulky analog equipment, microphones, and high‑end monitors. Today, Grammy‑winning records can be made in a bedroom. So if you plan to record just your voice and a guitar or keyboard, or your process involves layering (overdubbing) live or virtual instruments — consider a basic two or four channel interface with quality audio conversion, and allocate any leftover cash to better microphones and acoustic treatment.

Recommended interfaces: Volt, Apollo Solo

Project Studio, Electronic Producer

As your mic collection and plug‑in library grows, you may find yourself moving from the category of “bedroom producer” to project studio owner. With this comes the need for expanded inputs and outputs.

Consider a rackmount or desktop interface that can comfortably accommodate the analog I/O needed to handle multiple microphones and audio signals simultaneously. Typically, you’ll need a minimum of four mic pres for tracking, and multiple outputs for routing signals to headphones, monitors, or hardware processors.

At this stage, a single interface might simply be too limited for your needs. So consider investing in computer systems and recording platforms that allow features like daisy-chaining between interfaces so you can better scale and expand as your studio grows.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo Twin, Apollo x4, Apollo x6

Pro Producer, Band, Film Composer

You’ve reached the stage in your recording journey where you require more than a handful of inputs. Or perhaps you’ve saved up enough money to produce your band’s next record.

If you record more than eight live sound sources at a time, or mix songs with dozens of tracks and plug‑ins, your interface should have the highest quality audio conversion and routing capabilities. Apollo rackmount interfaces deliver not only stellar sound, but built‑in DSP for near‑zero latency processing when recording with plug‑ins.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo x8p, Apollo x16

2. Desktop or Rackmount?

In the early stages of building out a studio, space is a serious commodity. Rack equipment, while visually appealing and professional looking, can be both expensive and cumbersome. On the other hand, desktop interfaces don’t always meet the preamp count and I/O requirements needed to record a live band. Let’s expand on the pros and cons of desktop vs. rackmount.

Desktop

The ultimate goal of any interface is the same: pass audio signals to and from your computer. The best audio interfaces offer high quality A/D and D/A audio converters, additional inputs and outputs, and added monitoring options — but these premium features aren’t just reserved for more expensive rackmount interfaces.

Many desktop audio interfaces deliver the same sonic benefits as their rackmount counterparts, with a streamlined workflow and easier access to monitoring options, talkback, and headphone outputs. Plus, their smaller form factor means they can be stashed in a backpack or laptop bag for on‑the‑go tracking and mixing.

Ultimately, if you require only a small handful of analog ins/outs and aren’t tracking and mixing large‑scale commercial projects, a quality desktop audio interface is a great solution.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo x4, Apollo Twin, Apollo Solo, Volt

Rackmount

Rackmount audio interfaces can free up your desk space and give your studio a bit more "professional" look. But more importantly, you'll get the benefits of added I/O and premium features like surround sound support. These are obvious advantages if you plan to record and mix full bands or multi‑source instruments like drums.

Most rackmount audio interfaces feature a multitude of analog and digital ins and outs. These can include balanced line connections, MIDI, S/PDIF, and the all‑important mic preamps. An interface like Apollo x8p prioritizes preamp inputs with eight Unison^™‑enabled mic pres — an excellent choice for fully in‑the‑box studios — while the mighty Apollo x16 delivers 16 channels of analog I/O via DB‑25 connections for console‑based/hybrid studios.

Tip: The number of dedicated preamps is a spec that you should be acutely aware of when shopping around. Many rackmount offerings include both the number of preamps and line/digital inputs when tallying I/O. Always check to see specifically how many preamps an interface offers.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo x6, Apollo x8, Apollo x8p, Apollo x16

3. What type of connections does your computer have?

For many of us, a computer and basic DAW is the starting point for recording and mixing our own music. Whether you’re running a Mac or Windows operating system, consider your computer’s built‑in connections when deciding which audio interface to purchase. Let’s focus on the big three.

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt is the current reigning champion of data transfer. With throughput speeds up to 40Gbps, it’s far faster than other existing connections and is widely available and compatible with newer Mac and PC systems.

Thunderbolt tends to be the primary format on higher-end interfaces such as the Apollo X desktop and rackmount line. It’s backwards compatible with older versions, and more importantly, it supports the ability to daisy chain between devices. This means you can connect additional interfaces or other Thunderbolt hardware for added inputs and outputs as your studio grows, all while saving those precious connection ports on your computer.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo Solo, Apollo Twin X, Apollo X Rackmount

USB

Of all current data-transfer formats, USB wins for longevity. The different iterations of USB prove that it’s a perfectly viable option across a wide range of equipment. USB interfaces are available for both Mac and PC, however Universal Audio’s Apollo Twin USB and Apollo Solo USB models are designed specifically for Windows users.

While it appears that USB has the staying power for now, thanks to its adequate transfer speeds and backwards connectivity with older versions, it’s important to note that while all current Thunderbolt ports can accept USB‑C, not all USB‑C ports accept Thunderbolt. Lacking cross‑connectivity and the ability to daisy chain devices, along with inferior read/write speeds compared to Thunderbolt, systems relying solely on USB are less scalable and adaptable to future connection types.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo Twin USB, Apollo Solo USB, Volt

FireWire

The days of low‑bandwidth audio connections are behind us, and each type of connection discussed here can push plenty of digital data for working with basic audio tracks. However, of the three mentioned, FireWire seems closest to being phased out in favor of both speedier (Thunderbolt), and more widely compatible (USB) offerings.

At the time of writing, there are still a handful of audio interfaces that continue to support FireWire. However, there are no new computers that support this connection type. Despite having similar data transfer speed to USB, FireWire has simply aged out.

Recommended interfaces: Apollo FireWire

Final Tips for Choosing an Audio Interface

For many of us, recording is a life-long passion and career. But at the earliest stages, choosing an interface can be a big decision. Here are some final thoughts when deciding which audio interface is best for you.

• Think ahead. A new audio interface should meet your current needs, but also fulfill you down the road as the scope of your interest and passion for recording grows.
• Think realistically. Just because a wall of rack equipment looks professional doesn’t mean it is the most practical option for your studio or budget.
• Choose your own path. Make conscious purchase decisions that are informed by your creative needs, workflow, and budget — not others.

If you’ve been considering a new interface and are curious about Universal Audio’s line of Apollos, click the link below to learn more about the features that distinguish Apollo from other interfaces.

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— Paul Kobylensky, McCoy Tyler

What makes the UAD Pure Plate Reverb a great choice?

It sounds great, and it has everything that you need in a plate reverb. Remember that an actual plate reverb doesn’t have a lot of parameters. Some may have a low cut, but there’s no pre-delay or EQ, it’s just the reverb time you can control, so the Pure Plate actually has way more bells and whistles than the device it’s emulating.

On your “Vocal” preset, explain how the “Wet Solo” and “Mix” controls interact?

The Wet Solo button basically overrides the Mix control, and gives you 100% wet, which is how you’ll want to run it if you’re using it on an aux send, which is always how I use it.

I don’t recommend using any reverb on an insert, but the idea there is that if you were to insert it, you’d switch the Wet Solo to off, and you’d then tweak the Mix control on the plug-in to your liking. But really, you’re going to get the best result having it on its own aux return and working the aux fader.

I notice that you’ve got the plug-in’s Pre Delay control at 87ms; you’re basically keeping a little distance between the vocal and the reverb coming back, so the vocal still sounds present and clear?

Yeah, and that’s why you’ll notice on most of my Pure Plate presets I tend to always use some Pre Delay, so instead of clouding the sound, it adds warmth.

See, the difference between no Pre Delay and the right amount of Pre Delay is the difference between “muddy” and “warm.” That 87ms is just a suggestion, however: I’ll often start exploring around 70ms, and end up turning the Pre Delay all the way up. Between 80ms and 180ms is where I usually like it. The idea is that even in a fairly dense mix, you can really hear the reverb because it’s more behind the main sound, and doesn’t wash that sound out.

Also, by using Pure Plate’s Pre Delay control, you don’t need huge decay times — like six seconds — to get that long tail. You can keep the decay time to, say, 2.5 seconds, and increase the Pre Delay to get that big space.

The Pure Plate plug-in has a Low Cut selector, and a Bass and Treble knob. How do you use them here?

Here’s one way to look at the Bass and Treble controls. Say the reverb time is around 2.5 seconds. If you turn down the Treble control a fair amount, the apparent reverb time on the higher frequencies is reduced to around, say, one second, or approaching zero if you turn it all the way down.

Obviously this is dependent on the song or singer you’re working with — but there’s a low-frequency aspect to most vocals, because of proximity effect, or if the singer is too close to the mic. That tends to blow up the reverb. You don’t want that reverb muddiness in your mix.

Sometimes I’ll increase that Low Cut to the maximum of 180Hz and bring the Treble up even more. That’s one thing I really like about Pure Plate: you’ve just got Bass, Treble, and Low Cut, so you can quickly dial the EQ in just right.

That’s also something you want to execute while listening to your whole mix, not in Solo, so you can hear how it’s all interacting. That combination of using Pre Delay and exploiting the simple EQ options to roll off low end and low mids allows me to enjoy the warmth of a plate reverb while also dialing out the muddiness that can come with it. So, don’t be shy about using those EQ controls. Turn those suckers up or down until you get the sound you want. They’re good, simple tools.

You have the Balance control in the center, which is typical for a lead vocal, but talk about instances where you might want to pan the reverb.

Yeah, the beauty of the Pure Plate, as opposed to a real plate reverb, is that you can run thirty instances of it if you want, so you can use it in so many different ways. With a real plate, you’re kind of compromised. You may want the plate to be left/right stereo for the vocal, but you might want to pan it for the guitars. I’ll generally do that kind of panning with the actual aux return channels in my DAW rather than use the Pure Plate’s Balance control, and I’ll just push it a little bit to one side. I do that all the time. Generally I don’t do that on the main lead vocal, but 75% of the time I’ll do it on guitars — if I have a guitar on the left, I’ll lean the reverb a little to the right.

It’s worth noting that plate reverb is one of the few reverb types that really works well that way. It has so much character, and it really retains it even in a small space. Emulations of many digital reverbs may sound amazing in full-blown stereo, but don’t work as well when you pan them to one side. Plate reverbs have a warmth and character that lives well in its own space in the mix, and that will complement the sound of whatever source you’re effecting.

Also keep in mind that, because doing stereo with a plate also means you’re doubling the potential for muddiness, panning it can free up a lot more space in your mix. And remember, generally, unless you’re doing a slower ballad, just a little plate reverb goes a long way, and that pre-delay control will help it sit in the mix just right.

Why set the reverb/decay time to 2.7s, in particular?

It’s where I like to start, and it works well with the amount of Pre Delay I’m using. You can go a lot lower and increase the Pre Delay — that’s also a cool sound. If you’re looking for more of a ballad-type wash, you can decrease the pre-delay and increase the reverb time. It’s hard to get a bad sound. Also, that 2.5s setting is sort of the classic plate sound, at least the way I hear it.

Remember, most real plate reverbs in studios are hidden away somewhere. At Avatar/Power Station they’re in the basement. Some studios have them in a loft above the studio; they’re never in the control room, and there’s rarely a remote control adjustment. So you’re stuck with whatever the reverb time is of that unit, unless you can persuade the unfortunate assistant engineer to go climb into some dingy basement and adjust it for you on the mechanical wheel! But generally, around 2.5 seconds is the reverb time you’re going to get on a mechanical plate. And that’s the classic plate decay time for a vocal.

What other UAD plug-ins might you pair with the UAD Pure Plate?

One thing I like to do is to send a slapback or short delay to the Pure Plate aux return. I have a separate aux return for the delay, I adjust that to taste, and then do an aux send from the delay return to the plate’s aux channel.

So I often use the the EP-34 Tape Echo for a slapback, with its Bass control rolled back, because the plate has plenty of low end already.

For a pop mix, I like the UAD Precision Delay Mod, with a little bit of modulation on the repeats, in stereo left/right, and you can pick your delay interval of choice, say, an eighth note on the left, and a dotted eighth on the right. Or depending on the tempo, maybe a dotted eighth on the left and a quarter note on the right. And both of those returns feed the Pure Plate.

In that case, you’d probably use a little bit less Pure Plate than you would otherwise. You’re basically exciting the delay, and making it sound more expensive! It also helps lengthen the ending of a vocal phrase. The modulation of the delay has an interesting sound when it hits the reverb, too, and makes the wobbliness of the modulation more audible at a low level.