heito kramer drum machine synth bass
guitar and my voice all reported to
their own tracks on the iPad using rme's
fireface ucx interface
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hi I'm Rob from B&H and in this video
we're gonna check out a new interface
from German company RMA this is the
fireface ucx and it continues rme's
tradition of outstanding audio
interfaces delivering rock-solid
features and pristine sound quality in a
compact size in this case a half rack
space with a remote unit for quick
access the fireface ucx gives you a
total of 18 inputs and 18 outputs and
connects to your Mac or PC via its
firewire 400 or USB ports outstanding
mic pre Zulte relay latency converters
the total mix effects system and more
make for a top-notch computer interface
but on top of that it also brings
multitrack recording to your iPad we're
actually using it to record my voice
right now from this lav mic to the iPad
while we check it out as I mentioned the
main chassis of the fireface ucx is a
metal half rack space that's solidly
built and feels great under the hood or
all the elements that make rme
interfaces so highly regarded steady
clock digital clocking technology for
jitter immune super stable clocking sync
align and sync check for sample
alignment and synchronization of input
channels and unsurpassed synchronization
in a dat mode rme sports some of the
best drivers in the business we did test
recording and logic with a buffer of
only 32 samples and we had no problems
inputs and outputs are all on the main
chassis there are eight analog inputs
and eight analog outputs to work with
we've got two combo quarter-inch XLR
inputs right on the front and they can
accommodate either mic or line level
signals the preamps on these two mic
inputs use rme's mics to see technology
to deliver extremely low distortion a
flat frequency response and an excellent
signal-to-noise ratio for the kind of
crystal-clear sound up to the demanding
standards of classical musicians and
recording engineers these mic priests
combined with rme's new and improved
digital converters deliver stunningly
clean recordings at rates of up to 24
bit 192 kilohertz beside the combo
inputs are two quarter-inch inputs that
can be set for line signals or high Z
inputs for guitar
our base eliminating the need for a
direct box while the four additional
balance line inputs and six balanced
line outputs are on the back this is a
truly professional level interface and
as such it also sports spit if in and
out ports optical eight at ports and
wordclock
inputs and outputs to sync other digital
devices the spit of ports give you two
channels of digital input and output
while the eight at ports give you eight
more also back here the firewire and USB
ports the power input and on switch and
the ports for the remote and MIDI
breakout cable which actually has two
inputs and two outputs the single
headphone jack single encoder knob an
LED display are on the front most users
will make level adjustments on the total
mix effects software or on the remote
but if you're using the unit in
standalone mode or with your iPad the
encoder knob allows you to toggle
between channel and level modes so it's
easy to dial up the channel you want and
make adjustments right from the front
panel in addition to the main chassis
there's a stylish remote which is
actually quite similar to rme's babyface
interface basically it's a slick looking
volume knob with recall and program
buttons there's not a lot of metering on
the main chassis other than the signal
and overload lights for the forefront
inputs so I was a little disappointed
that the remote didn't have the cool led
meters from the babyface but you can
always look at totalmix FX or your D aw4
levels you can also use rme's digitech
software for even more sophisticated
metering options one of the ways that
rme is able to get 300 electronic
components in a half rack space is to
outsource level controls and other
functions to the remote or to the
computer and that leads us to one of the
great features the fireface ucx offers
total mix effects total mix affects his
rme's latency free direct monitoring and
routing system total mix allows you to
create custom monitor mixes for your
performers basically it allows you to
route the incoming audio directly to the
performers headphones or monitors so he
or she can hear themselves without the
delay you get when it's processed
through the computer but it offers a lot
more including reverb delay compression
and EQ
the reverb and delay effects are great
options for sweetening the monitor mix
for the vocalist while still leaving the
record
part dry the EQ and dynamics can be
applied to the monitors or if you'd like
to commit those settings to your
recording you can click on the EQ + D
for record option in the fireface
settings window in addition to the
compressor and EQ total mix also offers
the auto set option when you engage this
the fireface ucx will automatically
adjust its input level to preserve 6 DB
of headroom for you so it's a great
computer interface with all the
top-notch quality we've come to expect
from RM e but the fireface ucx is also a
class compliant device that works with
the ipad now lately we've seen a lot of
interfaces for iOS devices but the
fireface ucx is a special breed and that
it is one of the first devices that will
allow you to record up to eight tracks
at once to your iPad or iPad - to make
this happen you'll have to put the unit
in class compliant or CC mode which is
done with a couple of moves on the
encoder knob when the iPad recognizes
the interface this little host light
will go off and you're ready to start
recording to your favorite app we tried
it with GarageBand and it worked very
well although at this time garage band
only allows you to record to one of its
tracks at a time although that track can
be in either mono or stereo to put the
UC exes multitrack capabilities to the
test we picked up the harmonic dogs da W
app on iTunes and sure enough now we
have high-end multitrack recording to
the iPad and I mean high-end you can
record it rates up to 96 kilohertz to
the iPads very cool in addition to the
analog inputs you can also record
digital sources and MIDI information to
the iPad as well there are some
limitations here one main issue is that
you can't control total mix effects from
the iPad you can however set up your
total mix routing and effects and then
save the settings to one of the fireface
ucx is six internal memory slots the
slots are also helpful if you're using
the fireface ucx in standalone mode
which is also possible again set up your
total mix effects beforehand save your
settings and now you can use the UCX as
mic pries and converters without a
computer if you'd like of course you'll
usually be using it with a computer and
the da dub
you of your choice we saw it in action
with logic but it's compatible with
numerous DEA W's including Pro Tools
Ableton Live Cubase reason and many more
so hopefully that gives you a bit of an
overview of the rme fireface ucx
interface
- excellent mic pries improved top-tier
converters steady clock total mix
effects and more make for an outstanding
audio interface also its class compliant
mode brings studio quality multitrack
recording to your iPad I'm Rob from B&H
and thanks for watching for more
information please visit us online give
us a call or stop by our New York City
super store you can also connect with us
on the web
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