What's up everyone? And welcome to Ola Testing Shit.
Today I'm trying out the newer UAD Volt 1 interface.
Universal Audio is usually known for
their Apollo audio interfaces
which also incorporates DSP for running plugins.
And so on and so forth.
Now they're finally a releasing a simpler audio interface
that doesn't have any DSP.
It's just like a...
You know, a really barebones interface.
I got the least expensive Volt unit called Volt number 1.
But there's also a double interface uh...
And it's basically...
Depending on the size, you also get more inputs...
Also, on the bigger units you also get an extra...
...preamp compressor as well.
But all of them basically sport the same type of input and features.
And as you can see on this one, it has one input
either microphone or regular, standard instrument cable.
And you have gain
you have a vintage mode, which is basically like a tube emulation
for the preamp, like a microphone preamp, basically.
Phantom power, host/direct button...
Uh... headphone output.
It has MIDI in and output.
Monitor, 2 outputs, and that's it basically.
Right now it's USB-powered using a USB-C cable.
And I just have to say something about that.
Because this USB-C cable is mine.
It's USB-C to USB-C.
But the only thing that gets shipped in the package of the Volt 1
is the USB-C to regular USB.
And a USB-C to power outlet cable.
And that feels maybe a slight bit backwards.
Just saying, because I mean...
A lot of computers, like new MacBooks for instance.
They don't even have one of these old USB-A ports.
Why wouldn't they just include a USB-C to USB-C cable in the first place? That's...
It's a little weird of a decision right there.
So, the unit is being powered by my MacBook Air right now.
And you know, there's a couple of reasons why I wanted to make a test
of this audio interface right here.
I've always been a big fan of UAD and Apogee
and their instrument inputs that they have on their units.
It's a really really good instrument input.
Which is all I've used for recording DI.
I'm more of a fan of not using as much equipment as possible.
You know, sometimes you use DI boxes
to connect to your guitar and record that.
But in my opinion, the less gear you use the less problems you get.
Or less noise you get, so...
I've always preferred using, you know, the instrument input
of an audio interface to record DI.
I've done a lot of tests back in the day
where I just found out that the Apogee and UAD stuff
were just sounding the absolute best.
It was the best representation, and also...
The best signal that I could reamp later
that sounded the closest to the original DI.
So that's one of the curiosities regarding this interface
is that how does the instrument input stack for me?
So I can use it to maybe, you know...
If I go out on tour and wanna write music on the spot, I just bring this.
You know, if I do clinic tours for instance...
You know, I'm using my computer to...
...run all the patches.
And I basically use my computer as an amplifier
if I can use this instead, which is a smaller interface.
It basically has all you need on it.
You have the main output and that's it.
I only need one instrument input.
And also, another plus with a UAD interface is that
you're supposed to be able to use the UAD plugins.
You know, with the Apollo audio interfaces
or even like this one, the UAD Arrow that I have here.
If you have that connected to a computer
that unlocks UAD plugins basically, so...
I purchased a fair bit of UAD plugins.
The only problem with these plugins is that...
Unless you have the hardware...
You know, you can't use them.
You have to plug in a UAD interface
on your computer to be able to use these plugins
to unlock them, basically.
And I found out, I could have read this.
But I found out that that doesn't apply to the Volt series, so...
You can connect this to your computer
but unfortunately it does not unlock the plugins.
So I can't use my UAD plugins
by only using this UAD Apollo.
Which is stupid.
It's incredibly stupid.
Why the f*** would you do it like that?
You know, this is UAD hardware right there.
Why wouldn't you let someone use their UAD plugins with it?
I don't understand.
That's so stupid.
Anyways...
Also, something I wanted to check is how low the latency
input latency I can get using this thing with my MacBook, because...
If I would use this for clinics or live, I want to have...
as low as a latency as possible when playing.
I'm gonna plug in...
Plugging in my guitar into the first and only input of the Volt 1.
I'm gonna make sure I'm switched to Instrument input.
This is the microphone input right here.
And gain at zero, that's usually how I record my DI signals.
Just to get as low as an input signal as possible for guitar.
Not adding any, like, preamp noises or anything like that.
So, I'm using a Neural DSP plugin right now.
And I'm getting fairly good input latency right here.
So, check this out.
If I have 48 kHz in sample rate
16 samples audio buffer size
I get 0.3 millisecond input latency.
Which is very good obviously.
If I'm using it in Logic, the Roundtrip Latency
when I'm running 32 samples
is 7.9 milliseconds.
Which is also not that bad
so if I would use...
the Volt inside Logic to use my... clinics and do all that.
I get a 7.9 Roundtrip
which basically means, you know...
Going from the instrument input
into the unit, into Logic, and then out.
You know, so that's the latency right there.
7.9
Which is not that bad actually.
I could get the latency down a little bit
if I raised the sample rate of my project
so I'm gonna do that right now.
And see if that affects...
Uh... Record Project Settings...
So, if I go to uh... say 88.2
But also by going up up with sample rate
you're also gonna stress the processor of your computer a lot more.
So, let me see now when I get in Roundtrip Latency...
I get 7.1, so not that big of an upgrade right there.
Going from 88 thousand Hertz, you know?
And also, it sounds weird.
And personally I can't feel or hear any weirdness
in regards of the DI input, it sounds clear.
And this is a tone I'm very used to.
I play this tone every day, and I think it sounds really f***ing good.
But I also wanna show this Vintage button right here.
Which basically is a tube emulator of a mic preamp.
And in this case...
If you listen...
This is with it off.
Listen to the noise after I'm chugging.
There's a lot more happening.
So, I imagine the Vintage tube emulation
might be better for when recording vocals for instance
or talking into this thing.
I wouldn't use it on a DI track
because you want to keep the DI track as clean as possible.
So you get as accurate of a representation
when you go reamping later
or put a plugin on that DI track.
So, conclusion...
I wanted it to have a good-sounding instrument preamp in it
and it has, it sounds great.
Very much on par with the UAD Arrow for instance.
Which I had been using
for the past years of doing clinics and whatnot.
And I'm getting very low Roundtrip Latency
which is a good thing.
However...
I can't use my plugins with this thing, which is a real downer.
But with that said...
If you remove that out of the equation...
It's 150 euros, so it's sort of inexpensive.
For me, 150 euros...
is worth it alone just to get this instrument input right here.
Fine, it's not a budget interface.
But for 150 euros, you can still get...
...the good quality that you would get in the really expensive audio...
...UAD Apollo interfaces for instance.
It's just that you're not gonna be able to use their plugins.
That, for me, is a deal breaker.
But if you're just out to get an audio interface
with a good instrument input on it
I think it's a great deal, 150 euros.
And that's it, that's all I wanted to check with this demo.
I mean, it's not a conventional, you know, interface demo
because I usually don't do demos of interfaces that often.
But for me it's very important in how it sounds with a guitar.
Because I'm a guitar player.
So, obviously, if you wanna know how the microphone input works
You'd better go watch some other guy, you know?
For me it's about how the instrument input sounds.
How low of a latency I can get on my computer using this thing.
That's it basically, the portability and the price obviously.
This is very portable, just saying.
So, a short little demo from me, hope you enjoyed it.
If you liked my videos, maybe consider subscribing to my channel.
This is the UAD Volt 1, everyone.
I forgot one thing.
This 48V button right here.
You know, for phantom power.
It's... if you click it, you can see that it's blinking red.
That's because it's muting the inputs for a couple of seconds
so... while it's putting on the phantom power.
So you want get that...
You know, when you push the phantom power and load that 48V into a microphone.
So, it's just a...
That's a nice little touch right there.
Not that I'm gonna use it on this one.
Because I'm gonna use this for guitar.
But...
There you go, I would recommend this
as a smaller interface
if you're on the go, for instance.
Or just like me, you know...
I wanna record guitar when I'm out touring or, you know, out traveling.
This is... this is definitely like a small solution right there.
But please...
Man, include a USB-C to USB-C cable next time, thank you.
I would appreciate that.
So there you go, that's my little demo for you right there.
Hope you liked it, see you next time, goodbye.