The Apollo 8P From Universal Audio is Eli Krantzberg’s Hardware Product Of 2020, he explains why.
While new software comes across my virtual desk regularly throughout the year, new audio hardware does not. What I am about to say may sound strange in a place like Production Expert, but I'm kind of proud to say that I have not purchased any new audio based hardware in 2020. Why proud? I offer two clichés by way of explanation: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And, "profit is what is left over after all your expenses." In other words, the less new gear I buy, the more money I have left, and the easier it is to keep working with a stable setup. Simple concepts, really, but ones that are easily lost on many while seduced by shiny new things.
For this article, I will talk about the main reason I have not had to buy any new hardware recently. My trusty, faithful, powerful, always inspiring Apollo 8p from Universal Audio. Those are many adjectives to attribute to an audio interface, but it is all of those things to me.
On the surface, the Apollo 8p looks like any other 8 in 8 out interface, with eight preamps onboard and lightpipe connectivity. But Universal Audio's Unison technology and built-in DSP makes this so much more. It becomes a Neve preamp, an SSL or API channel strip, a Marshall stack, or any combination of beautifully modelled vintage EQs, compressors, and reverbs.
More than simple plug-ins, Unison technology allows you to track directly through these emulations with virtually no latency as if you were recording through the real hardware. Recording this way, combined with the ability to save snapshots of different Unison modeling setups, has become invaluable.
For example, I have one channel set up to track my VO through a Neve preamp. My SM7B never sounded better. I have several custom SSL channel strip configurations saved in my template on each of my overhead, kick, snare, and hi-hat channels.
I also have a couple of favorite different guitar amp setups in place, ready to be recalled with a couple of mouse clicks. And I've got a few other API and Neve setups for some singers and voice-over artists who track here regularly. And of course, there is always a plate reverb ready on an aux return for some headphone reverb.
Unison technology is one reason I haven't had to buy the external hardware I might have otherwise. You can see in the image above that I have an FMR RNC compressor in my setup. It's not even wired to anything at the moment. The RNC is an anachronism from my pre-Apollo 8p days. I used it as an insert to track my voice through. These hardware compressors, EQs, preamps, or channel strips are no longer necessary with Unison-enabled hardware.
I also love that the Apollo 8p has two independent headphone outputs. I can easily route a custom headphone mix to each in Logic Pro, my DAW of choice. My main Logic template contains sends to each of these on every channel, ready to be dialed up as needed.
All of the Unison-based modeling setups are handled in Universal Audio's Console software. Some find it confusing, but I find it intuitive, as it is based on the signal flow of a typical hardware mixing board. Add to this the ability to save and recall various configurations with different Unison processing, and it becomes an efficient workhorse that easily handles trying situations.
With my Apollo 8p, I have no plans for any significant hardware investments anytime soon. I wake up, turn it on, and start working each day. And end up with more to show for my work in the end.