Recording Drums with the Apollo x8p | Using UA Console 

How do you do that?

Thanks for checking it out!

It's a keeper!

Thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks!

Thanks!

I aspire to have a beard as nice as yours.

Nice!

I have an X4 with an X16 and a PCIe Octo card. Not too mention 101 UAD Plugs. I do not know how the 8P converters sound. I had a MADI RME FX and Antelope Orion 32 In/Out previously. Still in my rack and in computer. Nothing like having $4800 retail value worth of interfaces and converters you do not use. Of course I am hoping to get about 2K when I finally have the courage to depart with them. You will love the X4. I use it as a monitor controller. 2 HP outs on it. Visual feedback right in front of me of mic pre/line levels. Can change the Unison software plug levels by using the large knob on the X4. I have 6 more D/A of conversion by using the 4 Line Outs into my mixer and the 2 monitor outs. I can use the monitor outs due to my X16 being the monitor converter for Console 2.0. I even used the HP 2 out at one point for its 2 Channels of stereo DA into my mixer using 8 outs total, saving HP 1 for my headphone monitoring. Using the HP2 out for 2 channel DA into the mixer is a little tricky needing to use a cue send. BE AWARE that there are no virtual channels on the X4 since it is a desktop interface. I was not aware of that before I bought it. I make use of my X16 with the cue send with the X4. As far as the sound of the Apollo X converters, they sound very detailed and modern to me. I really like the converters. I can be free to color them with my outboard gear. I think if you are looking for Burl sound, from what I hear it is starkly different. I think after 20 years I have finally grown use to today's audio sonics. Hybrid digital/Analog to me is the best of both worlds.

Oh man. I wish I had seen this when I got my Apollo

Thank you, mostly for practical reasons. I like the consistency of the SDC too, placement, phase, imaging etc.

Hello! So glad I found your comment! Can you give me a bit of info on your setup if you dont mind? Which Apollo do you use with the ASP 880? I own a Apollo Twin mkll Solo and looking to into expand to 10 channels to track drums. Would you recommend that I get the apollo X8P or how does the ASP 880 compare to the X8P?

I haven't! I'll have to check it out. Is it a gate? or like a multiband compressor?

Andrew Masters little bit of both. It’s crazy-go-nuts

I don't want to make a douchy one up move, but I found the new Oxford Drum Gate to do this job even better! The Oxford has made kick, snare and tom editing obsolete for me :)

@@tomasniemisto4858 haha love it. Whatever does the job!

@@AndrewMasters If you have slate VMR already, the Drum Gate has this same feature . Its like a frequency dependent expander. The high frequencies are gated early, the lower resonant frequencies are allowed to bloom a bit longer, then the gate closes.

Do it! I started with the focusrite scarlett 18i20 and it was great. Also expandable, so you could buy two and connect them getting a total of 16 mic pres.

Justin Tutor Just Grab the Apollo Twin I don’t record drums I have the MKII Twin and love it 💯🚀

G. London Kingdom citizen yeah the Twin is great but 2 inputs is just not a lot for recording drums. I’d go with a Scarlett or Clarett

Shoot me an email and i'll connect you with my guy UA guy, save some money.

@@AndrewMasters...I've already purchased it, here in WI through a student who gave me a great deal and needs the cash bad. Thanks for thinking of me though.

Yes sir! I connected my Adat cable from Scarlett to Apollo. Both need to be connected to the computer, Scarlett via usb, Apollo via thunderbolt. Open UA Console and set clock to ADAT. It will lock, and then you’re good to go.

@@AndrewMasters Thanks! Will attempt this again later today. I got bogged down in the Scarlett console software.

Andrew Wright don’t even need to open it

When I first connected the interfaces I used the focusrite as the clock master. After a week or so I switched to using the apollo x as the master clock and kept that set up until I eventually got rid of the scarlett.

I connected the adat out from the scarlett to the adat in on the apollo x.

So even if you connect from the adat out on the focusrite to the adat in on the Apollo you can set the Apollo as clock master? I always get confused when it comes to clocking cause my logical thinking would suppose that the clock signal needs to be sent and can only go from output to input...

Actually I think I added in a bnc cable at some point. That allowed me to clock to the Apollo.

haha I love the slingerland kit. When you said the "apollo can't compete with those kick ass converters", were you saying can't compete with the focusrite scarlett converters?

@@AndrewMasters No, no--I meant my Sears, 1982 Boom-Box! (I was just kiddin'.)

Hey, Thanks for the comment. Yes the Apollo is an excellent tool and great asset for the studio. Their plug-ins alone are fantastic. When you get the interface you control it via their "console" software. Being able to record/monitor their plug-ins in real-time with almost no latency is incredible. I also have 2 outboard pre amps. They are the wa273 pres from warm audio. They are clones of the neve 1073/1081 pre amp, which is incredible. If I'm not recording drums my signal chain 100% of the time is mic-wa73-apollo x. I will usually throw a UA 1176 in the chain as well. The end result is unbelievable. I'll be doing more videos breaking this down as it has improved my workflow tremendously. Thanks!

@@AndrewMasters Thank you Andrew. Very helpful. I will make a video of my process and share it with you in the coming weeks. Maybe you can give me some feedback. Best!

I use a large diaphragm condenser in cardioid! It’s one of my favorite positions. I’ve used the gt66 forever because I had one, but I just got the wa87 and it’s great. A ribbon my would probably sound great, I would probably use a mini ribbon over a stereo ribbon unless that is replacing your overheads as the phasing might get a bit confusing. Cheers!

That was the plan, plus I don’t even own a stereo ribbon. Thanks mate!

Thanks! One, not-so-dense throw pillow. Just wide enough to touch both drum heads. It's an 18"x14" Slingerland.

Thanks, unfortunately you have to physically turn the preamps on the scarlett.

@@AndrewMasters so you stand up and go to the desk?. ok I'll do the same then. THANK YOU!!! you inspire me so much. Hope your channel grows a lot.

Dude I’d love to, only problem is 81s are WEAK on rooms. Trust me. I basically need to r88s lol.

No, as they are line inputs. You could go XLR into the preamps and do that though.

No, "console" is not a daw. It's more of a software controller for all of the hardware features. You can use the apollo with your DAW.

@@AndrewMasters NICE !!!! THX !!

I actually ran ADAT and BNC word clock

@@AndrewMasters Ok okay thanks. I assumed you used Apollo as WC master, I guess then you used the Scarlett instead.

@@FrancescoDAndrea I did for a minute but I realized I could clock from the Apollo

@@AndrewMasters I asked because I see you're using a Focusrite 18i20, which only has WC Out, doesn't that mean it can only send, but not receive, clock information?

K Town Studio depends on the style of the music! Sometimes I do, if the genre is a tight clean poppy/funk sound.

You can use the plugins on the other inputs but not the unison pre amps as, they are not unison pre amps.

Hello I'm thinking about doing the same thing! I am a seasoned musician BUT somewhat new to connecting audio gear and all that I'm lost lol can you connect both interfaces? Apollo and Focusrite?

Yes, I have both connected. I use an ADAT cable to receive the inputs from the focusrite in the Apollo “console” the bnc cable allows me to use the internal clock from the Apollo. Which is far better than the clock from the focusrite interface.

Yes, they show up the same as any other channel (without the preamp control)

@@AndrewMasters thank you!!

what? you sure?!

Dodo Danciu I don’t know, that’s what I would like to be confirmed. But his additional inputs for sure had insert points. 🤷🏾

Yes, you can insert UAD plug ins and set console to record inserts.

Sounds awesome! Do you mean you want to use all 8 mic pres on apollo, all 8 mic pres from the clarret (ADAT), and then additional line inputs from external equipment?

@@AndrewMasters yeah exactly, the clarret has 8 line inputs and hence an additional adat i/o. but the apollo can only take one adat input. the reason i'm getting the apollo x8p, is so I can possibly run it through some incoming analog compressors + maybe analog preamps on stuff like vocals.

Gabriel Love The primary reason to use the Apollo x is the software and quality conversion etc. As far as inputs, I’m not sure if you could connect multiple clarrets together via Adat or what the option would be there. It depends on where you want to make the compromise. Spend more money, or use less inputs haha. Studio life!

@@AndrewMasters thank you very much, I'll have a look at that

Gabriel Love good luck!

I’m not sure, I replaced the focusrite with the Apollo x4, but with just the Apollo you can have up to 5 separate headphone mixes I believe.

The x8p

I mean, there's obvious differences. But definitely not always necessary. The song dictates what is necessary in my humble opinion. But the virtual instruments/samplers etc are unbelievable.

@@AndrewMasters I agree.. Never trid all acustic instruments but defenetly you right I can tell a difference between natural grand piano and vst grand piano but in a mix it is hard to tell a difference. Also with mudi you have more control than audio track...

Great question! I didn’t by the purchase exclusively for the inputs, I bought it for the converters, the clock, the hardware processors and of course, the plug ins. The UAD plug ins are super expensive and my favorite. Not to mention, I don’t actually need more than 16 inputs.

If you want some extra channels, heck yeah. I recently added the x4 to the x8p so I may be getting rid of it at this point.

@@AndrewMasters Cool thanks heaps! might have to sell to fund the Apollo and do what you have done later for extra tracks as im really just starting out..The UAD is reported to have the edge over the cheaper Focusrite clarett PreX8 rack mounted unit due to the Neve and other emulated pre amps you can access without getting into the tech side(latency).. Has anyone you know or reading this compared this with the Focusrite Plug ins Red 2&3 suite eq,comp..for pure end result of recording a near studio quality recording ? From a basic understanding the UAD you can use say the NEVE pre amp and add what comp,eq they have available where the Focusrite your relying on there stock pre amps with eq & comp to your liking..Focusrite don't have a pre amp emulation plug in option just comp and eq.

I have not compared the focusrite plug ins, but I've never experienced the active realtime monitoring that UA has when tracking through plug-ins. I also love the way Luna integrates with console so that you don't have to flip back and forth with console. It's awesome.

I did for this video, but i've been using internal since. I also swapped the focusrite for an apollo x4, so clocking is still internal.

As far as using the UAD plugs on the adat inputs, I haven't tried it. I know the preamps wouldn't work but never tried the UAD plugs on adat channels.

Awesome thank you! Also I was wondering about how you get your mixes to translate, do you mix in mono at all or primarily focus on the midrange?

For me it’s all in the room I’m mixing in. Is what I’m hearing accurate? Or is it going to change when I leave the room. That’s why I went with the specific room design I did. The room you’re in can cause or prevent problems depending on the acoustics/treatment. Before I had this room I did a lot of car tests with my mixes. One of my first videos was about that workflow back when I was in a small apartment.

You always should use the worse device as clock master because it will work better with it's own internal clock and Apollo X will always work fine no matter of clock source.

@@marcinbarcz711 correct

Nice! I love the apollo line.

@@AndrewMasters Yes now rocking the X6 Rack Solid.💪🏾😎

haha I can't believe 2.5k people care about this stuff!

@@AndrewMasters trust me alot more people do, just keep doing your thing and in one year probably even less you will see that number sky rocket, your content already looks professional

I appreciate it! Thank you.

11k three months later!

Yeah I was, that was an oopsie

Focusrite. If you’re reading this comment, please send clarett for a follow up video.

@@AndrewMasters yay!

@@AndrewMasters send one here too!

Here too!

MIKE SCHUMACHER haha my bad! What did you need to lear that went too fast?

Definitely not

Yeah this was back when I was using the built in pre's on the Apollo. (right when I started this channel actually) These days i'm 100% external outboard preamps/channels to the x16.

@@AndrewMasters awesome

bleed kicks ass. fite me.