Motu Ultralite! so many inputs

T

tojo

New member
I was looking at the new ultralite mk3 from motu. There are so many 1/4 inch inputs.. (same as the older model I know)... What Would I use them for... There are only 2 pres on it, so I could only use two condesners at once for example... Would I plug guitars into the 1/4" inputs? Or would I attain good quality if I plugged a dyanamic mic into the 1/4 slot? ( I know condensers can't be powered unless your using a xlr chords). Would you plug guitars in?

and what would all those outs be used for? Could you send any channel you want or multiple channels out of just one out for headphones?

I'm pretty cluesless when it comes to outs and ins and audio interfaces. Enlighten me if you wouldn't mind :) ..

here's a pic of the ultra litet



sorry about the massive size.
 
The ins are for external preamps and line level instruments.

The outs are for if you wanted to record live, you run the ultralite in between your source and your mixer.
 
Guitarer said:
The ins are for external preamps and line level instruments.

The outs are for if you wanted to record live, you run the ultralite in between your source and your mixer.
Click to expand...

So a line level instrument is... ? A stereo keyboard? A guitar? Or does a guitar have to go into a di box first?

and for the outs... do you mean if guitar goes into input 4 then it comes out input 4? And then it goes into a mixer you can mix live?

can you use outs to plug headphones into so everyone in a band can hear everyone else playing if you were recording live? Is that a headphone mix?

so many questions... sorry about that...
 
tojo said:
So a line level instrument is... ? A stereo keyboard? A guitar? Or does a guitar have to go into a di box first?

and for the outs... do you mean if guitar goes into input 4 then it comes out input 4? And then it goes into a mixer you can mix live?

can you use outs to plug headphones into so everyone in a band can hear everyone else playing if you were recording live? Is that a headphone mix?

so many questions... sorry about that...
Click to expand...

A line level instrument is a keyboard, for example. Try to avoid DI'ing an electric guitar unless you running an amplifier simulator. Mic'ing a guitar cab will sound much better. Electro-acoustics (with mic's inside the body) need DI'ing. You can stick an electric guitar straight into a audio interface but you will need a High Z input, and it wont sound as good as micing a guitar cab.

If you want to record and mix live, i suggest using the Direct Outs on your console to input signals into the audio interface. Dont bother re-routing them out into a desk as it will degrade the signal path unnessisarily.

You will need a headphone amplifier if you want to give everyone in the band a monitor. I am assuming the outputs are balenced mono, so some kind of mixer will be required.
 
So then what is the purpose of outs then? Do your route whatever signal you want out of each one? sorry i'm just not catching on.
 
tojo said:
So then what is the purpose of outs then? Do your route whatever signal you want out of each one? sorry i'm just not catching on.
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It seems your not sure what you want.

The inputs on an audio interface will, quite obviously, take in any line level signal you want to shove in there, from there you can record this on a program like cubase or sonar.

The Outputs, will output anything you want from your computer, provided you set it up correctly from your software.

So its really up to you... if you want to record a whole load of stuff from your band, you could use the outputs as monitors so everyone can hear themselves/whats going on. They could be used to drive a monitor system. Really, there arnt any rules saying what they have to be used for.

The only thing to bear in mind is the format that the outputs are. Im guessing each one is a balenced mono out. This means for each set of headphones you connect, you will need 2 outs, unless you are monitoring in mono, in which case you will need 1. If you are going to follow this path, you will need a headphone amplifier/distributor.

EDIT - It can also be used for external effects processors. If you have an outboard reverb unit, simply send 2 of the outputs to the reverb unit, and plug them back into 2 of the inputs.
 
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Oh I see. That clears things up.

I'd lean toward the motu 8 pre, because it sounds like theres no way I need more than a headphone jack and main outs... not I just need $500 haha. (+ i'll probably wait till I have like 4 GOOD mics)

btw, If i got a firebox, could I plug a dynamic mic (a sm57 let's say) into the insert on the back? or would i need a mic pre.
 
so line level is a level that is higher than what would come out of a dynamic mic? Coudn't i just boost the level in the software?
 
tojo said:
so line level is a level that is higher than what would come out of a dynamic mic? Coudn't i just boost the level in the software?
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No. The signal that comes out of the mic would be so low the interface wouldn't even record it.
 
wow.. even if i boost it on the software mixer? So what do people use inserts for other than using a mic with a mic pre into it?
 
tojo said:
wow.. even if i boost it on the software mixer? So what do people use inserts for other than using a mic with a mic pre into it?
Click to expand...

Like I said, the interface wouldn't even pick up the signal if it wasn't line level...So boosting something that isn't getting captured isn't going to do any good. Other than a preamp, the ins are for a line level instrument, such as a keyboard or an active guitar or bass (which have preamps built in, hence the "active")
 
tojo said:
wow.. even if i boost it on the software mixer? So what do people use inserts for other than using a mic with a mic pre into it?
Click to expand...

Well an insert is a whole different thing to an input. An input (in your case) will accept a line level signal (i.e. from a console). An insert is an exteral peice of hardware that is inserted (:rolleyes:) in the signal path to add extra capabilities, such as compression, gating, EQ, etc.
 
tojo said:
nvm, on the firebox it's called "line ins"

http://www.sonicftp.com/articles/images/firebox_full.jpg

which I assume would be for things like keyboards right?
Click to expand...

The firebox has 6 inputs from what I can see in that picture: 2*XLR on the front. 2*1/4 inch inputs on the front (inside the xlr connectors) and I assume at least one of them is a High Z. This means you can plug a bass guitar directly in without needing a DI. There are 2 line ins on the back.

Indeed you are correct. The 1/4 inch output from a keyboard would go into a line in.
 
I don't think that's how they count the ins... theres a break out cable that adds more ins so it's like

-2 neutrik combo jacks on front
-2 1/4 " inputs on back
-1 S/pdif in (I have no idea what that is... or what other hardware you need for spdif)
-1 midi i/o

although I'm not sure, maybe they would count the combo jacks as a total of 4, but that doesn't make sense to me becasue you can only use 2 at a time.
 
tojo said:
I don't think that's how they count the ins... theres a break out cable that adds more ins so it's like

-2 neutrik combo jacks on front
-2 1/4 " inputs on back
-1 S/pdif in (I have no idea what that is... or what other hardware you need for spdif)
-1 midi i/o

although I'm not sure, maybe they would count the combo jacks as a total of 4, but that doesn't make sense to me becasue you can only use 2 at a time.
Click to expand...

Well yeah, the total number of inputs and the total number of inputs you can record at the same time will differ.

s/pdif is a digital signal. You will simply need a digital to analogue converter. Alternatively it can be plugged into a digital out, so long as the clocks are synch'd.
 
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