We set out to compare the sound of two popular audio interfaces, the Neumann MT-48 and the Universal Audio Apollo. Both are used in professional and home recording studios and each offers a unique sound quality and workflow.
In this video, we compare the sound of solo vocals, drums, guitar, acoustic, bass, keys and the full band so you can hear the differences to help you pick the interface that is best for you and your sound.
Providence Sound And Vision is a dealer of high-quality professional audio equipment in Los Angeles, California. Follow us on Instagram, at our YouTube channel and reach out to us if you’re looking to improve your sonic clarity. We would love to help you craft your sound int he same way we helped Club Oro.
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Jeff Ehrenberg: Hi, and welcome to our video comparing the sound of two legendary pro audio manufacturers. For nearly 100 years Neumann has been building some of the finest microphones in the world like the U47, U67 and U87.
As Neumann steps into the future they are launching their first audio interface, the MT-48.
Universal Audio has dominated the interface market for over 10 years with their beloved line of Apollo interfaces. We’re going to hear both interfaces recording drums, bass, guitar, synth and vocals. There are already many videos comparing the specs and features of both units – we’re not going to do that today.
In this video, we’re going to compare the sound quality and use our ears to confirm which is a better fit for you and your musical style.
Each microphone will plug into a Radial OX8J Microphone Splitter, with Radial’s outputs feeding both the Neumann and Apollo at the same time.
We’ll be using AES6 to tie three MT-48s together for a total of six Neumann mic pres. We added a Millennia HV 3D8 mic preamp for extra preamps for drums.
All main instrument tracks and voice for the MT-48 version of this session will be recorded using the Neumann mic preamplifiers.
Our UA setup is an Apollo 8xp plus X4 tied together with thunderbolt for a total of 12 mic inputs.
We are Providence Sound And Vision and we are a dealer for high quality sound equipment and software based in Los Angeles, California.
Let’s jump into the studio and walk through the mic setup on drums.
We have a pair of Royer 122 MKII‘s in a space stereo pattern with a Mojave MA-300 as a mono overhead that’s in cardioid pattern. On the snare drum we have the Mojave dynamic microphone on the top with the Mojave 301fet on the bottom. Tom tom’s – the reliable Sennheiser 504s on Toms – those always sound great, full bodied, they give a good rejection from the other instruments and cymbals.
On the front kick we have a Mojave MA-37 with a second MA-37 reaching over the kick that’s picking up a little bit of everything, mostly kick and snare and we’ll be adding a lot of compression to that during the mix – right now it’s being recorded dry.
And then for the room microphone about 10 feet in front of the drum set we have the Royer SF24 – it’s going to pick up the ambience and the size of this room and we’ll be able to tuck that in the mix, add some compression it’s going to sound great.
Chris Sorem: Cool, can I just get a little bit of the snare please.
