I’ve been using this interface for only a couple months, but I’m so happy with the results so here’s my review. I used a UR242 for years & never had a problem with it for what I do. The dsp’s weren’t terrible, but it was nice to have them for latency issues. Only thing lacking was an insufficient number of outs, which is what I was looking for to reamp guitars. I was looking at the Tascam 208i, but then happened to see an ad for the new budget-line interfaces from UA. Normally, I would never be able to afford anything from UA, but I was intrigued by the built-in compressors & vintage preamps at a budget price.
Since then, my recordings have taken on another life. The preamps are crystal clear, 1176 compressors sound great on both vocals and instruments, and the monitoring choices are a game changer when mixing. I love that there’s also a MONO button, as I always check my mixes in MONO. I don’t use the preamps & compressors on every track, but they’re nice to have nonetheless. I’ve also tried reamping my guitars through the 1176 and the vintage preamp for a more rich tone without having to use multiple plugins. Very happy with the results.
Pros: portable, well-built with classy wood panels reminiscent of Moog pedals, 2 headphone inputs for independent monitoring, Mono button for mixing, multiple monitoring capabilities and a good amount of quality software. Budget price.
Cons: no internal dsp, like in the Apollo models. This isn’t such a big issue for me, as the included software bundle makes up for the lack of dsp.
Overall, I’m elated with this purchase and plan to write another review in a few months. I’m running an old 2011 MBP with a Mojave patch, so make sure your computer is compatible with Mojave or later if you’re running Mac OS. Flawless service from Thomann as usual.
