Features include a compact form factor with rugged lightweight alloy chassis, two XLR/TRS “combo" style mic inputs with high-quality preamps, true hi-Z guitar inputs, a total of 10 inputs and 14 outputs, 192 kHz analog I/O, a 32-bit floating point DSP for digital mixing and effects processing, front-panel LCD programming, FireWire bus-powered portability and stand-alone operation as a digital mixer/processor.
“The UltraLite-mk3 offers unprecedented value for a compact bus-powered audio interface," said Jim Cooper, Director of Marketing at MOTU. “The quality of the analog I/O, mic preamps and newly added on-board effects are outstanding, yet the price remains the same as the original award-winning UltraLite."
Digital mixing and effects processing
The UltraLite-mk3 provides 10 inputs and 14 outputs in a half-rack form factor. All I/O is routed to a new on-board 14-bus digital mixer driven by hardware-based DSP with 32-bit floating point precision. The mixer allows users to apply no-latency effects processing to inputs, outputs or busses directly in the UltraLite-mk3 hardware, independent of the computer. Input signals to the computer can be recorded wet, dry, or dry with a wet monitor mix (for musicians during recording, for example). A separate “reverb return" stream allows users to record or mix UltraLite-mk3 reverb output separately in their DAW. Effects can also be applied when the UltraLite-mk3 is operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a complete stand-alone mixer.
EFFECTS
Effects include reverb, parametric EQ and compression/limiting. The UltraLite-mk3's Classic Reverb(tm) provides five different room types, three frequency shelves with adjustable crossover points, shelf filtering and reverb lengths up to 60 seconds. Two forms of compression are supplied: a standard compressor with conventional threshold/ratio/attack/release/gain controls and the Leveler(tm), an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical compressor, which provides vintage, musical automatic gain control. Finally, the EQ section provides 7-band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQs, featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q profiles) to effectively cover a wide range of audio material. LP and HP filters are also supplied with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
