TUltraLite-mk3 Overview
The
Ultralite-mk3 is MOTU's most compact and portable FireWire audio
interface, featuring convenient bus powered operation, on-board mixing
and effects, superb sound and reliable performance.
The UltraLite-mk3 provides flexible and mobile bus-powered
operation, professional audio quality at samples rates up to 192 kHz
and plenty of I/O, including two mic/instrument inputs, six line-level
analog inputs, ten channels of analog output, stereo S/PDIF and a
discrete stereo headphone output.
Housed in a rugged, compact enclosure you can take anywhere, the
UltraLite-mk3 is equally well-suited for studio and stage, with or
without a computer. As an interface or standalone mixer, the
UltraLite-mk3 provides 10 separate inputs and 14 separate outputs.
Connect all of your studio gear, including microphones, guitars,
synths, keyboards, drum machines, effects processors and even MIDI
devices. Record, monitor, route and process all of these live inputs
using the professional on-board CueMix FX digital mixer — with no
latency and no processor strain on your computer. Apply hardware
DSP-driven effects processing to inputs, outputs, and busses
independent of your host computer. Add Classic Reverb™ with lengths up
to 60 seconds. Further sculpt your sound with 7-band parametric EQ
featuring filter types carefully modeled after British analog console
EQs. Choose between two forms of compression: a conventional compressor
and the Leveler™, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A™ optical
compressor that provides vintage, musical automatic gain control.
After programming the on-board mixing in the studio, unplug the
UltraLite-mk3 from the computer and take it on the road for operation
as a stand-alone mixer with effects. All mixing and effects parameters
are adjustable using the front panel backlit LCD.
The UltraLite-mk3 provides cross-platform compatibility with Mac and
Windows and all of your favorite audio software and host-based effects
via WDM/ASIO/Core Audio drivers. Or you can use the included AudioDesk
workstation software for Mac, with 24-bit recording/editing and 32-bit
mixing/processing/mastering.
UltraLite-mk3 Mic/guitar inputs
Two
mic/guitar inputs are equipped with high quality preamps and all the
features you need to record any mic or guitar with excellent sound
quality.
Each input is equipped with its own 48V phantom power switch and three-stage 0/-18/-36dB pad switch.
Digitally controlled precision analog trim
The preamps provide 24 dB of gain adjustment in precise 1 dB
increments using the detented digital rotary encoder. As you turn the
encoder, you see graphic and numeric feedback in the front panel LCD,
so you know exactly how much gain you are applying. The gain adjustment
itself is smooth because it is analog, but the digital control gives
you both precision and the ability to save and recall trim settings.
You get the best of both worlds: analog trim with digital precision and
control.
Digitally controlled precision analog trim is also available on all
of the Ultralite-mk3's balanced quarter-inch (TRS) analog inputs on the
rear panel. Level matching analog inputs has never been easier or more
convenient. You can carefully tune the balance among your analog inputs
using the CueMix FX software
and then save the entire configuration on disk for instant recall. You
can create and save as many trim configurations as you need.
UltraLite-mk3 Mixing and effects
The UltraLite-mk3 is an audio interface, but it's also a 14-bus digital mixer, complete with EQ, compression and reverb.
The UltraLite-mk3 is really two devices in one: an audio interface
plus a 10 x 14 digital mixer. In fact, you could even think of the
UltraLite-mk3 as a digital mixer in a half rack-space form factor.
Operating as either a computer interface or stand-alone, the
UltraLite-mk3 provides DSP-driven digital mixing with effects
processing (reverb, EQ and compression) for all 10 inputs and 14
outputs. You can connect all your gear and then mix, process and
monitor everything from the UltraLite-mk3’s main outs or headphone
jacks.
A 10 input by 14 bus digital mixer with effects
All I/O is routed to the on-board 14-bus (7 stereo) digital mixer
driven by hardware-based DSP with 32-bit floating point precision. The
mixer allows you to apply no-latency effects processing to inputs,
outputs or busses directly in the UltraLite-mk3 hardware, independent
of the computer. Effects can be applied when the UltraLite-mk3 is
operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a complete rack-mounted
mixer. Input signals to the computer can be recorded wet, dry, or dry
with a wet monitor mix (for musicians during recording, for example).
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