Track and mix with powerful HEXA Core processing

There are times when your computer doesn’t have enough power and speed to run all the plug-ins your recording session requires. That’s where UA’s powerful 6-core HEXA Core processor comes in. This processor yields 50% more power than the previous generation. This means that you can track in real time with Neve, Manley, or API channel strips, or run large UAD plug-in counts while mixing in your DAW. The engineers here at Sweetwater appreciate being able to inject guitars with the tube warmth of a Pultec EQ, add the musical limiting of an LA-2A to a vocal, and pump up drums with an 1176 or Fairchild 670 — all in real time. It’s the closest thing to having the real hardware.

A bevy of pro-level features

You can find Apollos in professional studios worldwide. That said, users have been clamoring for certain pro-level features. Good news — Universal Audio has been listening! So what’s new? First of all, the Apollo x6 includes 5.1 surround monitoring support, complete with speaker calibration and fold-down. This is great news for engineers working on audio and music for video games, film, television, and the web. Beyond that, the Apollo x6 was tailor-made for your analog console and other high-end gear, courtesy of its selectable +24dBu operation. Thanks to these and other great features, the Apollo x6 makes a great centerpiece for any studio.

Thunderbolt: ultra-low latency and unrivaled bandwidth

Thunderbolt is one of the most important technologies to impact audio production in years, and UA was one of the first to adopt it. Thanks to its blazing-fast connectivity, Thunderbolt offers lower latency and greater stability than USB or FireWire, clocking in with the speed and ultra-fast performance of a PCI Express system. In fact, the Apollo x6’s Thunderbolt 3 connection runs projects with high track counts at latencies of less than 2ms! On top of that, multiple Apollo interfaces can be networked over Thunderbolt to add fast, high-bandwidth I/O and DSP to your studio. You don’t even need a brand-new computer — the Apollo x6’s two built-in Thunderbolt 3 ports are backward-compatible with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 Macs (adapter sold separately).

Compatible with LUNA — UA’s complete music production environment with ultra-tight hardware/software integration

This Universal Audio Thunderbolt-equipped audio interface is compatible with UA’s free LUNA software. LUNA is a complete music production environment for tracking, editing, and mixing. And thanks to its ultra-tight hardware/software integration, you can take control of your interface’s monitoring, talkback, and headphone systems, track and overdub with UAD DSP-accelerated plug-ins in real time, and benefit from full software-based control over Apollo’s Unison mic preamps, all without leaving your production software. LUNA is the closest you’ll come to an analog workflow in the software realm. It delivers spot-on analog sound, along with the creative immediacy of real-time processing.

LUNA also includes Accelerated Realtime Monitoring, which supplies fast analog-style tracking and overdubbing using Apollo’s onboard DSP acceleration. Anyone who’s used a high-end DSP-assisted hardware/DAW recording system will appreciate the super-tight integration between LUNA and Universal Audio interfaces. LUNA also supplies you with unlimited track counts, contextual editing and browsing, UAD and AU plug-in compatibility, a session auto-save function, and AAF importing.

LUNA software comes with the Shape Creative Toolkit, a superb virtual instrument with modern and vintage keys, drums/percussion, guitar/bass, orchestral content, and real-time synthesis, plus the Oxide Tape Extension, a killer saturation effect, right out of the box. But to get the most out of this system, you’ll want UA’s LUNA Creator Bundle (sold separately). This bundle includes ultra-realistic Neve 80 Series console and Studer A800 multitrack tape extensions, plus two software instruments. The best part about LUNA extensions is that once you install them, their sound is baked right into LUNA’s mixer — no need to instantiate a bunch of plug-ins.

Note: The Universal Audio LUNA requires a Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo or Arrow interface. It’s also Mac only — Windows is not supported at the present time. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for more details.