We here at Pro Audio LA love good workflows. A big part of why we do what we do is to help producers, engineers and other audio professionals, find workflows that work for them. Good workflow processes take all the guesswork out of what your composing, producing and mixing sessions. Things are where they belong and easily accessible. Your favorite signal chains and setting are always within reach so you can take advantage of every creative moment, rather than lose the “spark” while fumbling around with cables or settings.
There can be many types of workflows that suit every individual need but we will start with some basic ones, involving an all-in-one interface, the UAD
Apollo x8P.
If you are reading this, then you already know the UAD
Apollo x8P for being a jack-of-all-trade interface. It has 8 mic preamp inputs, 8 Line inputs and 8 Line Outputs. It also has a pair of dedicated Monitoring outputs, so you don’t have to use up any of the 8 Line outputs. Inside the unit, it has UAD’s award winning and beloved DSP power, allowing you to tap into UAD’s extensive plug-in ecosystem. They make some of the best plug-ins, so this is an excellent flex.
Lets say that you have your UAD Apollo mounted in a rack. Great! Now you want to plug in 3
microphones, so you can mic up your upright bass. It looks like a pain, since your rack is pushed up all the way against the wall in the corner, right next to the case for your upright bass. So, you decide to forego this idea and start making music using a synth instead. After a few hours of creativity, you have reached that perfect moment where you need to track that bass – immediately! So you go fumbling around for cables, pull out the rack, move the case and reach back, hoping to line up the XLR connector in your hand perfectly with the input on the back of the x8P. This takes a few attempts and by the time you are done setting up all 3 mics and plugging them in, that initial moment is gone. You felt a little beat, checked your phone and sat there distracted for 11 minutes. Now that original idea doesn’t feel right at all.
This would be a classic example of bad or lack of workflow, derailing an otherwise excellent writing experience.
What could have been done differently?
First off, how about either, finding a different spot for the rack so it can be accessed easier, or moving the upright bass case somewhere else, where it doesn’t get in your way.
Secondly, set up the
mics before sitting down to write. Spontaneously creative is exactly that and needs to be capitalized on, spontaneously!
Better yet, consider getting something like the
Apollo x8P Break-in Box. A box like this (or any other variant with the correct connector configuration) would give you quick access to the various inputs and outputs on the back of your
x8P. You would need to fish around behind your rack. The connection would happen the first time, when you rack the
x8P.
Don’t let bad or lack of workflow make you lose your creative spark. Send us an email or give us a call and start the conversation, before you need to make decisions on the fly.
