Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) UltraLite-mk3 Firewire Audio Interface

No longer available at zZounds
10 inputs and 14 outputs. Front-panel LCD metering for all I/O. 14-bus CueMix FX.

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 read more 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.
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For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 617-576-2760

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (19 ratings)
Submitted March 11, 2009 by a customer from akdocmike.com

"MOTU Ultralite MK3 is the interface for me"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This is my first MOTU product and I am extremely satisfied. I would buy another MOTU product if this one decided to quit, but I know that it won't!

Sound
Previous reviewer stated that you need a TI chipset and they're right. But that goes for any firewire interface. With all the right connections this is the 'go to' interface for the home studio. The preamps are clear and the onboard dsp is brilliant.

Features
Onboard DSP is what made me take a serious look at this product. No need to route external hardward such as reverbs for monitoring and a compressor/limiter in my signal chain. Just hook it up and use the software to do all your signal processing. Plus the onboard DSP doesn't eat up any computer RAM! The front panel knobs are a bit tricky to work with, but I hardly use them since I control everything from the software. The Cuemix FX mixer takes a few to learn, but once you've got a hang of it, it's awesome. Plenty of ins and outs for such a compact unit.

Ease of Use
Like I said previously the front panel knobs are a bit cumbersome to deal with, but if you understand how to use the software, you won't even have to fiddle with the knobs, except to turn it on.

Quality
Built like a tank. Very mobile, but you can rackmount it, which is nice. Product works great for me!

Value
When you look at read more what you're getting and what you won't need (like reverbs and signal processors) you're getting a steal.

Manufacturer Support
Website is straightforward. Haven't had to deal with customer service.

The Wow Factor
Just a practical addition, doesn't make me feel any different.

Musical Background:
Active recording musician/engineer

Musical Style:
Folk/Jazz
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