Asking for a bandmate who is looking for a new interface. He likes my Volt 476 and had planed to purchase one for himself. Now here is the issue: He also came across the Volt 4 and can't decide now which one to get. The Volt 4 is pricing at 209€ while the Volt 476 is about 289€. He would prefer to use a plugin compression over the onboard compression of the 476. Considering he already owns a bunch of compression plugins, I highly doubt he would ever miss the onboard compression. Other than the built in 1176 compression, is there any other reason to go for the 476 instead of the Volt 4? Aren't they basically the same with only compression as a difference?
Volt 4 vs Volt 476
- Thread starter Castor
- Start date
UniversalAudio
Official UA Representative
IMO, everyone should be getting the "76" versions of Volt. They just offer more options and make tracking better all around.
@UniversalAudio I totally agree! But why are you producing two versions of the Volt series? Wouldn't it be more efficient to shut down the single digit Volts and focus on the 76 versions? You could spend the budget on evolving the 76 versions. A Volt especially made for guitarist would be really nice. An "amp out" for reamping purposes, without the need of an additional reamping box. Or an input for expression pedals. This way I don't need to connect my expression pedal to my midi controller, if I want to use a Wah pedal from on of my amp sims. Basically all amp sim plugins come with Wah pedals. IK Multimedia offer both options on their AXE I/O interfaces. I used to have one and I would have kept it, but it wasn't really stable. That's why, I ended up with my 476, which still makes me really happy.
I'd imagine this is to compete at specific price points vs similarly equipped products.
Release
Member
YES, YES, YES! The expression input is the best thing about the AXE I/O and I'm kinda surprised more don't offer it. So many amp sims have wah's and whammy models and a built-in expression input makes it just so easy to use, and if more people knew about that functionality, they'd definiely sell. It's not just for guitarists though. I use it quite a bit with a lower-end keyboard that doesn't have an expression out to control a ton of other MIDI instruments. Honestly, that's the only reason I'm still using the Axe I/O. I'm VERY close to just saying screw it and replacing it with a Volt or an Apollo but I'm not ready to give up the expression input (I haven't jumped yet because I either lose the expression or upgrade the keyboard).
UA, build it, and I will come.... the same day you announce it.
UniversalAudio
Official UA Representative
Because they all sell quite well.
Certainly, but I think it's due to having a reputable name like UA at an affordable price. The single digit Volts are very similar to the 76-Volts but inferior. It would always make more sense to buy the 76 versions, and there are several ways to improve them:
- Enhancing the headphone amp. It sounds amazing on my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm headphones, but more output level would be highly appreciated.
- The Audient ID14 is available for around €211 and comes with monitoring software that is just as good as the Apollo software, while the Volt software can't keep up with them. It also has an optical input.
- Upgrading from USB 2.0 to (at least) 3.0. Without an external power supply, you are completely dependent on the 500 mA of USB 2.0. This is not enough. 900 mA from USB 3.0 would be much better. Also, USB 3.0 is full duplex and supports data traffic up to 4.8 Gbit/s. That would even make it possible to connect an external SSD drive to the interface.
As I see it, mainly beginners and novices opt for the single digit volt interfaces. After 6 to 12 months, they feel they have "outgrown" them and want a new interface. At that point, they usually plan with a budget of €500 and tend to lean towards Audient, Motu, or Presonus. Alternatively, they may opt for used interfaces from RME. At least, that's the general sentiment found in German forums. Therefore, I believe that the strategy with single digit volts and 76 volts may not necessarily be sustainable.
For my needs in home recording, my 476 Volt is completely sufficient. However, when it comes to my band, we use an Apollo x6. Although the Volt 476 is an excellent interface, there is plenty of room for improvement. Furthermore, I believe that a specialized version for guitarists/bassists would also be well-received.That is just my opinion. You probably see it very differently.
UniversalAudio
Official UA Representative
You are very likely correct, and we want to have unit for them.
Thanks for the detailed feedback.
richgrissom
New Member
I have owned both the Volt 4 and 476P. My goal is to be able to record two electric guitars and Yamaha CP4 Stage keyboard. I am trying to get everything dialed in with plugins and pure plate reverb, I am new to DAW's, played with Garage Band for a while with the keyboard. I wish UA had better search and discover for the settings and production. I have tried using Perplexity AI to help drill down on the information that would help. But so far it has been a time consuming endeavor. I am not a pro, I just want to find the best sound as quickly as possible, using a home studio. I would say from my experience, if you are looking for tweakable the 476P is the way to go. If you have a simple setup the Volt 4 is great. If there's anyone out there doing similar things with 476P and Luna Pro with UAFX pedals and plugin's please reach out would love to get things up and running.
chrisharbin
Hall of Fame Member
Is it just Garage Band, or something else? No familiar with it if so, but most hosts that I've used have different inputs for different channels. So the Volt is plug and play (Mac, still easy on Windows) so the host should recognize it immediately. Then it's simply a matter of routing the inputs where desired for each track. Example: Track one, guitar. Track two, other guitar. I'm assuming the CP4 is stereo? Then that would be input 3 and input 4 where you'd likely hard pan each of those.
Sounds more complicated than it actually is. I know this works well with Luna which is free, but no Garage Band (which I'd guess is like Logic)
Sounds more complicated than it actually is. I know this works well with Luna which is free, but no Garage Band (which I'd guess is like Logic)