Still, most Apollo users wind up purchasing additional software. You might simply use its gorgeous mic preamps and A/D/A convertors to route audio to and from your DAW, relying on plug-ins you already own. You don’t need to purchase additional plug-ins to make good use of Apollo. The MkII also comes with a Fairchild limiter model and additional long-in-the-tooth legacy plug-ins. And the Twin MkII’s bundled plug-in suite includes great-sounding models of the Universal Audio LA-2A and UREI 1176 compressors, and the UA 610-B preamp-which are all, to some degree, Bill Putnam Sr. (Apollo hardware/software runs on Mac OS and Windows.) These range from the flagship Apollo 16 to the small-footprint Apollo Twin, recently updated to the MkII reviewed here. Then there’s Apollo, a line of audio interfaces that double as plug-in hosts. UA also concocts superb digital versions of classic and modern analog gear. The company manufactures pro audio hardware, often inspired by the vintage designs of Bill Putnam-founder of the original Universal Audio company and father of the new UA’s leaders, James and Bill Jr. Like Cerberus of myth, Universal Audio is a three-headed beast.

Universal audio apollo twin mkii solo