The Arrow’s top panel functions very similarly to Universal Audio’s excellent Apollo Twin interfaces.The Universal Audio Arrow is one of the first pro-audio products to take advantage of Thunderbolt 3’s copious bandwidth and versatility, which lets it shuttle all of its data, as well as receive power, over a single Thunderbolt 3 cable. It’s also the most affordable interface powered by onboard UAD-2 DSP. (Note: Make sure your computer is Thunderbolt 3 compatible, because not all USB-C computers are.). The Arrow comes with one SHARC-based DSP Accelerator, the Realtime Analog Classics bundle (14 preamp, amp, EQ, dynamics, reverb, and delay plugins), and the Console 2.0 analog-style mixer software for tracking and monitoring physical and virtual I/O. Included are many convenient presets from artists such as Dave Isaac, Joe Chiccarelli, The Crystal Method, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, among others, which make it easy to set up a great-sounding monitor mix, mastering chain and so forth, for vocals, synths, guitars, or drums (see Fig. The Console Recall plug-in lets you control Console monitoring and save its settings within your DAW session.
1: The Console plug-ins’ processing can work for monitoring only or can be recorded to an audio DAW track.The Arrow provides a pair of XLR/1/4” combo mic/line inputs, which can be stereo linked, a 1/4” Hi-Z instrument input, a 1/4” stereo headphone output, and balanced 1/4” speaker outs. The interface, overall, is compact, with a durable metal build that’s ready for road work and studio use. But it’s the Arrow’s combination of pro-level preamps and converters, starter set of plug-ins, onboard DSP, and attractive price that make it a nearly unimpeachable choice for a two-in/four-out interface for Thunderbolt 3 users.STRENGTHSLowest price UAD interface with onboard DSP. Durable and efficient-to-use hardware.LIMITATIONSNo Thunderbolt 3 cable included. No MIDI connections.
The UAD library now features more than 90 plug-ins, co-created with the biggest brands in audio. Developed by UA’s world-renowned team of DSP engineers, UAD plug-ins set the standard by which all other audio plug-ins are judged.
Cannot use an XLR-to-1/4” cable on a microphone for a mic-level input.$499Markkus Rovito writes words and music from the Urban Hermitage in San Francisco, California.
UA stole the NAMM show with Arrow, its first Thunderbolt 3 interface. While there are cable solutions to convert Thunderbolt 2 to 3 and vice versa, Arrow is unsupported on any such backwards-compatible TB-2 setup. You need Thunderbolt 3 – it’s as simple as that.
I’m now facing 16 monthly instalments of £156. Just don’t tell my wife or the kids, who, once again, will lack a holiday this year But was it worth it? The whole storyOn the face of it, the answer is already a ‘yes’. This is a cost-effective UA interface that comes bundled with some of the company’s effects. I will cover some of the new format’s advantages in more detail later, but what we’re really focussing in on is Universal’s first foray into the world of mobile interfacing, and the plug-ins that you get for the money.The other aim of this review is to explain Universal Audio’s approach to its hardware and software, which we haven’t done for a while. And that’s because Arrow is so competitively priced, we think that many will be tempted to take their first steps into the UAD world.Universal Audio actually has a couple of histories.
The early one began some seven decades ago when Bill Putnam – who engineered the stars of the day, including Sinatra and Ray Charles – started several enterprises including Universal Audio, Studio Electronics and UREI that would yield gear including the 610 console, the 1176 compressor and, via the purchase of Teletronix, the LA-2A compressor.In 1999 Bill Putnam’s son, James and Bill Jr. Relaunched the Universal Audio brand. Initially they produced a new 1176 but then developed a DSP-driven platform that would recreate classic pieces of outboard gear within a desktop environment. Back in 1999, computers weren’t really up to the task of running emulations, so companies including Universal Audio (and others, such as Creamware) used hardware processorsto add the power required.That power has stayed with UA products to this day. Sure, you could argue that computers are more up to speed now, but any extra power always has to be welcomed and besides, when UA designs these plug-ins, it goes in at a component level for maximum authenticity, so they can be quite processor intensive.Over the last couple of decades, then, UA has refined this hardware and software integration with better preamps, more rugged interfaces and produced better plug-ins (with many coming from third parties) to the point where there are now close to 200 available.
The UAD2 SHARC processor provides the power to run them and has become the standard within interfaces like the flagship Thunderbolt 2 Apollo 16, the Thunderbolt and USB Apollo Twin and now Arrow: “the world’s first Thunderbolt 3-powered desktop recording audio interface for Mac and Windows”.Do I really need this?You need a great audio interface, of course you do, and there’s every chance you already own one. So whether you absolutely need Universal Audio’s Arrow will depend on several factors. If you’re a UAD convert already and simply need a compact and mobile device, then Arrow is your solution, simple as that.
If you want access to the world of UAD plug-ins, that everyone and their dog seems to be barking on about, then Arrow is probably the best and most cost- effective way to get into that world.The caveat is, of course, whether you have the Thunderbolt 3 technology to use it. That means you either own or can invest in a top-end Mac (MacBook Pro or iMac starting at around £1,750) or a cheaper PC (starting at around £600). If you already have Thunderbolt 3, then you really do need Arrow. If you don’t have it, though, you know what to.
Apple has a good payment plan to upgrade, after allGetting up and runningThat’s the history lesson dealt with and now we’re bang up to date. The interface ships with Universal’s Realtime Analog Classics Bundle which comprises 14 classic plug-ins that cover the compressor, channels strip, guitar- and bass-amp emulations. The hardware itself is a lovely wedge of an interface that is simple in layout and neat in operation.
Its weight (heavier than you might think) combined with a rubber base, mean that it isn’t going anywhere fast when placed on your desk.Start up by connecting via a Thunderbolt 3 cable. UA don’t bundle one with Arrow, which is annoying. I’d have rather paid a few quid more because getting one is an annoying delay, especially at that exciting stage of connecting up a new piece of gear. However, I say ‘sometimes’, as I have since noted a couple of dealers selling Arrow with a free cable, so do shop around.You’ll need to register yourself and Arrow at UA’s website to download around 1.85GB of software. This covers the plug-ins and Console, the interfacing software that allows you to change routing options and load in those plug-ins at your input stage.Once Arrow was connected, launching Console got everything up and running. There was finally a reassuring clicking noise, and a light display from Arrow and I was ready to go. At this stage, you also need to register the 14 plug-ins which will run within both Console and your chosen DAW.
In useThe main headline is, of course, Thunderbolt 3, which delivers enough 48v phantom bus power for Arrow without the need for a separate PSU – ideal for laptop musicians. T3 is twice as fast as Thunderbolt 2 and, in some instances, can be four times as fast as USB 3. And with Arrow providing DSP power for the UAD plug-ins, we are looking at minimal latency when recording with them. And that is really what Arrow is all about.Arrow is a solid piece of kit. The single dial can be used to control the input levels of the preamps (with the Preamp button selecting between the two).
With the Monitor button pressed, it controls both the monitor or headphone levels and you can click on it to mute the monitor out. Buttons on the left control input options, including a high-pass rumble filter, phantom power, polarity and Link, which enables you to quickly link both inputs so all controls apply to both. Around the back are two outputs and two dual mic/line ins, plus a Hi-Z in.Arrow’s two Unison mic pres are the stars of the show, and when combined with the UAD plug-ins really do offer you a glorious signal chain. They are pristine when you want them to be or warm and coloured when combined with something like the 610 channel plug-in. It’s also easy to set up favourite combinations of plug-ins on your inputs within Console or load in numerous channels trip presets.The whole experience is like flicking between different classic mic pres. The only annoyance is that you’re often given the choice to load plug-ins you don’t own and, as with loading them within your DAW, it’s not clear which are the 14 that you do own.