The Ultralite-mk3 Hybrid is MOTU's most compact and versatile audio interface, featuring hybrid FireWire/USB2 connectivity to your Mac or Windows computer, on-board mixing and effects, superb sound and reliable performance.
As the first-ever "hybrid" audio interface of its kind, the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid provides flexible and mobile operation via FireWire or hi-speed USB2 connectivity to a Mac or PC computer, with 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 stereo headphone output.
Housed in a rugged, compact half-rack enclosure you can take anywhere, the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is equally well-suited for studio and stage, with or without a computer. As an interface or standalone mixer, the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid 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.
The included CueMix FX cross-platform mixing software provides attractive graphic mixing, graphic editing of parametric EQ, and a convenient tabbed interface for quick access to all features in one window. Advanced signal analysis tools include a full-screen real-time FFT display, spectrogram "waterfall" display, oscilloscope, X-Y plot and linear or polar phase analysis.
After programming the on-board mixing in the studio, unplug the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid from the computer and take it on the road for operation as a stand-alone mixer with effects. All mixing and effects parameters are adjustable using the front panel backlit LCD.
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid 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.
Hybrid FirWire/USB2
FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable, high-performance connectivity standard for professional audio interfaces like the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid. Meanwhile, hi-speed USB2 has also developed into a widely adopted standard for connecting peripheral devices to personal computers.
To fully support both formats, your UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid audio interface is equipped with both a FireWire A (400 Mbit/sec) connector and a hi-speed USB2 (480 Mbit/sec) connector, and you can use either port to connect the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to your computer. This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility with today’s ever-expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers.
If your computer does not have a FireWire port, then obviously you will need to connect the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to one of its hi-speed USB2 ports.
If your computer has both FireWire and USB2, then it is your choice, and your decision may depend mostly on other peripherals you may also have, or bus power. FireWire provides enough power on the FireWire bus that the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid can be powered solely by its FireWire connection to the computer. If you use USB2, you you'll need to use the DC power supply included with the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid, as USB2 does not supply enough power by itself.
Mic/Guitar Inputs
Each input is equipped with its own digitally controlled 48V phantom power switch and 20 dB pad switch. The preamps provide 60 dB of gain adjustment in precise 1 dB increments using the detented digital rotary encoder. As you turn the encoder, you see graphic and numeric feedback in the front panel LCD, so you know exactly how much gain you are applying. The gain adjustment itself is smooth because it is analog, but the digital control gives you both precision and the ability to save and recall trim settings. You get the best of both worlds: analog trim with digital precision and control.
Digitally controlled precision analog trim is also available on all of the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid's balanced quarter-inch (TRS) analog inputs on the rear panel. Level matching analog inputs has never been easier or more convenient. You can carefully tune the balance among your analog inputs using the CueMix FX software and then save the entire configuration on disk for instant recall. You can create and save as many trim configurations as you need.
Comprehensive I/O
The Ultralite-mk3 Hybrid allows you to connect a wide variety of studio gear, including microphones, guitars, synths, keyboards, drum machines, effects processors and more.
Front Panel I/O
The Ultralite-mk3 Hybrid's front-panel volume knob controls the headphone or main outputs with the press of a button. Additionally, the knob can be programmed to control any combination of outputs (analog and/or digital). For example, it can control monitor output for an entire 5.1 or 7.1 surround mix.
Digitally Controlled Analog Input Trim
All of the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid's analog inputs are equipped with digitally controlled analog trim controls that allow adjustments in precise 1 dB increments. The mic/guitar input trims can be adjusted using front-panel digital rotary encoders that provide feedback in the front panel LCD. All analog inputs, including eight TRS analog inputs, can be trimmed using the CueMix FX control software for Mac and Windows.
This allows you to fine-tune your trim settings for synths, effects modules and a wide variety of analog inputs for optimum levels. Different trim configurations can then be saved as files on disk for instant recall.
Rear Panel I/O
Six balanced (TRS) 24-bit analog inputs and ten outputs can operate at sample rates up to 192 kHz (a total of eight analog inputs and ten analog outputs). RCA S/PDIF connectors also supply independent stereo digital I/O.
Control Room Monitoring
Powered monitors can be plugged directly into the outputs of the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid and you can attenuate the output from the software or the front-panel VOL control. You can even program the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to control all 14 outputs with the VOL knob.
Mixing And Effects
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is really two devices in one: an audio interface plus a 10 x 14 digital mixer. In fact, you could even think of the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid as a digital mixer in a half rack-space form factor.
Operating as either a computer interface or stand-alone, the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid provides DSP-driven digital mixing with effects processing (reverb, EQ and compression) for all 10 inputs and 14 outputs. You can connect all your gear and then mix, process and monitor everything from the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid’s main outs or headphone jacks.
A 10 Input By 14 Bus Digital Mixer With Effects
All I/O is routed to the on-board 14-bus (7 stereo) digital mixer driven by hardware-based DSP with 32-bit floating point precision. The mixer allows you to apply no-latency effects processing to inputs, outputs or busses directly in the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid hardware, independent of the computer. Effects can be applied when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a complete rack-mounted mixer. Input signals to the computer can be recorded wet, dry, or dry with a wet monitor mix (for musicians during recording, for example).
Complete Mixing At Your Fingertips
All of the mixer settings in the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid are accessible from the programmable front-panel backlit LCD. You can also launch the CueMix FX™ control software for Mac OS X and Windows 7/Vista/XP. CueMix FX provides complete on-screen access to the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid's on-board, hardware-based mixing environment.
CueMix FX Software
CueMix FX gives you comprehensive graphic control over your mix. CueMix FX is a completely new software front-end with attractive graphic mixing, graphic editing of parametric EQ and a convenient tabbed interface for quick access to all mixing features, digitally controlled trims and other settings in your MOTU audio interface.
CueMix FX can be operated side by side with any host audio software for Mac or Windows, and it can be controlled from the Mackie Control Universal Pro automated worksurface.
Classic Reverb
Apply smooth, detailed reverb with several room models, three independent frequency bands and length up to 60 seconds.
The CueMix FX Classic Reverb™ provides five different room types, three frequency bands with adjustable crossover points, shelf filtering and reverb lengths up to 60-seconds.
Each input, output and mix bus provides a send to the Classic Reverb processor, which then feeds reverb returns to mix buses and outputs, with a selectable split point between them to prevent send/return feedback loops.
Modeled Analog EQ
Modeled after analog British console EQ's, known for their highly musical gain/Q settings, CueMix FX EQ provides a high pass filter, low pass filter, two shelving or parametric filters and five parametric bands.
The EQ section provides 7-band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQ's, featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q profiles) to effectively cover a wide range of audio material. LP and HP filters are also supplied with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB per octave.
Vintage Compression
Conventional Compressor
CueMix FX offers a conventional compressor with standard controls for threshold, ratio, attack, release and gain.
Leveler (Automatic Gain Control)
The CueMix FX Leveler™ is an accurate model of the legendary Teletronix™ LA-2A™ optical leveling amplifier, known for its unique and highly sought-after Automatic Gain Control (AGC) characteristics. Conventional compression
Tuner & Analysis Tools
CueMix FX provides powerful audio analysis visual diagnostic tools for stereo audio signals, from an accurate guitar/instrument tuner to phase and polarity measurement tools, to a full-fledged oscilloscope. Find out how you can improve your sound with these advanced, yet easy-to-use tools.
Clock And Sync
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid uses extremely accurate Direct Digital Synthesis™ for internal clocking and for resolving to external SMPTE time code sources. The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid can resolve directly to time code, with no additional sychronizer required.
Direct Digital Synthesis™ Clock
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is equipped with Direct Digital Synthesis™ (DDS), a DSP-driven phase lock engine and very high frequency digital clock source that produces imperceptibly low jitter characteristics (well below the overall noise floor), even when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is resolved to an external SMPTE time code source. This technology represents the very latest in extremely high-performance, yet cost-effective digital audio clocking. DDS also allows the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to maintain an extremely stable clock while resolved to incoming clock sources that have substantially more jitter than the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid itself.
On-board SMPTE Time Code Synchronization
You can slave your UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid system directly to SMPTE time code, without a dedicated synchronizer, via one of the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid's analog input jacks. The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid provides a DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy.
SMPTE Console Software
The included MOTU SMPTE Console™ software (for Mac OS X and Windows 7/Vista/XP) provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer. Like CueMix FX, the synchronization features are cross-platform and compatible with all audio sequencer software that supports the ASIO2 sample-accurate sync protocol.
MIDI
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid includes a 16-channel MIDI interface that provides sample-accurate timing with supporting software.
Connect a MIDI keyboard, sound module or control surface, and you are ready to go. The FireWire or USB2 connection to the computer carries both MIDI and audio so you don't need to connect an additional USB cable for MIDI.
MIDI Thru For Stand-Alone Operation
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid introduces a new MIDI Thru feature that routes all MIDI data received at its input directly to its output while running stand-alone. This allows you to play a hardware sound module or sampler connected to the MIDI OUT from a controller connected to the MIDI IN, even when the computer is turned off, or when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is completely disconnected from the computer.
Expansion And Drivers
Adding More I/O To Your UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid System
As with other MOTU interfaces, the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid can be expanded by connecting additional MOTU FireWire or USB2 audio interfaces via a standard FireWire or USB2 hub.
Drivers And AudioDesk Workstation Software
The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid provides CueMix FX and drivers for Mac and Windows for cross-platform compatibility with virtually all audio software via WDM/ASIO/Core Audio drivers.
