You need to start recording yourself | Secret Weapons

[@ZachariahConnor]

Recording my self and being able to practice with headphones silently made me so much better!

[@PeterJaquesMusic]

Audient are the best entry-level interfaces right now, imo...

[@MrDees_music]

First of all Thanks for this Video!This Right here hits the Nail on the head , as a guitar Player myself I focused on Guitars and AMPS and paying less attention to how they are being recorded, the converters and preamp was just as important as my American standard Guitars , I upgraded to the Neumann Mt48 and Immediately I knew I was missing out, The clarity was noticeable from the 1st chord. I've been looking for a rack option and still stuck with getting the Antelope Audio - Discrete 8 Pro or the UA Apollo x8 Gen 2.

[@philliplaclede6269]

The production on your videos is top notch

[@ChrisLocke-f7n]

This was a really well crafted, helpful and supportive journey, thank you Mark

[@harrisonbreshears4324]

I went this same route earlier this year: picking up a used Apollo Twin mki after using an old M-Audio interface for YEARS. While I don't have any experience with the Twin X or anything past the mki, I have been absolutely blown away by the utility of having great preamps and great stock plugins with the Twin mki. If you can afford one (they run about $450 used if you can find a good deal) GET ONE! Absolute game-changer for your home studio. Thank you for devoting a video to discussing this topic, Mark! So relevant and so inspiring.

[@AdamStachelek]

Amen to recording yourself to improve. I love all the guitar parts you do in your videos. Your Boss IR-2 video was instrumental in me buying that pedal. You make good sounds my friend!

[@Grant_Ferstat]

Hey Mark, perfect timing for me. I had an original Protools MBox with LE back in the days when the hardware and software were tied together. Eventually it died but, seeing as at the time I was recording a lot in pro studios I never updated. Now though for a variety of reasons I need to get back into a home rig. For me this could be a whole series as I know nothing about virtual instruments etc and I'd love to be able to demo/compose whole songs.

[@joelrudnick]

So what ad/da chips were in it and what did they change it to?

[@MatthewSwasta]

When I started recording, I realized I hate much of the string squeak, really. So I bought light gauge GHS SS flat wound strings. Love them. Recording definitely does not lie. I really like my MOTU Ultra-lite Mk5 with plenty of ins and outs.

[@itsanthonybest]

I mean i just pulled my amps aside... i don't like being lied to. They are now in time-out.

[@SquareWaveSymphonies]

I'm currently thinking about getting a X16 Gen 2. I love my UAD stuff.

[@WesWookBeats]

Very thoughtful information

[@ShinyShinyBlack]

Mark, I really appreciate your channel. I’m simultaneously excited and dissatisfied with the new Apollo interfaces. I’m an Apollo power user - the long asked for Sonarworks integration is huge, and obviously, the improved converters are great… but no Dante? Come onnn!!!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Thats one of those “you have the buy the Dante interface to get Dante” things. This is kind of the trade off w UA, right? Access to multiple db25 or Dante or built in preamps are all kind of their own things for better or worse.

[@zacjones6711]

I canceled an order for the Apollo Twin X Quad Gen 2, now looking at RME Fireface UCX II. Upgrading an old Audient ID44 that is starting to make noise. Really weighing the decision, I have never bought into any of the eco systems, so free of that for now. But most of the reviews for the Apollo Gen 2 have been rather bad (upgrades are very minimal with poor latency, old chip design and high cost) from those who own them to the point canceled the order. As someone who has heard and little time on RME is has been great. Thought the Apollo eco system sounded amazing but people are saying it is not. Rather conflicted. Zac

[@vubear]

Have you looked at Apogee? Industry leading pre amps and converters, great Logic Pro intergration and low latency recording and monitoring via onboard DSP.

[@zacjones6711]

@@vubear Adding more to look at, was looking for less. But yeah will look at them as well, thanks.

[@eddygomezmusic]

I love apogee I have the due but I decided to get an Apollo x duo and just upgrade to the new Apollo X4 and I think it change all work flow, I love it!!

[@steviebhoye]

I am still using the original Apollo Twin Gen 1 Silverface - 10 Years now). I am curious as to how much of a difference an upgrade to Gen 2 will actually make?

[@bborck]

Thank you.

[@kyleingram8857]

Hey Mark! How do you feel about using the Quad Cortex as an interface?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I think it’s a valuable tool for being very “all in one” if you are PURELY a guitarists (granted you could likely get some ok scratch vocals in there too but…) I think my biggest gripes there are gonna be not being able to record above 48kHz / 24bit. again; totally fair for the format and if you are a guitarists who has a QC and wants to get started thats a GREAT place to start and probably precludes the need to buy some cheap interface like I advocated for.

[@kyleingram8857]

@@markjohnstonofficial Perfect, thanks man!

[@MrVinceletah]

Hi! Thank you for that video! I was wondering about just the optical on the back of my UA Ox. I have played with the Ox through headphones (LCD-2C amazing to play guitar) and I really love it. But using the line out to my current interface, an Apogee without optical, I get a sound on headphone that is not half as good as through the Ox. So my first question is do the Twin x and/or Twin x gen 2 sound like the headphone out of the Ox? I would like to be able to play the Ox through an interface with the same sound (on headphones so I can play with backing tracks or record tracks and then play over those tracks and record more. I have a second question. Can you record the optical in of the Ox and a microphone in the room at the same time with a twin x?

[@heymrguitarman7637]

I use the apogee symphony desktop and find it a really good option. The UI is super helpful on the unit via the touchscreen and it also has great sounding super clean preamps. That being said, the focusrite stuff is very affordable and sounds superb at the same time

[@jacksp8de]

I heard only the D/A conversion was upgraded and not the A/D. Is that true? I hope not but I only see the D/A upgrade mentioned on the site.

[@djcode6983]

No it is not, both A/D and D/A conversion has been updated. No idea who started that. The desktop units got the biggest jump but all of the boards were updated and that’s directly from UA

[@jacksp8de]

@@djcode6983 OK that’s good to know. They only market the D/A so maybe the A/D is not as significant. I’ll get a review in in a couple of weeks so ill run some tests

[@dash4786]

What am I missing if I decide to buy the volt series by UA vs the newest Apollo? Also to add the hardest thing for me is what I need to plug everything into my laptop. What software to buy and speakers to use. It all adds up

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I meant what I said in the video; if you don’t have an interface yet, don’t spend a lot of money. Go on reverb or FB marketplace or whatever and just get something used for cheap. The goal is to get up and running for cheap so you don’t get caught up in levels of complexity that’ll throw you off your game. If you are on a Mac get a used Focusrite or Volt or something and just use GarageBand; it’s free.

[@dash4786]

@@markjohnstonofficial I was looking at the Apollo twin x heritage edition with all the plugins. Just to be done and have everything. Is it that complex to use? Also bought some iloud MTN Gen 2 speakers

[@skipneumann1]

Polar 2 Blackstar

[@mrGood-84]

I don’t know if a mic in front of the cab can be described as honest? Depending on the mic position it tells a completely different story. P.S That intro is gorgeous piece of music!

[@rileyioacura]

I’m just waiting for a new Apollo solo to move from my 1st gen Scarlett interface

[@markjohnstonofficial]

It’s unlikely, i think, that they’re going to update the Solo unfortunately. But for the price of a new Solo you can get a used Apollo Twin which, I think, is a much better investment as you’ll get a better feature set out of it and it can expand into larger rigs whereas the Solo wont.

[@rileyioacura]

@@markjohnstonofficial thank you for answering, I was considering the new antelope audio zen interface due to its dsp for £500 but I will take a look at a used UAD Apollo twin thank you mark! Great video!

[@lylaznboi01]

While I like how UA interfaces are, I'm a PC user that doesn't have Thunderbolt. On top of that, I'm a drummer, so I would need eight inputs or more. If UA can release an interface that has eight inputs or more that's USB, then I may consider switching to UA interfaces.

[@buckkylem]

That is a TON of floor noise on that intro. What compressor is that?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

There’s not much noise floor I hiss there from the recording; that’s hum and hiss from tape emulation integration in LUNA

[@buckkylem]

@@markjohnstonofficial ohhhh. I thought you were just giving a clean example on the intro and maybe it had an onboard compressor that was engaged and gettin a lil hissy. I do like where your heads at! I ordered my Apollo Twin X Quad about 3 days ago for $500 off FB (tiny dent and no power cable) and I was really bummed when I saw all this news today but from what I can glean the rest of the release is very minor improvements. I think I’ll be alright. Thanks for always giving non sponsored opinions in long form. I’ve learned so much about a lot of my gear from you.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

@@buckkylem i need to double check that I did hit the check box.. this is technically a sponsored video as UA comp’d me this interface ahead of release. I just *clearly* don’t let that influence how I talk about these things haha. I think the UA stuff is great I just also know that it can quickly rise up into aspirational price points that aren’t feasible for most guitarists which is why my much more important point in the video is “start where you can and buy used because having an interface is more important than buying a new one”

[@snelson]

​@@markjohnstonofficial Mark, I get where you're coming from, but I think it’s still important to mention upfront in the video that it’s sponsored (or a material connection, however the FTC defines it), even if it doesn’t influence your opinion, as you said. It just helps keep everything transparent for viewers, and will keep you out of hot water. And if I missed that part where you mentioned it, feel free to point out the timestamp.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

@@snelson it’s a checkbox in the KZbin uploader that drops a tag at the top of the video that lets the audience know that it contains product placement or sponsored content.

[@alongonen934]

E

[@dang48207]

Your vocal mic sounds horrible for your voice

[@me-yg6yk]

7 min into the video and basically no information about the product I clicked for … sorry , but rethink this

[@Racontemoilascene]

welcome to the channel :)

[@sixpots]

Everything in the first 7 minutes was relevant to the title of the video. It’s you that needs a rethink.

[@me-yg6yk]

@@sixpots no