MacBook Pro + MOTU Ultralight Experiences

DjSanM · Post by **DjSanM** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:55 am

Hello,

i am using Live since nearly 2 years to dj in clubs with my good old powerbook g4. In April I upgraded my sound device to a motu ultralight and this device rocks! But for production issues i need more cpu power, so i am considering to upgrade to a macbook pro 2,16 core 2 duo. I need a very stabel and solid system to play out (often 8h gigs in very hot clubs) so i am a bit concerned about the stability of the new mac book pro with the motu and live 6. (my old system never crashed at all)
Do you have any experiences with the new Core Duos and the MOTU device with Universal Binary Drivers?

Thnx for your help!

sans soleil · Post by **sans soleil** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:49 pm

for what it's worth...i've got a macbook + ultralite + live 6...all's smooth like buttah.

hacktheplanet · Post by **hacktheplanet** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:50 pm

The answer is yes.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:58 pm

I have an Ultralite and a C2D MacBook Pro, works flawlessly with live 6.

DjSanM · Post by **DjSanM** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:32 pm

Sounds like I have to say goodbye to my 1,33 GHz G4!

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:51 pm

What latencies are you guys getting? I get 18-19ms in+out latency with the onboard on my Macbook 2Ghz. I'd be interested to know what to expect with an Ultralite.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:35 pm

Been able to run mine at 6ms +6ms at 256 samples on my Ultralite with no issues, it could go lower I'm sure, but I have never had a need to try.

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:36 am

I want to run live guitar effects through Live - so I got to get me some pimpin low latencies. I doubt that anything within the price range of an Ultralite will come anywhere near it in terms of driver latency, so I probably shouldn't worry about it.

bigbadotis · Post by **bigbadotis** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:34 am

I run it at 3ms + 3ms with no problems. That's low enough for realtime effects and I definitely use it for that. On an iMac g5 and on an c2d macbook pro.

It does get to be a problem running that low as track counts get higher...

kynd · Post by **kynd** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:59 am

Macbook Pro 2.16 GHz Core Duo + Motu Ultralite + Live 5.2 = great!!

running @ 6ms + 6ms latency

I love the ultralite.

John Sweet · Post by **John Sweet** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:08 am

I upgraded to a C2D Macbook a couple weeks before a show & couldn't use my Multiface anymore. I was convinced the Ultralite would feel like a second place contender, but it really surprised me.

Last Friday I ran out & grabbed one on a lark before a show. I installed the drivers on the side of the stage, figured out how to route to the headphone out, plugged into the house mixer, and completely forgot about the backup sound card I brought. I got 4 ms + 4 ms to work right off the bat, & I bet I could shave it down closer.

It was a blast. The thing felt solid, had the nice clear front panel LCD, simple software interface & installation, big chunky manual, I've got no complaints. In user friendliness it beats RME's bad translations of engineerspeak all day long. I haven't got a chance to be more critical about the sound yet, but it's a lot more than I thought I would get for the price. 12 analog outs is just right.

veggieryan · Post by **veggieryan** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:01 am

just for the record.
6ms + 6ms is a HUGE difference from the 2ms + 2ms of carbus like rme multiface.

there is an extra 1ms thrown in there as well for firewire.

6+6 is unacceptable for guitarists and drummers.

3+3 is "doable" with firewire but the cpu will choke very quickly.

kooki415 · Post by **kooki415** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:16 am

veggieryan wrote: 6+6 is unacceptable for guitarists and drummers.

as a drummer, yes, 12 ms delay is completely lagging. however, as a drummer, i can also say that a guitarist wont be able to notice that same 12 ms of latency.

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:59 am

As a guitarist, I can definitely notice 12ms of latency!

Not all guitarists are of the same mould.

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:01 am

Yep - those microlatencies are a bastard for drumming etc.

But DO remember that air has a latency of 2.95ms per metre. (That's 1ms per foot for you American folk)

When oh when will Ableton address this serious problem????