With many acts leaning on one person to provide most of the creative input, songwriters often need a broad range of instruments or other audio plugins to get an idea across to their bandmates or industry. We check out one box that might just have it all…
The Good Old Days?
Many songwriters and creators know exactly how they want an arrangement to sound from start to finish, beginning with the song itself, and ending with the final mix. When it comes to whole arrangements, songwriters for a long time had no easy way to create sketches of the sound in their head, and many will remember those awkward times in the studio where everyone realises that it’s impossible to sing the beat to the drummer! Around the turn of the century, the hardware sequencers built into workstation synths started to become available in standalone, portable ‘walkstations’ about the size of a Nintendo Switch. These gave songwriters a viable way to get ideas across albeit with sounds that weren’t pretending to be authentic. Then there was the small issue of sharing your creations with the world via a solitary headphone output or MIDI ports…
All In One
Fast forward to now, and it would be easy to think that all the creator need do is turn on their computer and emote. However most would concede that the tide is only just turning when it comes to integrated solutions to get ideas in and mixes out. It’s entirely possible to buy a great, cheap, small interface with quality to match whatever goes through it. It’s also possible to buy into any number of DAWs crammed with instruments and audio plugins, however for people who need quality and simplicity the options begin to narrow.
Universal Audio Volt 2
UA’s recently announced line of desktop USB interfaces hopes to bridge the gap between hardware and software a little more. Of these, their Volt 2 offering brings 2 in, 2 out functionality for Mac, PC, iPad, and iPhone, and a gamut of bundled instruments, audio plugins, and even an entire DAW in the shape of Ableton Live 11 Lite.
The hardware itself is housed in a very nice vintage white metal enclosure with some nice touches to the control set. All buttons are illuminated, leaving no doubt as to their status, while useful signal-present lights on both inputs and outputs complete visual feedback on the front. The 48V phantom indicator also flashes to indicate power ramping up or down whenever it’s engaged or disengaged which is a nice pro feature. Volt 2 is bus-powered from its USB connection to the computer, with an optional 5V connection available for use with underpowered computer USB connections (lead included).
While the unit has direct input monitoring for zero-latency foldback, UA have swapped out a mix control for a button operated alternative which dims the DAW when engaged. This has split mono (lit blue) and stereo (lit orange) modes toggled by pressing the button to cycle through or to turn direct monitoring off. Specs in full:
Class-leading 24-bit/192 kHz audio conversion
Vintage Mic Preamp mode for recording your voice or guitar with the rich, full sound of an iconic UA tube preamp
Studio-quality headphone amplifier for loud, clear monitoring
Mic, line, and instrument inputs
48V phantom power for condenser microphones
Stylish, rugged construction built to withstand years of use
1-in/1-out MIDI connections
USB-C to USB-A cable included
Perhaps Volt 2’s greatest strength is the range of well-judged software tools that allow creators to do their thing without hunting around for the best options. Some of these are well-respected instruments and audio plugins in their own right rather than being mere bundled sweeteners. With a fully-blown DAW thrown in in the shape of Live 11 Lite from Ableton, Volt 2 does deliver a true end-to-end solution. Other included software:
Marshall Plexi Classic Amplifier from Softube
Melodyne Essential
Ampeg SVT-VR Classic Bass Amp by Plugin Alliance
LX480 Essentials reverb by Relab Development
UJAM Virtual Drummer DEEP
UJAM Virtual Bassist DANDY
Links to the excellent Spitfire LABS collection
Hear Volt 2 for yourself in the video where we use it to realise a song from scratch.
The Best Small Interface For Songwriters?
There is no doubt that Volt 2 makes a smart choice for songwriters who aren’t going to be taking on large tracking sessions, who need an impressive lineup of release-quality instruments and audio plugins to mix them with. The box itself is really well built and works well with UA’s own SD-1 Standard Dynamic mic. The instruments it comes with are also excellent. If you’ve got the song, then Volt 2 certainly has the chops to do it justice. It’s not the only one to offer bundled software, but what you do get sounds great and is very well curated, leaving no gaps in the songwriter’s armour. The best yet? Quite possibly.