Everyone involved in music creation, from the eager novice to the wise veteran, should be enthusiastic about LUNA, Universal Audio’s new recording and production software that’s powered by any UA Thunderbolt™ audio interface such as the Apollo and Arrow. A glimmering star of audio glory at this year’s NAMM show, LUNA is destined to take your sonic achievements to the stratosphere with its operational swiftness, seamless integration with Apollo hardware, multitrack tape emulation, built-in Neve summing, and even virtual instruments. Imagine making beats, tracking performers, and composing instrument parts in a natural workflow and with as much analog character as you want, all without burdening your computer or causing vibe-killing latency… that’s LUNA.
Since it’s made by Universal Audio, it works hand in hand with Apollo interfaces to ensure effortless routing and recording, and you can use your favorite UAD plug-ins virtually free of latency thanks to the new Accelerated Realtime Monitoring feature. For those who’ve recorded and mixed on high-end software aided by dedicated DSP, the independence from latency granted by Accelerated Realtime Monitoring will be a familiar and welcome feeling. If you routinely battle with distracting system delay, Accelerated Realtime Monitoring will forever change the game for you.
Running your tracks through channel after channel of a classic, large-format analog console is a beautiful, but typically unobtainable dream. LUNA lets you achieve that dream even in your own home with its Neve Summing, an integral part of the LUNA mixer that grants you the signature character and desirable harmonics of vintage Neve 80-Series boards and their Neve 1272 summing amps.
As if that weren’t enough, LUNA offers more cause for celebration with its built-in Oxide LUNA Extension. Oxide opens the door to the unique warmth and glue of multitrack analog tape without having to insert your own plug-ins manually. Plus, you can opt for the Studer A800 LUNA Extension (available separately) if you seek the Studer spin on tape saturation.
When it comes to virtual instruments, LUNA comes with plenty to boost your instrumentals to that next level. Upon its launch, LUNA will come with Moog Minimoog (an emulation of Moog’s venerable 1971 synthesizer), Ravel (a detailed model of a Steinway Model B grand piano), and Shape (a collection of keys, synths, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and orchestral content from UA, Spitfire Audio, Orange Tree Samples, and Loops de la Crème).
It all sounds so very intriguing, but how do you get it? Universal Audio indicates that LUNA (for Mac systems) will be presented as a free download in the spring of 2020 for owners of its Apollo and Arrow Thunderbolt™ interfaces. That’s great news if you have one and even more incentive to jump on the UA train if you haven’t already done so.
Stop by the B&H SuperStore or visit our website to snag a UA Thunderbolt™-equipped audio interface and readily await the arrival of LUNA!
