Keith Shocklee

Producer

Recent Projects:
Public Enemy, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Xzibt, Bell Biv Devoe, Spike Lee

"As an in the box producer, I have been through a lot of interfaces but when I first heard the Ensemble, I had to get one. I've been using Logic since '92, and at that time Apogee was the most expensive 8 channel converter. So when I learned that Apogee was hooking up with Apple Logic Audio I said "oh s.......". I was waiting for Logic to have an interface that works seamlessly with it like some of the other software companies. I'm all about hi end audio. The average listener could care less about some of this stuff, they just want a hot record. But as a producer I need the best quality sound 'cause I experiment with sound frequencies and Apogee interfaces give me that warmth in my project studio. The cool thing is they give you various interfaces depending upon your needs and your budget, not to mention its ease of use. I control my Ensemble from my computer keyboard. How cool is that."

Ian Boxill

Mixer, Engineer

Recent Projects:
Prince, Quincy Jones, Tyrese. Tupac Shukar

"Since I have started using the Apogee Ensemble, a whole new digital world has opened up to me. Everything just flat out sounds better coming out of my DAW. In the box mixes now rival out of the box SSL mixes that I have done. Soft synths now rival my beloved hardware modules and drums now bang as hard as certain popular drum machines that I have used and recorded."

Steve Aoki

DJ, Producer, Owner - Dim Mak Records

Recent Projects:
"I'm in the House"

"I use both the Ensemble and the Duet from Apogee. The Ensemble is the end all be all hub for my studio. Since it's made its new home here, I've been adding more features to my tracks, a range of guitars, analog synths, live room sounds in general to the production. Up until this year I was entirely MIDI based and now I'm venturing out with my Apogee gear."

Roger Hodgson

Musician

Recent Projects:
Supertramp

"I have been using Ensemble for a year now, as an interface/mixer through which I route my analog and digital piano/keyboard sounds on stage as well as record to Logic off stage. My soundman Howard Heckers and I are very picky when it comes to sound degradation and digital harshness and after trying units from other manufacturers we were both immediately impressed with the Ensemble's transparency, openness and accuracy to detail. I feel the great internal word clock has a lot to do with that. Also, Ensemble has also proved to be very rugged and never failed me after receiving much abuse from airport baggage handlers around the world. Thank you Apogee."

Rob Patterson

Musician, Artist, Producer, DJ

Recent Projects:
Otep, Korn

"I recorded an EP that I put out on iTunes last year using non-Apogee gear to record. I thought it sounded great and then during the last Otep record, Ulrich Wild he turned me on to Apogee's products. I've obviously heard of them, but I never had first hand knowledge or used Apogee before. I contacted Apogee thanks to Ulrich, and they were extremely helpful in finding the piece of gear most suitable to my set up. As soon as I plugged the Ensemble in and ran an old session in Logic, I could instantly notice the EXTREME difference in sonic quality! It truly is night and day compared to my old audio interface. It made me want to go re-record my EP that's already out!! It sounds so good, it is truly inspiring me to record this full length record I've been putting off for months and months! The intergration between Logic, the MC-Control and the Ensemble is utterly AMAZING! I honestly don't know how I recorded, mixed or produced anything before the "Power Trio!" Apogee has built an amazing - seemingly built for Rob - audio interface! I will never go back, or use anything else again! Thank you so much Apogee for the amazing Ensemble, and more important, for restarting my creativity!!"

Kevin Hunter

Musician

Recent Projects:
Mutt Lang, Shania Twain, Janet Jackson, Danielle Briseboise, Cindy Blackman

"I needed to update my studio and still have great quality recording, but the trick was making it easier and more versatile. The Apogee Ensemble gives me just that. It's the perfect modern gear. Crystal clear sound, flexible, and easy to setup... I would never consider recording without it. It is absolutely hands down the best."

Carosello Records

Leading Independent Record Label - Italy

Recent Projects:
Carosello Records artists

"The procedures for the restoration and mastering of the discs, the ease of signal routing and the ability to be used during coding or simple acquisitions in the post-production are well maintained to an unmatched standard with Apogee converters. The ability to propose our musical catalog, from the past to the present, with an audio quality at the state of art always been our priority. Now achievable through ENSEMBLE!"

Thomas Rybka

Mixing & Mastering Engineer - Mastering Service

Recent Projects:
Tony Catania, SONY/BMG, Delicious Garden Recordings, Mylo Recordings, Geo Da Silva

"Using Ensemble in combination with Logic 8 allows me to lift the quality of my results in mastering & mixing to the next level. During the mastering process I convert everything via the Ensemble. The signal is sent through a high-class outboard back to my Mac by using the UV22 Dithering Algorithm. In the end, the sterophony is just outstanding featuring a high degree of clarity and pressure. During the past 3 years and nearly 200 mastered tracks all of my customers were amazed by the outstanding results. One thing is crystal clear to me: I will not go for any other converter / interface! Regarding the pre-amps you don't need anything more beside the Ensemble. One recent recording session featuring a professional guitarist highlighted all benefits: no random noise, natural frequency response, easy routing setting within the Maestro panel and a simple integration to Logic - it makes my work so much easier."

Omar Fadel

Composer

Recent Projects:
ABC: The Goode Family, NBC: Phenomenon, "The Taqwacores", "Next Day Air", Body of Lies - Trailer, Saw IV - Trailer, The Kingdom - Trailer

"Lets face it - walk into any major studio and chances are they are using Apogee gear. Why? Because Apogee = great AD/DA and everybody knows it. I use my Ensemble on everything I do. No exceptions..."

K. Farrar

Minister, Producer, Musician

Recent Projects:
Bloodline Music Group, BAMM Records

"If you are looking for a single unit/all-in-one box. . . Ensemble is it! I like to say with Ensemble, "Mixing in the 'box' just got the top blown off!!!" I'm using Ensemble in "stand-alone" mode with my Digi 003 system. I needed to find a unit that would help me get better results working in the Pro Tools environment and Ensemble is just that. Ensemble has definitely been stellar in it's performance and it will help those I produce to be stellar as well!"

Miguel Blasini

Engineer

Recent Projects:
Tito Auger, Vivanativa, Rucco Gandia, Pedro Juan Rivera, IRA

"The Ensemble is all about top-quality performance and amazing stability. You can't go wrong with Apogee's superb AD/DA conversion, four high-quality mic preamps and features like SoftLimit, Intelliclock and UV22HR dither. The Ensemble looks great and sounds beautiful. You'll hear tight and punchy lows, sweet and present mids, and smooth, non-brittle highs with lots of air and detail. When used with Logic or as a stand-alone unit, or when clocked to the Big Ben Master Clock, what you hear exceeds your expectations as a professional recording engineer. Both my analog transfers and my Logic projects sound better than ever!!! Ensemble is the best audio interface you can find; period!!!"

Troy Van Leeuwen

Musician

Recent Projects:
Queens of the Stone Age, Failure, Eagles of Death Metal

"I have been using Logic in the studio and on the road for about ten years, trying every digital audio interface available to achieve the best results. But now, with the seamless integration of the Apogee Ensemble, Logic Pro, and Mac, there's no better combination out there for me."

Chris Stein

Musician

Recent Projects:
Blondie

"As a result of the Ensemble I have a pile of redundant gear; mixing consoles, power amps etc etc that I need to unload. Right now I am in the midst of working up material for a new Blondie recording. I am using an Ensemble and Logic 8 and I couldn't be happier with the set-up. It never fails to amaze me that this small piece of equipment has replaced a whole room full of clunky analog stuff...plus the Ensemble sounds as good, or better."

Danny Michael

Sound Mixer

Recent Projects:
"The Departed", "Revolutionary Road", "Fighting", "Doubt", "Ghost of Girlfriends Past"

"I started using Metacorder on Martin Scorsese's film "The Departed" and with the help of Apple was given the opportunity to use the latest Powerbook. The only weak link was an unexceptional A-D to Firewire converter. I wanted to get Apogee quality with Soft-Limit capability in a DC powered unit. Not long after a DC powered Apogee Ensemble arrived just in time to use on Revolutionary Road. The film directed by Oscar winning director, Sam Mendes and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet was a challenge that was made for the Ensemble. Lots of dramatic scenes with drastically varying levels of dialogue (whispers to shouts) that needed a quality limiting circuit to save me from digital overloads and an A to D conversion that was unmatched by any other component I've tried. This combined with Metacorder's exceptional software and interface, which includes Metadata that is film post-production friendly, makes for a unique and powerful location recording tool. "

Avinash Chainani

Producer, Musician, Production Manager

Recent Projects:
R&B Pioneer Awards 2008, MTV Presents: Making The Band 4 Tour, Beasle album, Danny Newport album, Touring with Keyshia Cole

"I have had the blessings and opportunities to travel across the world doing what I love: producing, recording and mixing. I keep my Ensemble in a flight case and it's always ready to roll with me on the fly.I have been fortunate enough to have my Ensemble with me to record a wedding ceremony in rural Mumbai, India; produce, track and mix live concerts on the coast of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; and tour across the country and overseas with some of the greatest artists I have come to know. From recording live sessions in remote parts of the world to the studio in Santa Monica, or on stage doing a show, the Apogee Ensemble is the passport of my operation.I have learned over my time in this industry that certain tools stand the test of time no matter how many other variables can change - and that's why I continue to use and support Apogee products"

Anna Stafford

Composer, Producer, Violinist

Recent Projects:
Kelly Clarkson, Dixie Chicks, Mary J Blige, Josh Groban, Kanye West, "String Music"

"The minute we set up the Apogee Ensemble to Logic I could already tell an amazing difference in the quality of sound of the live strings. As a violinist I am very picky about the tone, harmonic frequencies, action, and nature of the sound, and the signal was clean, rich, expressive, and just like the real thing. We never had any problems, and the quality from the previous album to this one jumped up several notches - it was just incredible. "

Paul Blackburn

Musician

Recent Projects:
Gomez

"When it came to buying a new interface I turned to my colleagues, who have far more experience han myself, for their advice. All highly recommended Apogee Electronics so I searched them out and discovered Ensemble. This interface fits perfectly with my setup of Logic Pro and a MacBook. The sound is exceptional and everything seems to work without the usual glitches and hiccups I used to experience. I guess the colleagues were right!"

Sam Kassirer

Producer, Musician

Recent Projects:
Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim,Erin McKeown

"As Great North develops over time,Apogee continues to provide the perfect conversion tools for the needs of the studio. When I first moved in, the place was mostly a small project studio,so the Ensemble was perfect because it offers awesome sounding converters AND four great mic preamps. As the studio grows and upgrades,the AD-16x's are perfect for using with Pro Tools..and sounding amazing.Apogee seems to have great gear for every step of the recording process,even in an unconventional and unique space like Great North."

Jonathan Miller

Composer, Producer

Recent Projects:
Verminators : Discovery Channel, Flip That House : TLC

"I can count on the Ensemble for fantastically-detailed sound when composing for a wide variety of projects. From sci-fi, industrial electronica for Verminators on the Discovery Channel; or rock and funk cues for Flip That House on TLC...The Ensemble performs beautifully! I've used the onboard mic preamps to record everything from toy piano to tabla, and I've always been impressed with the performance."

Andrea Pejrolo

Composer, Producer, Author, Music Educator

Recent Projects:
Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer", Strongholds Band, iAcousticA Studio Drum Library, Mosaic Musical

"As a composer, producer and Music Technology author I always need the best sound possible at any given moment of the production process. I finally found the Golden Grail of Sound with the Apogee Ensemble. For my recent work as author, "Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer" I created more than 100 music examples to demonstrate the techniques explained in the book. The Ensemble played a crucial role at both the production and the mastering stage where the highest clarity and full sound were essential. Its seamless integration with Logic Pro and its amazing surround sound capabilities make it my best buddy in the studio. This is the best sounding interface I have worked with in a long time: way to go Apogee!"

Dave Tozer

Producer, Songwriter, Musician

Recent Projects:
John Legend, George Stanford, Natasha Bedingfield, Ashley Hartman, Free Sol, Jazmine Sullivan

"The Apogee Ensemble provides everything I need in an audio interface. It has just the right balance of simplicity and capability. It's unmatched by any other interface in its price range. The combination of Apogee's top quality conversion combined with Ensemble's integration with Logic Pro makes the Ensemble my audio interface of choice."

Hanan Rubinstein

Producer, Mixer, Songwriter

Recent Projects:
Leela James, DMX, Talan Torriero and own record

"My latest journey took me to Germany where I worked with the GIBSON Entertainment Relations Staff and have been using their studio. Here, I learned how truly amazing the APOGEE ENSEMBLE works. To me, there is simply no better and more thoughtful mobile interface right now. It has enough power and flexibility to record an entire band on site but also is small enough to be my new "hotel room rig" when I am back on the road, and all that without compromising sound or functionality."

Greg Beaton

Sound Designer, Producer, Songwriter

Recent Projects:
Sound Design, "The Yellow Wallpaper," Joe Gasparik, The Motels

"The Apogee Ensemble is truly the backbone of my studio. Having already used it on a number of projects, I now rely on it to such a degree that I wouldn't know what to do without it.

On a recent film project, The Yellow Wallpaper, I used the Ensemble to record ADR, foley, music and sound design elements, as well as trust it to truthfully represent my work as I edited & mixed. The Ensemble's unflinching accuracy enabled me to create sound design & music sub-mixes that were so "on the money" that our re-recording mixer didn't even have to touch the levels. And my work sounded even BETTER when we screened it in a THX theater at 20th Century Fox. I absolutely couldn't believe it!

I couldn't be more happy with the sound of my first feature & I've gotten so many compliments as well. Thank you Apogee for making such a phenomenal product at such an affordable price. "

Fernand Bos

Music Editor, Musician

Recent Projects:
We Are Marshall, The Sentinel, Elektra, Ladykillers

"When it came to choosing converters for my new studio, the decision was easy. I've been a fan of Apogee since the AD8000, and the Ensemble combines the Apogee sound quality with an incredible feature set."

Paul Beard

Keyboardist, Singer

Recent Projects:
Touring with James Blunt

"I've been using various audio interfaces over the last few years, but for me the Apogee Ensemble has proved itself to be a real leap in sound quality. It's obvious that the AD/DA converters are of an excellent grade and the soft limiting option is a real plus when I'm screaming out my latest and greatest for the local residents (mainly trees and squirrels). Hats off to the creators of this fine piece of audio gear for making it so simple to use, and the well thought out integration with Apple's Logic Pro made it really quick to set up and operate. Especially useful when you've been traveling around as much as we have!"

Mike Elizondo

Producer, Songwriter, Musician

Recent Projects:
Flipsyde, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Nas, Eminem, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes

"The Apogee Ensemble is what I've been waiting for. An audio interface that's reliable and sound quality unmatched by its competitors. It's with me at all times."

Felix Brenner

Composer, Mixer, Producer

Recent Projects:
Film Score, "The Death of Salvador Dali", The Shins, Concrete Blonde, STEFY

"I have been so incredibly happy with the Ensemble, you could not imagine. The sound has taken all of my mixes and compositions to another level. It is an amazing piece of engineering. I bought the Ensemble because I am a Logic user and I need the best possible sound. The Apogee sound is unprecedented and extremely present in the Ensemble. It has all the quality, features, and ease of use that I have been looking for. The direct integration with Logic lets me do more - faster and better. I can't wait to use it on my next scoring job."