Universal Audio Apollo Solo Setup Guide for Mac
Setting up your Universal Audio Apollo Solo with the Vox Boy VB-1 only needs to be done once. After installation, your portable voice-over studio is designed to be simple: open the case, connect your Mac, launch your recording software, and get to work.
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Universal Audio Apollo Solo + Plug-Ins — Part 1: Install & Activate Your Apollo Solo
[ DOWNLOAD THE PDF GUIDE PART 1 ]
This illustrated Vox Boy Quick Start Guide walks you through the complete Apollo Solo installation and activation process for Mac + Thunderbolt, from your first connection through confirming that your microphone signal is working correctly.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to:
- Prepare an Apple Silicon Mac for Universal Audio software
- Install and sign in to UA Connect
- Register your Universal Audio Apollo Solo
- Install the required UAD DSP plug-ins, drivers, and UAD Console
- Approve Universal Audio software in macOS Privacy & Security
- Complete an Apollo Solo firmware update if prompted
- Configure your Vox Boy SC-1 microphone with 48V phantom power
- Set a healthy voice-over recording level
- Confirm your Apollo Solo is working with your preferred recording software
Designed for Vox Boy VB-1
This guide applies to Vox Boy VB-1 systems using the Apollo Solo with Mac + Thunderbolt.
Apple Silicon users — including M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 Macs — should begin with Step 1 in the guide, which covers the required macOS startup security setting before installing Universal Audio software. Intel Mac users can proceed directly to the UA Connect installation step.
A Good Voice-Over Starting Level
Once your Apollo is installed, open UAD Console, select the microphone input, enable 48V phantom power for the Vox Boy SC-1, and slowly increase your gain.
For a starting point, Vox Boy recommends setting your level so that your loudest voice-over peaks land at approximately -12 dB without clipping.
Once you complete Part 1, continue to:
Part 2 — UAD Plug-Ins + Vox Boy Voice-Over Processing
Part 2 will cover installing and authorizing your Universal Audio plug-ins and loading the Vox Boy recommended starting processing chain.
The final page of your manual specifically takes the user through MIC input selection, 48V for the SC-1, a roughly -12 dB peak target, recording a test, and then directs them to Part 2 for plug-ins and Vox Boy processing.