API A2D or Pacifica or LA-610 or Portico

[Marrone]

Dear gearslutz,

I really need a new preamp. The main function of this preamp will be for recording vocals and occasionally Bass. Furthermore i would like to use this preamp to rerecord ITB sound like drums etc. What preamp would you advice. I do R&B and Pop. Thanks!!

Cheers,

Marrone

[projuice]

The portico 5016 would be a good option for what you want to do 1ch of verry nice preamp and the other channel di for nice for routing your itb sounds trew or recording bass

[SoundUniverse]

I have the 512 , Portico 5012 and the LA-610. They are all good for different things (get them all) , but the Portico is what I use the most for vocals, acoustic guitar and drum overheads. You basically get two flavors with the Portico (silk in/ silk out).

I use the 512's for drums and the LA-610 for direct bass (mostly) and some vocals

[liquidorange]

the pacifica can do no wrong. except for the bubbling face plate on mine.

[markk]

IMHO I would say If you could only afford one of these pres listed. Get the Pacifica. It is great for just about everything.
The UA6176 has the same pre as the LA610 but has an 1176 compressor instead of the LA2Aish comp. You would find it very useful since you can run the 1176 independent of the 610 if you want.
Depending on the mic you are using it can be very nice on R&B and Pop vocals and its a killer on Bass. Would also be very good for ITB drums. The 6176 is a real work horse.

[Marrone]

Originally Posted by markk

IMHO I would say If you could only afford one of these pres listed. Get the Pacifica. It is great for just about everything.
The UA6176 has the same pre as the LA610 but has an 1176 compressor instead of the LA2Aish comp. You would find it very useful since you can run the 1176 independent of the 610 if you want.
Depending on the mic you are using it can be very nice on R&B and Pop vocals and its a killer on Bass. Would also be very good for ITB drums. The 6176 is a real work horse.

Which would be better for vocals and bass. The la-610 or the 6176?

[robot gigante]

I've used the Pacifica, the LA-610 and API pre's, but not the Portico. They're all really great options, my personal choice especially for vocals and bass would be a Pacifica (and a Purple MC77 for compression).

[pan60]

i have the LA-610 and the A-Designs P-1.

the P-1 is very close to the Pacifica but not the same.
based on what i have, the Pacifica hands down.

although it is a nice pre i seldom us my LA-610 anymore.

[daillman]

i have the la 610 and the pacifica,they both sound great and at the same time different.i had the 610 before the pacifica and did very nice recordings on it from vocals to bass to mpc2000xl .but since the pacifica arrived used in conjunction with my a r t pro vla my ua is used less but still used i will probaly use it when the new pacifica bug wears off but you cant go wrong with either.

[markk]

Originally Posted by Marrone

Which would be better for vocals and bass. The la-610 or the 6176?

The M610 Pre in both the 6176 and the LA610 are the same. IMO the comp in the LA610 is not as good as the 1176 comp in the 6176. As well you cant run the LA2ish comp independently from the pre like you can with the 6176.
I have a UA LA2A and an UA 1176 and the LA comp in the LA 610 does not sound like the UA LA2A but the 1176 comp in the 6176 sounds identical to my UA 1176.

To answer your question, both would be great for R&B\Pop Vocals and Bass but you will get much more mileage out of the 6176.

Regarding the Pacifica:
I have a P1, which to my ears sounds very close to the Pacifica and for all intensive purposes could be called a Pacifica with out the bragging rights. This a wonderful pre for pretty much everything but the M610 Pre in the 6176 really rocks on Bass IMO. The P1 works better for a variety of mics for vocals whereas the M610 is a little more picky on mics. The Peluso 22 47LA and the 2 251 work excellent on the M610.

[jazztone]

I just wanted to add, the 610 in the LA does not sound exactly like the M610. It is voiced brighter and works excellent with a rich mic. Also the Compressor can be used without but not at the same time as the pre. You switch the unit to line in and it is actually much less colored that way versus within the Preamp circut driving a MIC. For this reason the unit is excellent as a vocal or bass compressor at mixdown. No the built in LA2ish comp does not sound like a real LA2A (it's missing the hair), that's what's cool about it. In places where the LA2A would be too thick this circut shines. Just a thought.

Jazztone

[markk]

Originally Posted by jazztone

I just wanted to add, the 610 in the LA does not sound exactly like the M610. It is voiced brighter and works excellent with a rich mic. Also the Compressor can be used without but not at the same time as the pre. You switch the unit to line in and it is actually much less colored that way versus within the Preamp circut driving a MIC. For this reason the unit is excellent as a vocal or bass compressor at mixdown. No the built in LA2ish comp does not sound like a real LA2A (it's missing the hair), that's what's cool about it. In places where the LA2A would be too thick this circut shines. Just a thought.

Jazztone

You are correct about the comp in the LA610 being able to run by itself bypassing the pre. How I should have worded it was that you cannot run the pre and comp independently at the same time thus making the 6176 more flexible imho.

Also, I was incorrect when I said "M610" which is the version without eq which is not in either the 6176 or the LA610.
You are correct in stating the pre in the LA610 is voiced higher than the M610 but I’m not aware that the pre in the LA610 is voiced higher than the pre in the 6176.

When I was choosing between the two, the pres sounded the same, have the exact features and UA says the pre in the LA610 comes from the 6176.

That being said they may have done some tweaks that I’m unaware of.

Bottom line is they are both excellent on vocals and bass. I have yet to have the pre sound any good with ribbons though. Lacks the gain, at least on my unit.