UA-la610 signature edition

[everman]

Anyone pick up this new vertion of the la 610 yet,and if so how does it sound like in comparison to the oridginal.And what makes it more interesting inside.

[tsol]

i picked up one just today

can't really compare it to the original LA610 as i have never owned one, but.. as first impression, what i can say after i plugged in my ES-175 ... is that unexplainable roundness , loudness and warmth .. as i have never heard before... its .... its just amazing

[boyinthebox]

I picked up 2 of the SE's about a month or so ago and I have been blown away. I absolutely love them. I am in a similar boat though as I have not used the original silverface in almost 2 years, so my comparison is subjective at best. I do feel though, that the SE's are a large step ahead of the original 610. Congratulations on your purchase tsol, if you react the way that I have, you will only become happier and more excited everytime you use it.

Cheers.

[corruptmary]

Thanks to the NOS tubes, the LA-610SE is a little "dirtier" sounding, although the original is not necessarily super clean either. I tried it on my vocals using a TLM-49. Liked both, preferred the original, actually.

[JMc]

I bought one when they were first released and played with it for a few weeks, but it didn't do the trick for me. I wound up with an LA-2A instead. THAT does the trick for me. It kept it out of the rack and in perfect condition. Sweetwater charged me a restocking fee of $150, claiming that there were light scratches on one of the side panels. B.S. I really wish I would have taken pics before I sent it back. My sales rep apologized and said that he hadn't been able to take a look because it had already been re-sold. So, if anyone winds up with serial #201, make sure you got a great deal on it because I had to pay over $200 (including shipping both ways and the bogus re-stocking fee for the priviledge of trying it out briefly. The salesman offered to make it up to me in a discount if I wanted to buy something else. Not today.

[popmann]

Anyone with one want to pop it and see what 12ax7s they're using?

I've got an original LA610...it has GE 6072 and the weird one...but, the three 12ax7s are completely unmarked. I've been meaning to get some NOSs for it, but other than JAN 12ax7s are a bit too rich for my blood. I wonder if they stuck with JAN/GE tubes for the SEs...

[popmann]

Experiemented with JAN AT7s I had around. Night and day better. FWIW. Richer, truer midrange. Did reduce the gain a bit all around, but I still had ample gain for vocals with an Sm7b, for perspective. If I can get by with the less gain, $36 in at7s is certainly more costeffective than $120 in Ax7s.

[Jorg]

I love the sound of the 610. Unfortunately I won't be able to demo a 610 signature. If I love the 610, would I love the 610 signature even more? or is it just different altogether?

[airmate]

it's interesting. i compared them side by side and i found the signature edition to sound a bit cleaner. at the least the one that i had in my studio was a bit more "hi-fi" sounding, it had a more open top end compared to the regular unit.

that being said, i actually preferred the regular version. but i purchased neither of them - i already have an la-2a and a pair of la-3a. so there was no use in getting another opto of this kind. the preamp and especially the eq are pretty nice, though.

[Jorg]

Would you say that the differences were rather subtle or huge?

[airmate]

Originally Posted by Jorg

Would you say that the differences were rather subtle or huge?

it was definitely not a "night and day" difference, but it was clearly audible.
i can't really say that i would prefer one over the other. both versions sound great in my ears, maybe i'm slightly biased to the fat and round tone of the regular version, but that's just a matter of taste.

i think the la-610 is a GREAT tool. i can see why some people do not like the preamp, but i think it sounds awesome. maybe it's not the right tool for each and every application, but when it works it works damn well - and the eq is sooo sweet!

bottom line: the la-610 ist not only a great bang for the buck channel strip. if you like its character, it compares very well to much more expensive options.
if i didn't already own a couple of universal audio opto compressors, i'd probably get at least one la-610 in a heartbeat.

[Jorg]

Thanks for the info.

I had a la-610 here over the weekend and i loved it. I need one pre only for vocal recordings. only ever record female vocals really. The music is I do is kinda pop dance stuff.
I wouldn't mind spending the extra money on the signature edition. I just hope I'd like it as much as the regular one. But if the signature is "more hi-fi" then that could be a good thing in my case.

[Art Johan]

I love mine

[visiblesound]

I love the LA-610. I bought a ton of gear lately and kind of did a shoot-out for tracking bass, vocals, acoustic guitar, and processing digital tracks (drums and guitars done with plugins, not mic'd). The LA-610 was at the top of my list, and one of the few units I kept. It's just really easy to use, and sounds great. The mic pre is fairly versatile, and sounds great, and I love the EQ. The limiter is really useful especially for gentle dynamic control while tracking. It can actually add some punch to bass if you drive it just right as well. I would recommend this channel strip to anyone. A best value in my opinion.

Pete

[Jorg]

I've just ordered an LA-610 SE. I was told it was one of the last ones out there. I was the last one I could find in the UK anyway.
Now it's wait and see if I like it as much as the regular one but I guess I will.

[DONNX]

Originally Posted by JMc

I bought one when they were first released and played with it for a few weeks, but it didn't do the trick for me. I wound up with an LA-2A instead. THAT does the trick for me. It kept it out of the rack and in perfect condition. Sweetwater charged me a restocking fee of $150, claiming that there were light scratches on one of the side panels. B.S. I really wish I would have taken pics before I sent it back. My sales rep apologized and said that he hadn't been able to take a look because it had already been re-sold. So, if anyone winds up with serial #201, make sure you got a great deal on it because I had to pay over $200 (including shipping both ways and the bogus re-stocking fee for the priviledge of trying it out briefly. The salesman offered to make it up to me in a discount if I wanted to buy something else. Not today.

Dude that sucks.

[fhames]

I have a couple silver-face LA-610's and have been very happy with them. Would love to A/B with the SE.

[MWPROJECT]

Sweetwater did that to me on some gear once as well.

[Mils]

Originally Posted by airmate

it's interesting. i compared them side by side and i found the signature edition to sound a bit cleaner. at the least the one that i had in my studio was a bit more "hi-fi" sounding, it had a more open top end compared to the regular unit.
..the preamp and especially the eq are pretty nice, though.

Originally Posted by boyinthebox

I picked up 2 of the SE's about a month or so ago and I have been blown away. I absolutely love them.....I do feel though, that the SE's are a large step ahead of the original 610.
Cheers.

Now thats what I wanna hear from boyinthe boxy!! And airmate letting us know his a/b was that the SE's are little more "hi-f"i and cleaner, with a little more open top end!!!! That sounds like a recipe for a previous owner of the silverface 610 to be BLOWN AWAY!!! I can't wait, it's like x-mas!

My only regret is that I dont have the finances right now to get another one so I can have a pair!!! I'll probably end up finding a way

[RokZtaR]

Hi All,

I just joined your site specifically for this thread although I'm sure it will be useful in the future as well. There is not much else out there about the SE version.

I have found a brand new LA610 SE for $1999. This retailer also has an MKII for $1500. My question is, do you think it's worth the extra $500? I understand there are NOS tubes in the SE as well as Cinemag transformers. I also read that the MKII has a combination of Cinemag transformers and something else.

I'm definitely going to pull the trigger on one or the other but just looking for further info.

Thanks,

ROK

[Jorg]

Originally Posted by RokZtaR

Hi All,

I just joined your site specifically for this thread although I'm sure it will be useful in the future as well. There is not much else out there about the SE version.

I have found a brand new LA610 SE for $1999. This retailer also has an MKII for $1500. My question is, do you think it's worth the extra $500? I understand there are NOS tubes in the SE as well as Cinemag transformers. I also read that the MKII has a combination of Cinemag transformers and something else.

I'm definitely going to pull the trigger on one or the other but just looking for further info.

Thanks,

ROK

I'd love to know myself. Best email UA directly to get first hand info.

[Wilburguy]

I bought one a year ago, used it for 4 months and sold it. It has a sound, a strong one. I would describe it as dark and slow, and as it turned out, too dark and slow for anything I wanted to use it on except for bass and a few vocals. The gain staging was touchy, the input was really easy to overdrive into distortion and I found myself needing to pad it a lot. All in all I did not find it to be a good "all purpose" device but rather a strong color that worked every once in awhile.

I bought a BAE 1073 as my "channel of color" and I am much happier.