UA LA-610 & LA-2A Best Hardware For The Job?

[craven]

Arent these 2 pieces the absolute best pre's/limiters i can get? I read that they are top choices, industry standard and BEASTS!

I will be purchasing at least one of these pieces in the next 4 months.

Can i use the LA-610 to slam a track once its all mastered and perfect?

Or will i need the LA-2A?

I have access to the LA-610 brand new for 1300 shipped. also if i was to use the LA-2A how would i use it to slam a track? would i just do left and right channel out of my pro tools rack, then out from the limiter to the inserts on my pro tools rack? and do some bus routing in the software?


can i ask for some sound samples? like just vocals and then some other stuff?

let me hear it in action! thanks!

[MarkyGoldstein]

I depends on what you want to record. I think for vocals there is better stuff but again this is also depends on the vocals themselves. I just experienced myself that changing one piece in the chain, for example the microphone, can also again change your preamp, etc. Get good gear and learn their characteristics and combine with your instincts.

[IndigoBandit]

The LA-610 is a channel strip, so it's got the LA limiter in it already, along with the 610 preamp. I wouldn't think you'd need the LA-2A as well.

[superwack]

Honestly I am not sure if you are serious or not... LA610 is a channel strip (pre, basic EQ and opto compressor) LA-2A is only an opto compressor so they are totally different things. both can be great depending on what you are going for and can add a great vintage tube flavor... The comp in the 610 is based on the LA2a and are both program dependent slow-ish comps that wouldn't really be used to "slam" a track (especially mastered and perfect sounding ones). If you are looking to crush drums, etc something like an 1176 or distressor might be more the sound you are looking for and if you do want the 610 pre check out the UA 6176

[McDingus]

Are you kidding?

The last comp that will ever take being slammed is the LA2A... worst choice for the job. la-610 or la2a. Horrible for that. In fact horrible for all your intents and purposes.

You are 100% off track...

More learning, less buying.

[craven]

what is the LA-610 good for than? What is the 6176 for?

[RobF]

Originally Posted by McDingus

More learning, less buying.

[craven]

What about the Avalon 737?


Also I want something that j can make drums fat with. Send each track one at a time through the comp and fattening, but also want a great pre. Any thoughts? That's the direction I am going.

[WhiteLieMusic]

What do you mean send each track through the 737? You talking about tracking live drums? In that case you be able to use the 737 for one mic only....kinda confusing what youre asking....

Like dude said do some more researching. For "slamming" your mix if you even really want to do that do a search on buss compressors. Every compressor or strip you mentioned is a single channel and certainly isn't good for putting on the mastet bus with a pair.

[WhiteLieMusic]

Ill also add you just named some major high end equipment that ia used in major studios by professionals.. If youre asking these kind of questions you should really do some research on channel strips and types of compressors BEFORE investing thousands into something that you dont full know how to use...

[Ward Pike]

Perhaps a better question to ask would be "What's the best stereo comp/limiter" for slammin/crushin/brick-wall-limited drums?

I think there may be threads already on that topic; which you can find using the search function

As for the 610 being the industry standard in a microphone pre? Errr.... not exactly. That dubious honor is normally afforded to the Neve 1073 and it's many clones such as the fantastic Vintech X73/X73i. I'm not saying the 1073 family deserves it or is all you need (because they are VERY colored) but that's where the title normally goes.

Best of luck!

Ward

[craven]

i just picked up 3 plugins.

softube CL1B

&

abbeyroad rs124 compressor

&

abbeyroad emi pristine plugins pack

will these be good enough to get me by until i get top gear? i mean for limiting the track right at the end of the master?

[McDingus]

Originally Posted by craven

i just picked up 3 plugins.

softube CL1B

&

abbeyroad rs124 compressor

&

abbeyroad emi pristine plugins pack

will these be good enough to get me by until i get top gear? i mean for limiting the track right at the end of the master?

That was actually a much better decision.

Your problem is you don't understand how to USE the tools you have.

Practice. Listen. Read (and not here).

Rinse and repeat.

Fat drums start with... wait for it... FAT DRUMS.

Try parallel compression. Learn about delay compensation so they sound right.

Put compression on the drum bus.

Compress the snare.

Roll/EQ off the low bottom of the kick- maybe add top end for punch/knock.

If this is all new to you, put your wallet in your pocket for a good long time.

And stop, stop, stop saying "Until I get top gear".

If you can't fly and buy a stealth bomber- you will still lose the war while never getting off the ground.

And finally- if your tracks don't sound GREAT to begin with, gear ain't gonna help.

Log off. Practice. And don't come back until you want bad advice at ahigh price from people playing doctor.

[craven]

Originally Posted by McDingus

That was actually a much better decision.

Your problem is you don't understand how to USE the tools you have.

Practice. Listen. Read (and not here).

Rinse and repeat.

Fat drums start with... wait for it... FAT DRUMS.

Try parallel compression. Learn about delay compensation so they sound right.

Put compression on the drum bus.

Compress the snare.

Roll/EQ off the low bottom of the kick- maybe add top end for punch/knock.

If this is all new to you, put your wallet in your pocket for a good long time.

And stop, stop, stop saying "Until I get top gear".

If you can't fly and buy a stealth bomber- you will still lose the war while never getting off the ground.

And finally- if your tracks don't sound GREAT to begin with, gear ain't gonna help.

Log off. Practice. And don't come back until you want bad advice at ahigh price from people playing doctor.

i dont compress on the bus track i compress every individual piece. i dont do paralel compression.

but i know all about frequencies and proper tuning while tracking. i just dont know how to properly tune drums.

[jrod9900]

McDingus definitely has it right. A fat drum sound starts with FAT DRUMS. And to get a big, fat drum sound, you need a great recording of a great sounding kit.

If you want punch from your drums, then you will probably want to compress every drum individually. I've learned FROM EXPERIENCE and EXPERIMENTING that just throwing a compressor on the drum buss at the end and slamming it makes a very crappy sounding slamming drum buss.

I know that we all want a big, fat, punchy, and slammin' drum track. I do a lot of rock and pop, this is quite important to me. The more I mix, the more I learn what not to do.

My drum tracks consist of a bit of compression during tracking to minimize big peaks. During mixing, I add another 1-3db on every drum (some a bit more like kick or snare) to get a little more punch. Attack and release will really help with the punch. Took me a long time to figure that out.

Then, once all my individual drums sound good together, I will throw an 1176 on top of the drum mix to get another 1 or 2 dB of reduction. Then, to finish it off, I add a bit of parallel compression alongside of it.

The process I just went through does take a much longer time than just squashing the piss outta the drum buss, but it sounds 1,000 times better and sounds like a real drumkit that is huge, not a fakely huge drum sound.

I will be honest, I used to think like you, that better gear would give me better sounds. A good engineer can make any good tool (including free PT plugs) sound good. It's how you use the tools you have.

Also, I have the LA-610. It's an amazing piece. I use it all the time for bass and vox. It depends on what sound you are going for. You can definitely use it in a lot of applications. I've always been able to get great sounds out of mine, but it was with a good mic, into a good convertor, etc...

Do yourself a favor and spend the time to learn what you have. I still learn more every time I work on a session. That's how you learn. Buying "top gear" isn't going to help you if you don't know how to really use it! I learned that the hard way!!!

JROD