Universal Audio LA-610 with free UAD card- worth it?

[MRBaudio]

So I see UAudio is doing this special- buy a 610- get a free UAD duo card... two things I definitely want to buy- but don't NEED to buy...

Should I do it anyway?


Anyone have experience with the 610 mkII version? I've only worked with older ones

[RightOnRome]

yea that add drives me crazy when i see it up above..i bought mine years ago.. i use the la610mk2 for snare,acu gtr, sometimes i use the pre for vocal but its real bright and i like to hit eq or distressor then back and use the t4 as a leveling amp.. cant stand it on electric gtrs.. bass,kick sound good .. as is .. the price is a little steep.. but with the card combo.. much better deal..

[leonardo777]

Originally Posted by MRBaudio

So I see UAudio is doing this special- buy a 610- get a free UAD duo card... two things I definitely want to buy- but don't NEED to buy...

Should I do it anyway?


Anyone have experience with the 610 mkII version? I've only worked with older ones

I will buy it, it's a good bang for the buck and the pre is very flexible with a top class compressor.

[MoretimeProd]

I bought it and Im happy with it, love the 610s for Vocals, Accoustic Guitars, but also for bass and electric guitar, especially when you totally punch the shizzle out of the preamp's tubes.

[MRBaudio]

Yeah, I think I'm going to do it... there's nothing steering me away... plus I can get a really good price that's near impossible to refuse.

[Classic]

The LA-610 is still one of my favorite pieces of gear... one of those "worth every penny" purchases, at least for me.

[scruffydog]

I had this on Demo....recently bought it.
It's fairly versatile and very quiet.
The card thrown in makes it a much more attractive proposition obviously.
Would i have bought it without the card at this price?
Mmm....just maybe.
I also have an aged ISA 430 and always struggled with it so i wanted to change something....I also use a U87.

Right now i have the U87 into the 610 then to Midas Venice F with TLA valve EQ on the insert into Logic.
Playing back through the Venice F with a distressor inserted.
Also Uad Neve88rs with Waves Rdesser on the channel.

I feel it could go well....need a bit more flying time....and a LOT of melodyne!!!!

[hasbeen]

FWIW, the UAD plugs are incredible and fun to use, experiment with and collect. I waste too much time exploring these things but the results are well worth it.

If you ever decide to sell the LA-610, the resale value is respectable. I ended up selling mine only because I have a slew of tube gear that I use more.

[Cameron Johnson]

Oh God YES. Totally worth the money. Fun, easy, and sounds great. I think you'd really have to screw something up to get a BAD sound with it. And the UAD plugs are pretty cool, too. Sure, not outboard, but just as fun and easy as some high-end gear.

[DeadPoet]

I got 2x 610's with a duo card last year. Sold one of the cards. The two 610's make a very nice addition to my desk (D&R Orion) and outboard (4x SCA N72 and 4x SCA A12). They are never my first choice in tracking (the N72's usually are) but are great in drum sessions and while mixing.



Herwig

[popote_jr]

Pulled the trigger on one yesterday, mainly because of the free UAD card - music is a seldom paying hobby for me.

Tried it as a bass DI....

WOW!!!!!

One pass with it gave me a better sounding bass than anything I've recorded before, without adding eq/compression.

A keeper, as I'm a big fan of getting the greatest sound possible at the source.

[baskervils]

I love the LA-610. Love it.

[Billy Buck]

I recently pulled the trigger on this latest UA promotion. I had been wanting to get a nice professional channel strip front end for my DAW rig, for the longest time, but could never really justify the cost for what I really wanted. UA throwing in the free UAD-2 DUO and then finding a great deal from an online pro audio retailer (35% off list with free shipping and no sales tax) made it a no brainer for me. It is certainly a classy looking piece of kit and I am loving the sounds I am getting from it, on my bass guitar & vocals so far. I have not tried it on my acoustic guitars yet, but I am sure it will be a step up than going straight into my Delta 66 inputs (as I have been doing when recording anything audio).

Cheers,

Billy Buck

[sleepyhollos]

I've often looked at that deal when it comes up and thought about buying one to make a pair. I personally don't fancy them on bass DI but I think it can't be beaten on a 57 infront of a cabinet recording some clean or slightly driven electric guitars or with a u87 close micing am Ampeg cab cranked.

I'm not really into the whole UAD thing but I've often considered buying it then selling the UAD.

You should go for it. You won't be disappointed with the 610. Though it's one of the pres in my studio that can completely f*ck up a track if you get the gain staging of it wrong, once you learn how to use it you can get make great character sounding recordings with it.

Go for it!!!.... Or not! :o)

[MRBaudio]

Alright, I did it! I just got off the phone with my GC Pro guy- ordered! Hopefully arriving tomorrow... I'm really excited.


Question to any of you that got did the free UAD deal... how long did it take to receive your card after you sent in the paperwork? Right now the UAD plugs are probably going to be more useful than the preamp as I'm really just mixing and finishing up projects for the rest of the year.

Thanks!

[Billy Buck]

Originally Posted by MRBaudio

Alright, I did it! I just got off the phone with my GC Pro guy- ordered! Hopefully arriving tomorrow... I'm really excited.

Congrats!

Question to any of you that got did the free UAD deal... how long did it take to receive your card after you sent in the paperwork? Right now the UAD plugs are probably going to be more useful than the preamp as I'm really just mixing and finishing up projects for the rest of the year.

Typically, it can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. I remember reading some posts from upset folks that had taken advantage of UA's previous "Buy a 6176 and get a free UAD-2 QUAD" offer saying that they had waited 12 weeks or more. UA claimed that the promotion was way more popular than they anticipated and the QUAD cards were on "backorder". Well that is great for UA's business success, but not so great for the end user experience waiting on their promised UAD-2 card. I would think UA has learned from past mistakes and has pre-positioned a boatload of DUO cards that can be sent out as rebate forms come in. Afterall, each new card is another potential customer buying more plug-ins on their online webshop.
I believe European customers get the free DUO at the time that they purchase a new LA-610 MkII. I wish American customers were treated the same way and not have to go through the whole time consuming mail-in rebate non-sense. It has been about two weeks since I sent in my rebate form. It would be nice to get it by Christmas, but I am thinking more like mid-January is when I will get it.

I would send in the rebate form as soon as you get your LA-610 MkII out of the box and get the serial number off of it. When my new LA-610 arrived, I already had the rebate form and invoice ready to go in an addressed and stamped envelope. I just needed to get the serial number to finish it off.

Cheers,

Billy Buck

[Jorg]

I would get it just for the LA 610 alone. Love mine. Sounds great with low gain and comes to live when driven a bit harder.

The UAD has become a quite expensive system with the current plugin prices. Maybe try it and see if you prefer the plugins much over what you already have, if not, just sell the UAD.

[dingbass]

Originally Posted by MRBaudio

Alright, I did it! I just got off the phone with my GC Pro guy- ordered! Hopefully arriving tomorrow... I'm really excited.


Question to any of you that got did the free UAD deal... how long did it take to receive your card after you sent in the paperwork? Right now the UAD plugs are probably going to be more useful than the preamp as I'm really just mixing and finishing up projects for the rest of the year.

Thanks!

I bought the 6176 offer a few months back and the UAD arrived in a week or so. I was really surprised by how fast it came.

[RightOnRome]

yes its a nice strip.. infact if any of you have a sE3 ..pad it , put it on snare top like you would a 57 , pad the la610 ..and check out the fatness .. i love it .. also great on acu gtr,bass,vocal

[Ryan Gregory]

I was thinking about snatching an LA-610 myself, but then a bunch of people started telling me how my converters were gonna still bring down my sound quality (profire 2626) and now I am leaning towards a 4-710d

[MRBaudio]

Awesome. Arrived yesterday, turned it on and plugged in my cheap Rode NT1A... I literally didn't touch a single knob, just the level after I plugged it in... grabbed my Martin J40 acoustic and started playing, I was BLOWN AWAY. After a few short minutes of tweaking, using the EQ and comp, I got some amazing sound. Honestly, I was more blown away about the fact it made my cheap NT1A sound like, well... NOT a cheap NT1A haha. 99% of my work is mixing, so I don't bother spending money on mic's and gear for tracking.

All I gotta say is, wow... what a great pre. I've used the 2-610 and 6176 a million times, but I've gotta say the opto compressor with the 610 pre in the LA-610 is my favorite. I was truly blown away with the quality, and for $1,300- can't beat it.

Will let you know when I get the UAD duo, putting the rebate card in the mail today. I've played around with their plugs before at other rooms, but never had it myself to truly sit down and actually put them to use. I'm excited to give them a true test run!

[hasbeen]

Congrats on the purchase. It won't be long before you are lusting after the UAD plugs in the online store. I can't say enough about these gems.

[3dsound]

I just bought mine 4 weeks ago after reading every comment here on GS for weeks… So now I have it and that's a good reason to write my first comment in here to share some thoughts...

Initially I was worried because i felt it was still quite expensive given the comments you can read here at GS about possible weakness of build quality. Then I took it for a test-drive and fell in love with the sound. It's so versatile and at least in the MKII-version I have to say that the knobs feel oh-so-smooth… lovely ) Great to put your hands on every day!

When tracking vocals I like to be able to decide instinctively how "deep" i will go into compression. And with the 610 I really enjoyed every vocal session so far: Sometimes I have it at gain reduction of zero and just leave it there. But sometimes just so that you can feel the GR-Meter moving a millimeter or so. But The MKII start's to sound really great when you drive it hard! So sometimes it's nice to just dive in I never enjoyed that so much with my other preamps.

Wouldn't use it for classical music, though. For that I will stick with my Studers.

[s_sibs]

I bought one towards the end of October. I've used it quite a bit since then. I'm very happy with the sound. I've used it mostly on vocals (lead and background) as well as on kick drum for a retro, 4-mic drum kit session. Very pleased so far.

I sent in my rebate form/copy of receipt for the UAD-2 Duo on October 31 and haven't received anything in the mail yet. I felt a little like I was 10 years old ordering something from the back of a comic book where I mail in an order form and 'wait 6-8 weeks for delivery'.

[007]

Originally Posted by Ryan Gregory

I was thinking about snatching an LA-610 myself, but then a bunch of people started telling me how my converters were gonna still bring down my sound quality (profire 2626) and now I am leaning towards a 4-710d

A bunch of people will always have to say a bunch of things about a bunch of things.
With that in mind, I would take that converter comment with a grain of salt.
The Profire series are actually very decent, great recordings have been made with less.
Adding an LA-610 will certainly be a nice addition, imo.

We have one at our modest studio and it's our go-to preamp for most things, going into an Mbox Pro3.
The latter's pres are actually usable, but nothing like the quality of the UA.

It's nice to have great stand-alone converters, but a good mic feeding a great preamp in a good room properly placed tracking great talent will have a much bigger footprint on your recording.

[Rednose]

Well I took the plunge yesterday at the last minute and got the LA 610 MK at GC.

It was the LAST day of the promotion
Haven't had a chance to use it yet seeing as I got it on New Years Eve at about 4pm, but I'll chime in when I get the chance.

I sold my solo 610 and a few other things to get this bad boy.
I felt the solo 610 was a nice pre, but overloaded way to easily.
I was always having to put a pad in front of it with a moderate singer and a U87.

Hopefully with the -15db pad that will take care of it.
I'm looking forward to checking it out, but I do wish I could use the comp by itself for mixing.
How long will I have to wait for my free card???????

[dimag333]

bought it, hold on to the card for a few months to get the most out of it on ebay

[Earcatcher]

My dealer gave me a nice discount instead of the card. Probably not what UA had in mind, but I was very happy with the absolute bottom price I paid for the LA-610 MKII now (under € 900.-). I already had a UAD card from another promotion and don't use it much. The dealer is going to sell it separately and will make a good profit as well.

[dimag333]

the card comes from ua, not sure how your dealer did that, doesn't make any sense

[Earcatcher]

Originally Posted by dimag333

the card comes from ua, not sure how your dealer did that, doesn't make any sense

In Europe the card comes with the purchase. No rebate coupons or anything.