Great River ME-1NV vs UA 610 SOLO

[skinnypete]

I highly recommend going after the sound, and not tripping about the meter thing. Anyways the solo 610 does have a meter. Its a 2-color led, when its off there isnt enough signal, when its green theres good signal, and when its red your distorting (the distortion is actually nice/not bad though). Its not a needle vu type meter, but you really dont need that, especially since u have the meters in protools anyway. Just dial the input knob until it starts to clip (red led) and then back it off a bit and youre good.

Also for recording instruments the 610 cant be beat, especially for hip hop where everything is digital but u still want to have some of the vibe of an old soul record. i use it for bass and electric guitar direct and its great for that. You could run plugin sounds and samples through there too if you want to warm them up and get them to sound thicker, havent tried that myself though.

You really cant go wrong with the solo 610 imho, unless youre worried about it sounding too dark (there is a low cut too), but it sounded like you are looking for warmth so the ua is the way to go. Its one of my favorite pieces of gear and i def recommend it too anyone looking for a affordable thick round warm tube mic pre/di.

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[Stackx]

Don't sleep on the 500 series man Some of those things are the best things out right now. Looks small but they don't sound small.

[teamalkos]

Originally Posted by skinnypete

I highly recommend going after the sound, and not tripping about the meter thing. Anyways the solo 610 does have a meter. Its a 2-color led, when its off there isnt enough signal, when its green theres good signal, and when its red your distorting (the distortion is actually nice/not bad though). Its not a needle vu type meter, but you really dont need that, especially since u have the meters in protools anyway. Just dial the input knob until it starts to clip (red led) and then back it off a bit and youre good.

Also for recording instruments the 610 cant be beat, especially for hip hop where everything is digital but u still want to have some of the vibe of an old soul record. i use it for bass and electric guitar direct and its great for that. You could run plugin sounds and samples through there too if you want to warm them up and get them to sound thicker, havent tried that myself though.

You really cant go wrong with the solo 610 imho, unless youre worried about it sounding too dark (there is a low cut too), but it sounded like you are looking for warmth so the ua is the way to go. Its one of my favorite pieces of gear and i def recommend it too anyone looking for a affordable thick round warm tube mic pre/di.

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since he is co-signing the solo 610 i'm going to say if you get the 610 change the tubes. I didn't like it i fing the a designs p-1 much better. 610 could be good with a tube swap instead of the cheap tubes that come with it.

[skinnypete]

idk about the tubes but i think your talking about a really dif pre. The 610 might not be that great for rap vox i know alot of cats are using the pacifica now, so the 500 series a designs is probably similar for that really crisp thing.

I hear what ur saying maybe there not using the best tube now but he can always upgrade. Anyways i have a new 610 now and i thought it sounded great right out of the box.

But he mentioned warming up samples and vsti's before he said anything about vox. I think the 610 would be great for that stuff, and is DOES have a meter. And it is still a good mic pre, so he can use that until he wants to upgrade. Besides he said he doesnt want to go 500 yet.

peace
skinny

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[jaydeetroit]

Get the 610 and meter in your DAW....problem solved.

[teamalkos]

Originally Posted by skinnypete

idk about the tubes but i think your talking about a really dif pre. The 610 might not be that great for rap vox i know alot of cats are using the pacifica now, so the 500 series a designs is probably similar for that really crisp thing.

I hear what ur saying maybe there not using the best tube now but he can always upgrade. Anyways i have a new 610 now and i thought it sounded great right out of the box.

But he mentioned warming up samples and vsti's before he said anything about vox. I think the 610 would be great for that stuff, and is DOES have a meter. And it is still a good mic pre, so he can use that until he wants to upgrade. Besides he said he doesnt want to go 500 yet.

peace
skinny

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the a designs p-1 is my favorite pre period. I would use the 610 for warming up synths and drums but not vox. i think that a tube swap will make me like this thing better. I had mine for a while so maybe my tubes are starting to go bad. I would not use it for rap as I don't think it has a fast transient response and makes my vocals sound cloudy and wooly. P-1 is crisp in your face and clear. 610 was not clear by no means. As for the meter thing I think its pretty lame that its just light that doesn't really let you know if your getting anywhere close to clipping until you are actually clipping but then again the p1 doesn't even do that which sucks too but it well then enough makes up for it in sound.

[garyboy2024]

I've used both extensively and easily prefer the Great River for most things. I actually prefer it even over the Pacifica (or p-1). It just sounds "right" to me

[teamalkos]

Originally Posted by garyboy2024

I've used both extensively and easily prefer the Great River for most things. I actually prefer it even over the Pacifica (or p-1). It just sounds "right" to me

I used the great river and it sounds great, a little too fat for me but it was a GREAT pre amp

[tdot]

I actually did a direct shootout, between these two units, when I decided on one. Tried a few different mics, and my friend played bass through both. Pretty much, the GR destroyed the Solo 610 ... not that the Solo 610 is bad, but, its a lot more 'gooey' and 'middy', while the top end is almost dull. The GR sounded pristine and high-def next to the Solo 610, which is why I picked it (Got the 2 channel...I even preferred it on bass, just sounded so much cleaner).

Like some other people said, I wouldn't (probably ever) want to use the Solo 610 on rap vocals (or vocals in general)...though like some people said, it could be great for getting a 'warmer, thicker, older' sound from bass/synths/instruments/etc.

Originally Posted by teamalkos

I used the great river and it sounds great, a little too fat for me but it was a GREAT pre amp

I really wouldn't call the GR 'fat'...it does have a very nice sound to it, but I wouldn't really describe it as 'fat'.
If push it, you can make the low end slightly bigger sounding, but I find it to be, generally, pretty clean sounding (other than the slight character it adds).
I actually want to buy a 1 channel BAE because I find the GR really isn't as colored as I'd like it to be sometimes....which is by no means bad. But if I seriously want to color a signal, GR *will not* do the trick, no matter how much you push it. IMO it almost goes from super clean to a little warmth and character but nothing excessive. Always sounds great though

[funkynuts]

If u really want tube within your budget and not 500 series i siggest checking out the sebatron line.
But as first and main hi end pre still great river all the way

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[Hobbs_Won]

I bankrupted myself this past week.. copped a Wurli and a bass + cab. So I picked up the GAP 73 and a used ART MPA GOLD and will swap out the tubes.

But at least I got SS and Tube covered for the interim.

Might pick up the Joe Meek VC1 if I can find one used as well.

Thanks for the suggestions...keep em comin tho.

[skinnypete]

congrats on the wurli! did you get the modded gap73? let us know how that works out.

[Hobbs_Won]

Originally Posted by skinnypete

congrats on the wurli! did you get the modded gap73? let us know how that works out.

thanks man!

Nah just the stock GAP...a couple people told me not to get the modded GAP saying it's really a diminishing return....others swear by it.

Ultimately, I'll decide once I get it and run some stuff through it and see how it tastes.

[TheOxmyn]

Originally Posted by Stackx

Don't sleep on the 500 series man Some of those things are the best things out right now. Looks small but they don't sound small.

Word + Dave Pensado's latest ITL intro mentions Kush Audio THC Eq for 500 series.
Interested to see and hear more about that.

[Johntron512]

Just dropping to say that I prefer the Great River to my LaChapell (tube) for rap vocals so far, but I'm still experimenting with mic choices into the 583s.