Anyone familiar with this Pre?

[JohnnyPraze]

http://www.uaudio.com/products/analog/M610/index.html

Its a Universal Audio M610...

I may be buying one used for $700, and wanted to know if anyone has any experience with it or its sound?

I'm looking to push my SM7 with it...

[Peter Project]

Yea, I know it. For 700 bucks it's a steal. The only issue I'd have with it is that it's 2 rackspaces for 1 pre.
However....
It's a vintage reissue of the 610 preamp Bill Putnam designed (oldschool godfather of engineers) They sound REALLY nice. They're super "vintage" sounding, but far from overbearing like a lot of the new cheap "tube" pres. They've discontinud it, and replaced it with the Solo 610, which does not have any EQ on it. And THOSE retail for 995.00 So I'd say snatch it up. They sound fantastic, and UA build SOLID reliable gear.

[azwun25]

the m610, although it has enough gain to preamp the SM7, gets really hairy when pushed to its limit. Which, you'll have to push it since the SM7 needs anywhere from 55 to 65 db of gain

[JohnnyPraze]

Originally Posted by azwun25

the m610, although it has enough gain to preamp the SM7, gets really hairy when pushed to its limit. Which, you'll have to push it since the SM7 needs anywhere from 55 to 65 db of gain

I'm not sure what you mean by "hairy"... Noisy???

Has anyone ever heard a M610 used on rap vocals?

[Peter Project]

I used it on all the vocals on "Take the time". You can check it out here
http://www.myspace.com/peterproject
It's a crappy marshall 2001-p condenser into a 610 pre.

[bgrotto]

Yup. It's a kick-ass pre for rap vocals. It also works really well on female R&B and sibilant male vocals.

Just be careful not to use it on too many parellel tracks; the "hairiness" described above (which is a sort of "wooly", pronounced low-mid range thing in the 200-500Hz range) stacks up quick and requires a serious dose of subtractive EQ. The Hi Shelf can help with that though.

It's also a bit tricky to get used to its gain staging, and thus easy to over drive and distort the input (another reason I've heard it refered to as "hairy"). Stage it right, though, and it's a very beautiful, 3-dimensional, and thick sounding pre. It really sounds like the artist's head is floating between the speakers.

[LATCH KEY KIDS]

I would have to agree with azwun, I own the 2-610 and an SM7 and I can't really
use them together. The 610 has 35db of gain and when you relly push it it starts
to distort. I really have found only one tube pre that can really give the SM7 the
gain it deserves. The Presonus ADL600. Try the Chameleon labs 7602, it looks like
crap but is a built on circuit cards rather than one main board like so many of the
Neve copies. You can probably find it for around $750. Oh and the EQ is damn good too. Just my 2cents

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by LATCH KEY KIDS

I would have to agree with azwun, I own the 2-610 and an SM7 and I can't really
use them together. The 610 has 35db of gain and when you relly push it it starts
to distort

The 610 has 61dB of gain; not 35. While I've never used it to amplify an SM7, I have used it on a variety of other low-output mics, including a very early RE20 and a number of ribbons.

The distortion comes from driving the input too hard; keep the big knob up all the way and adjust the switchable knob until you're satisfied with the level (I find it's usually at -10 or -5). I know it's a bit of a pain in the ass, but when you hit the sweet spot it's a great-sounding pre.

[LATCH KEY KIDS]

Sorry, I meant to say headroom not gain. And don't get me wrong,
the 610 is probably one of my favorite pres in the world.
I am not slamming it by any stretch. I just can't get the sound I want
with an SM7 and any tube pre (other than the ADL600).

[Abbey Rhode]

for the price it's a great mic pre on rap vocals a true bargin