Is the UA 610 too dark/fat/warm?

[mds]

Hey guys,

Looking at getting a 6176...my generic experiences with tube pres is that they're often too slow, warm, fat, and/or dark in a lot of situations. I like the warmth, generally speaking, but sometimes find them not to be bright enough to punch through a mix in some situations. Do you 610 users ever find it too dark?

Thanks,

Mike

[dashamu]

I use the 6176 and find it pretty versatile. The darkness thing could be an issue depending on what mics you're using and the source, but there is a pretty useful EQ on the 610 side that lets you cut/boost lo and high freqs. It's a bit limited but I find that it's not too difficult to clean up anything that sounds too muddy or boomy. Considering the brightness of a lot of modern condensers, I don't think it's much of a problem.

I also have an Aurora GTQ2 pre that sounds great on a bunch of stuff but not on everything. Same with the 6176. When I have a singer/player coming in for a session and I don't know what their sound/ability/technique is, I use the 6176 as my 'go to' because of it's warmth, ease of use, 1176 comp etc.

I really like it for single mic guitar and voice sessions. Find the right placement for your mic, set your levels, choose your comp settings and you're good to go. It sounds full, warm and it's not lacking in 'mojo'. I also use the DI for bass and find that to be another area where the 6176 shines.

I know it doesn't get unanimous love in Slutzland but I've been very happy with the 6176. If you want to keep looking, I'd check out the Aurora Audio channel strip.
I haven't tried it but considering how much I like my GTQ2, I'm pretty sure it's a very nice unit.

Hope this helps

[Dirty Halo]

Originally Posted by mds

Hey guys,

Looking at getting a 6176...my generic experiences with tube pres is that they're often too slow, warm, fat, and/or dark in a lot of situations. I like the warmth, generally speaking, but sometimes find them not to be bright enough to punch through a mix in some situations. Do you 610 users ever find it too dark?

Thanks,

Mike

I think you may be getting sucked into marketing, the "Tubes = Warmth" line.

I have a Greg Hanks BA660 that is punchier and cleaner than almost ANY pre out there and a NON-tube Germanium that takes your dark "tube" description to a whole new level... no tube in sight.

It's not a matter of tubes. It's the pre.

-andrews

[Jonboy79]

The only thing I really didn't like the 610 on was drums. Everything else it rocked ass.

[Sean Sullivan]

Agree, haven't found a use for the 610 on drums, I usually just run my room microphone through it, but for vocals, acoustic guitar, and sometimes electrics it performs well.

[mds]

Originally Posted by Dirty Halo

I think you may be getting sucked into marketing, the "Tubes = Warmth" line.

I have a Greg Hanks BA660 that is punchier and cleaner than almost ANY pre out there and a NON-tube Germanium that takes your dark "tube" description to a whole new level... no tube in sight.

It's not a matter of tubes. It's the pre.

-andrews

Fair enough, though my statement is based more on experience with the Manley tube pre, GT Vipre, etc....

I've experienced dark non-tube pres as well, for sure...just trying to get a feel for where the 610 lies...

[SoniqKwality]

change the tubes! I had a friend install Mullard tubes... night and day! more headroom, smoother output, and hell "yes"

[theSoundFactory]

Originally Posted by upinflames

Agree, haven't found a use for the 610 on drums, I usually just run my room microphone through it, but for vocals, acoustic guitar, and sometimes electrics it performs well.

Not on drums? And I was thinking of getting another one for OH's with C414's.. No good idea?

[JGILL]

I have the LA 610 and find it to be pretty bright if need be. I don't really use it for anything but bass and some lead vocal. But I have noticed for vocals when you start to stacking it gets hard to fit those in a mix. for back ups I'll try to change the chain, if the artist will give the time. Other then that for bass di its killer.
Josh

[RoundBadge]

Try a pair of original Telefunken V76's.
they sound great on everything.wish i had 20 in a big rack.
I prefer 'em to most of the solid state stuff[Neve,etc]

[lowfreq33]

I've found the 610 to seem a little dull sounding. But bear in mind that I'm comparing it to the other pre's in the rack at the studio where I work, so it's going up against Neve's and API's and Dakings. So maybe it's not a fair comparison.

[freeBase]

I use the 610 pres extensively for a variety of things. What I noticed most about them is how they interact with different microphones. For instance, I've used them on guitars with a 57 or 421 and they sound great, while using the same pre with a AT4047 on the same guitar amp doesn't work as well. I've come across this a few times with certain mics for certain uses and even with the impedance switch have found them to be more dependent on what mic you use it with as opposed to what you use it on. By the way, I have 8 channels of 610 pres and use 6 of the 8 for drums (snr, oh, rooms) after doing plenty of A/B'ing with other pres.

[Sean Sullivan]

I always have people tell me it's a killer bass DI, but I think my Chandler Germanium sounds better, at least with my Geddy Lee Jazz.

[soundmoves]

I do not have the 6176 I have the 2-610. When I first got it I loved it, used it on vocals especially. Then the more I used it the more I noticed that the input overloads very easily and stopped using it at all, except to distort vocals. If you crank up the input and output you can get some great distortion, put this in parallel with a copy of the original vocal track and it sounds great. Then after time I tried it on overheads and it sounded wonderful, especially with some ribbon mics. Now this is not a modern sound, this is a "warm", friendly in the mix sound, particularly on the cymbals. I find that if I am going for a "non modern" sound it works great. I thought about getting rid of it for a second but I will hang on to it. I find that I end up not selling any gear.

[Bubbagump]

I really like my LA610. It is pretty much my go to male vocal pre. It also works on certain guitar tones and bass... I haven't used it on drums as others have mentioned other than for mono over heads that I then smash the snot out of with the T4 comp. I have never used a "real" Neve but have and have played with few clones... the 610s are just different. Some guys sound thin on the solid state stuff and the 610 thickens it up. Sometimes the solid state stuff is just right. I haven't found the inputs to over load easily at all. That is why there is a pre gain knob. The 610 is a very useful piece to me.

[bombasterd]

I like mine on certain things like vocals (sometimes) and bass. But I find the low end a bit flubby for my tastes. It does it's own thing well though.

[snackyslut]

I have just been gettin down with my new unit after giving it a tube job and it took my too-shrill-for-hyperacusis male vocal and put on a smooth grit to a very detailed mic and I think it sounds mind-blowing. I sang for 6 hours today (homework time now:()

I have been using it initially paired with space designer small room reverbs in logic to insane success. I need to share some mixes to see if it's in my head or not in the coming weeks.
thumbsup

[RKrizman]

Originally Posted by Jonboy79

The only thing I really didn't like the 610 on was drums. Everything else it rocked ass.

I just used it on toms the other day with 57s and it sounded fantastic. Very real and full and textured.

-R

[DAWgEAR]

LA-610 here. I find it quite "bright", depending on the mic. Not bright as in airy, but in the high mids/low treble area. It's definitely not dull or dark.

[dannygold]

As the amount of compression increases on an LA2A or LA3A, so does the release time. The release time can get REALLY long. So it kind of makes sense that it wouldn't work well on drums... and I assume the T4 in the LA610 is the same. I use a pair of LA-610s quite frequently at a studio I work in... I enjoy it for a big beatles-y acoustic pumping sound, parallel drum compression... in general any app where I want to squash the **** out of something. It has a nice distortion too. Not subtle. I would NOT want it to be my main channel strip though... I think the 6176 would be MUCH MUCH MUCH more flexible.