Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

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alexdingley
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Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by alexdingley » Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:26 am

I'm referring to the two channel strip units: LA610 (mk1 or mk2) and the 6176 — each one is a 610 preamp, combined with either an LA-2 or 1176 style compressor. So here's my question:

Are the circuits in these gonna go toe to toe with the "full-unit" LA-2 and 1176, and the stand-alone 610 mic preamp?

I used to love the 2-610 preamp that my old studio had... so I'm a fan of the overall tone of the preamp... but I'm curious if these combo units are making any big sonic sacrifices. Has anyone used both the combo unit and the full compressor units, and can speak to the quality (and the vibe?)

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Re: Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:54 am

I worked in a few places that had the 610-1176 combo thing. My feeling was that the sacrifice was made on the compressor side. The pre seemed pretty good and in line with other 610s I've used. The compressor was ok but didn't seem like it would hold its own against a stand alone 1176.

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Re: Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by alexdingley » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:38 pm

A.David.MacKinnon wrote:
Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:54 am
The compressor was ok but didn't seem like it would hold its own against a stand alone 1176.
Thanks and Bummer — that's kinda what I expected to hear, and it's exactly why I was asking. I have to figure that if the compressor in the LA part of the LA-610 is as good as an LA-2A, then it wouldn't cost $1799 and come with a good 610 preamp.

I was kinda thinking about how nice it would be to have that on the input chain, and then have the ability to patch into a decent LA-2A comp with the vocals, on mix-down.

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Re: Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by digitaldrummer » Tue Mar 30, 2021 1:59 pm

I have one of the original/silver LA-610's (not the mkii) and it's great. I've had it for many years. A friend has the mkii and he also uses his for vocals a lot. I think UA was pretty clear that the compressor section is not an LA-2A, but it is a T4 opto compressor and I frequently find it useful for vocals and bass guitars especially. I have also run stuff through the compressor only and it worked well. I think on this one you can bypass the preamp, but not the comp (other than setting compression to 0). seems like the mkii might allow access to each section separately if I recall? or at least bypass the comp.

oh, and I should mention, you can run it clean or dirty (by adjusting the input gain switch). And when I track live bands I often use this with a Shure SM-7B for the live vocal (which sometimes ends up as a keeper - it has good rejection). And yes, between the preamp and compressor, it has plenty of gain.
Last edited by digitaldrummer on Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:41 pm

I used one of those with the La2a combo.

Not bad, but not a "real " la2a. Not like the one I own nor the others I have used over the years.

Still, has a great sound anyways. The lead vocal and solo guitar I remember using this on came out good.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Re: Anyone have experience w/ UA Combo Units?

Post by DrummerMan » Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:26 am

I have an LA-610 (mk 1). It was the first "nice" preamp I ever bought after having it used on a remix session at another studio and loving the way it softened the top end on a very bright track.

In general, it's a pretty dark unit, but if you already have experience with the solo 610 and like those you probably already know that. The low and high EQ's I find very useful to add clarity without sounding too "effected". I don't have much experience with real LA-2A's but I really like what this compressor does. I don't think I've ever made anything sound bad with this compression, which hasn't always been the case for me with other compressors.

It doesn't work well for every source. Kick drums sound too fluffy to me (but DI Bass sounds AMAZING somehow). My best use has been in the past couple of years where I pared it with a c12-type mic. The brightness of the mic paired with the darkness of the pre makes for a great smooth saturation on the top end when pushed, especially for things like vocals. I don't think this thing handles mid to low frequency overdrive very well because it's just so big down there, so I don't use it for those types of applications.
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