Here we go again: 610 vs. 2108

[Zeppelin4Life]

Could someone please tell me which one do you think would suit me better? Classic rock n roll style here. i was thinking the 610 as most of you know but now I have discovered the 2108, and im liing the FET 1176 amp...

[cgarges]

Hmmmmmm. Your screen name is Zeppelin4Life and you have a Led Zeppelin avatar. Something tells me the 2108 is more your style.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Zeppelin4Life]

ah yes. but of course I have that 'ive been looking at this for the past 2 months, now I have enough $ and reconsider everything' ugh

[honkyjonk]

Dude,

How often do you see the 2108 pop up on ebay compared to the 610, or 2 610 or whatever?

Actually I haven't looked recently, but I don't remember seeing 2108s very often when I was looking for them, meaning no one is getting rid of it.
I've seen the 610 on there quite a lot, infact, they're usually on there.

The 2108 rocks. It's my #1 pre. I use it on everything, but I've never used a 610 so I can't compare.

[Zeppelin4Life]

Well both pres have such good reviews, the 610 just has more negative than the 2108..infact, ive never heard a negative about it..but it is lesser known. I dont know. How does it stack up in a mix?

[nick_a]

When i was in the market for my first officially 'good' preamp, i wanted the 2-610. I was drooling over it for a month. When i realized i could get another 2-channel UA preamp for like $700 less, i became curious. When i found out that it was all discrete and used the output amps from the 1176, and had an impedance switch with DI, i became interested. After seeing pictures, realizing it had 3-color psychedelic LED's as meters, and hearing that larry crane "shit his pants" when he heard it on kick and snare, I was sold.

If you want the creamy tube-y sound, and you need line amps and some limited eq, go with the 610. If you want a really versatile 2-channel, no-bullshit, works-on-everything-but-kicks-ass-on-most-things pre, get the 2108. They're two totally different animals. In my opinion, get the 2108, realize how amazing it is, and spend the 700 you'd save otherwise on an LA-4 or something. The 2108 is by far the best $1100 i've ever spent.

[segaface]

The 2108 rocks. It's my #1 pre. I use it on everything, but I've never used a 610 so I can't compare.

Yes!

The 2108 rules! I especially dig it as a DI. Believe me, you'll be more than satisfied.

andy

[djimbe]

I use the 610 regularly and love it, but not on everything. A regular freelancer at our place brings his 2108 along when he tracks, and I almost always find it nicer, especially for drums. I want one myself, especially for drums (check my sig...). The 610 is super handy as a line amp during mix; I haven't tried any of that with a 2108, just tracked with it. You can't really go wrong with either, but I'm thinking the 2108 may serve you better...

[I'm Painting Again]

i dont know how much cheaper or better this would be but you can rack up a pair of 1108's..they go for ~200$ each on ebay..

[headache9]

I've got a 2-610 & love it. It always gets used for overheads & on vox. Also great on gtr. Had a guy with a musicman bass go direct into the front of it the other day & we loved it. But I've also tried before & found it a little dull as a di with some basses/players. I haven't tried the 2108...but I'd like to try one on kick & snare with the 2-610 for overheads. I bet either pre would floor ya. The 610 makes all my cheap mics sound soooo much cooler than my stock mackie pre's ever could. The 2-610 eq is basic but pretty handy. Because of my great success with the 2-610 the 2108 is the 1st mic pre on my wish list.

[nestle]

When i was in the market for my first officially 'good' preamp, i wanted the 2-610. I was drooling over it for a month. When i realized i could get another 2-channel UA preamp for like $700 less, i became curious. When i found out that it was all discrete and used the output amps from the 1176, and had an impedance switch with DI, i became interested. After seeing pictures, realizing it had 3-color psychedelic LED's as meters, and hearing that larry crane "shit his pants" when he heard it on kick and snare, I was sold.

If you want the creamy tube-y sound, and you need line amps and some limited eq, go with the 610. If you want a really versatile 2-channel, no-bullshit, works-on-everything-but-kicks-ass-on-most-things pre, get the 2108. They're two totally different animals. In my opinion, get the 2108, realize how amazing it is, and spend the 700 you'd save otherwise on an LA-4 or something. The 2108 is by far the best $1100 i've ever spent.

HEY, Nick, where did you get it for $1100? I thought these were about 1400, anybody else? wheres the cheepest deal?

[pk]

m'kay, then for a brief moment, let's go with transistor vs. transisitor.

UA 2108 vs. Vintech Dual 72?

Both have similar circuitry, one claims to have a Neve-esque design while the other is based on the 1176 outputs, and both are similarily priced. In terms of sonic character, versatility, "go-to pre for just about everything" factor, which comes out the winner between these two?

[tommy]

The not so raveing reviews i often hear about the 610 sometimes conflict with each other so I don't know what to make of all that. I've heard, not tubey sounding enough to too tubey sounding. WTF? I have the 2-610 and the 2108 and they are both awesome. My guess is that you will eventually own both based on your TO questions and your log name. The 2108 has the ability to overdrive if you give it more on the input side which can be nice on some things and ugly sounding on other things. It is VERY versitile. Perfect for rock. The 610 is also a pretty damn versitile pre for a tube pre. I LOVE the line input feature on this box. I use it all the time for warming up single tracks or as an line boost for tape echo returns. I've even stuck in between my mix buss and mix down before with great results. Some times this sounds good and other times it dont work so well depending on the type of song/band. I think both run at about the same price new. I'm glad I have both.

[bannerj]

the 2108 is my first and right now my only outboard pre. I've had it now for almost a year. I also have a Metric Halo 2882 and the 2108 makes the 2108 makes the pres on the 2882 seem like trash.

As a novice, it has taught me a ton. I use it on everything. I decided to go with the 2108 based on reading through the tapeop board and speaking with the mixing engineer I work with.

Then I posted a WTB here and Brian from Ohio sold his to me for $1100.

Geesh, I know I sound so sappy about the tapeop board in other posts...but its all so helpful.

Go 2108. go go go go go

[Zeppelin4Life]

ok, I will probably buy a 2108 in the next week...