Universal Audio Tube Mic Preamp

[dynomike]

I love the 2-610... it sounds excellent on rock acoustic guitar, keyboards (sweet!!!) and vocals. It is fairly colored at higher gain settings, but it usually fits really well within a mix. As long as you're not using it for drum overheads, I think its quite versatile. Definately, my 1st choice for a colored pre if I could only have 1.

mike

[Slider]

i love mine. they have a sound to them, and it's a great sound. doesn't always work on everything. but when it does work it's pretty amazing. i like classic sounding pre's and i'm not really into pristine and transparent.

[mr scratchy esq]

I love mine enough that I even bought a second one. (I do most of my recording live to 2 or 4 track.) The only source I don't like it on is bass or bass drum- too soft and mushy.

Bill

[Derrick]

Nice! How much would I ecpect to pay for the Great River?

[Madness]

I've had a Universal 2-610 for about 18 months, bought from Calistro Music in Connecticutt for a good price.

This is a beautiful preamp for vocals, amps, ac/gtrs, kick drum, etc. I it's DI for Keys and bass.

If I were you, I would consider getting a pair (2-610) or if you don't require a pair, then I would get Universal's combo of the 610 with the 1176 compressor (the number escapes me momentarily).

Peace
Phil

[honkyjonk]

That's the 6176. When I see that in the tapeop ad, though, it doesn't look like the 1176 part has the four buttons like on the original. I wonder if they make up for that in some other way. I've got the UA 2108, solid state pre, it costs less than the 2-610, and I think it does a real good job of sounding clean and dirty depending. It's like a guitar amp, with a gain and output knob, so you can crank one and not the other and get clean or vice versa and get colored.

Personally, while we're on the subject of tube pre's though, I'd be interested in hearing opinions on what people use instead of the 610 or the 610 instead of, in different situations, or rather something like an Ampex vs. Telefunken V72 or 76 vs. 610 vs. the Peavey unit (VT2B or something?) on different apps? Anyone?

[kwhatx]

The Great River runs about $1000.00 for one channel ...... about the same as a 610. It also comes in a 2 channel version if your looking in that direction.

[kwhatx]

Sorry about the extra post .... lol.

honkyjonk:

The 6176 has an "all in" setting on the ratio switch which allows you to do the ever cool and bombastic 4 buttons in trick. And though I'm sure you probably already know this, the 2108 preamp is based on the 1176 "sound". A lot of engineers like running stuff through the 1176 with no compression. The 1176 adds a little "color" to a signal that is very pleasant. The 2108 is based on the sound of an 1176 without the compression option.

In what applications would I use something else other than the 610? Quite a few. We have a lot of different pres here and access to more. If you want me to get into detail on my selections email me.

[jasmine]

We have the Vintech 1073 and 1081 (Neve) clones. We have a pair of APIs and a Trident, a couple Focusrites. Until we got the 1081 clone, the Vintech 1073 was the one we kept going back to. On everyone's vocal takes, we tried the API's (they were too thin), tried the Trident (it was too hard to deal with and just not all that of the 1073. I love Neve and Neve rip-offs.

[Jan Folkson]

I've got pres from Neve, Avalon, Summit, and UA. It's all about choosing the right tool for the job at hand. I wouldn't say that one of my Neve would necessarily replace my 2-610 for a particular track. The 2-610 does have a great sound to it, but it's not transparent or clinical by any stretch. Like mics, you need to build a collection so that you can make choices for different circumstances. Just the other day I wound up using a 57 on a vocal in lieu of a wonderful collection of vintage and modern mics. For somebody to tell you that you should get x instead of a 610 is bullsh*t. See if you can find a dealer to let you try some different pres and make your own decision based on YOUR needs.

HTH.