I record a lot of bluegrass and old-time acoustic instruments.
With the Solo 610 preamp, I typically set the gain knob to get the sound I want, then get the recording level I need with the level knob. I generally follow the notion that 0-5 gain on the Solo 610 is “clean” and 5-10 gain is “dirty”. When I record acoustic guitar (strummed or flatpicked), I believe I hear slight distortion in the 4-5 gain range, so I generally use ~4 to stay clean. I often compare the recordings to those with a Sytek MPX 4Aii or Grace m101, where I never hear distortion. So I am curious to hear what Solo 610 settings others use for a “clean” acoustic guitar sound.
Here is what I typically use for “clean” acoustic:
Gain: 4
Level: 8-9
Imp: lo-Z
HPF: flat
Also, I notice that when I record in a large high-ceiling room with good reverb, I end up hearing less of this reverb in the Solo 610 recording than in those using the Sytek or Grace. Like the Sytek and Grace are better at preserving it.
I love the 610 acoustic guitar sound on the “clean” settings – it just sounds bigger/fuller than the Sytek or Grace. But I don’t like the loss of the nice reverb in a good sounding room.
So my questions to other Solo 610 users are:
What settings do you use for “clean” acoustic guitar?
Have you noticed that natural reverb is better preserved in a clean solid state preamp than in the 610?
Is this loss of reverb because 610’s transient response is so much slower than the Sytek or Grace?
With the Solo 610 preamp, I typically set the gain knob to get the sound I want, then get the recording level I need with the level knob. I generally follow the notion that 0-5 gain on the Solo 610 is “clean” and 5-10 gain is “dirty”. When I record acoustic guitar (strummed or flatpicked), I believe I hear slight distortion in the 4-5 gain range, so I generally use ~4 to stay clean. I often compare the recordings to those with a Sytek MPX 4Aii or Grace m101, where I never hear distortion. So I am curious to hear what Solo 610 settings others use for a “clean” acoustic guitar sound.
Here is what I typically use for “clean” acoustic:
Gain: 4
Level: 8-9
Imp: lo-Z
HPF: flat
Also, I notice that when I record in a large high-ceiling room with good reverb, I end up hearing less of this reverb in the Solo 610 recording than in those using the Sytek or Grace. Like the Sytek and Grace are better at preserving it.
I love the 610 acoustic guitar sound on the “clean” settings – it just sounds bigger/fuller than the Sytek or Grace. But I don’t like the loss of the nice reverb in a good sounding room.
So my questions to other Solo 610 users are:
What settings do you use for “clean” acoustic guitar?
Have you noticed that natural reverb is better preserved in a clean solid state preamp than in the 610?
Is this loss of reverb because 610’s transient response is so much slower than the Sytek or Grace?