Groove Tubes Brick v. UA Solo 610

S

SilentSound

New member
I'm looking for something a little tubey to complement my syteks(burr-brown on 3&4)and am looking for some feedback from brick users and 610 users. I know they both have a bit of character but is one really worth 400/channel versus 800?

The tubey-est thing I have now is a TL Audio original Ivory series quad and it's a little too muddy(maybe slow?)for my tastes and right now for what I'm recording, one or two nice character-filled channels would be better than four mediocre...

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
 
<--former brick user.

dont bother with it, its a muddy piece of crap. I did comparisons with my firepod preamps, and found it QUITE easily to make the "brick" sound with my firepod.

however the 610 is AWESOME. save for it.
 
great! exactly what i was looking for. if i get more feedback like this, i'll save for the 610...but if i'm about to spend 800/channel, is there anything else tubey and worthwhile around there? a few extra monts of saving could mean the chandler germanium.
 
There are other much more positive views of the Brick preamp than Jason's. If you read his thread about his Brick you might not be quite so eager to take his word for it. Also, he apparently doesn't own a 610 and in the other thread didn't indicate whether he has even used one. So you need to be very careful when taking somebody's word for it on message boards.

The best thing you can do for yourself is take a listen to any gear you are interested in, when at all possible.

The Brick is in fact "tubey" and might be just what you are looking for. It would be silly to rule it out so early in the game. Make a list of 5-10 preamps in various price ranges and then whittle it down from there.

I like the Groove Tubes gear I've used better than the original Ivory series gear I used to own, so you might feel the same way. Not pushing the Brick, just saying take a listen to it and decide for yourself.
 
SilentSound said:
great! exactly what i was looking for. if i get more feedback like this, i'll save for the 610...but if i'm about to spend 800/channel, is there anything else tubey and worthwhile around there? a few extra monts of saving could mean the chandler germanium.
Click to expand...

If you're considering a Solo 610 I'd recommend waiting until UA releases their new offering - the 710 Twin-Finity. It has both solid state and tube circuits with the ability to blend the two to taste. It's not a toob design, but a real tube circuit. And it's going to be the same price as either the 110 or 610.

Check it out -
http://www.uaudio.com/products/analog/710/overview.html
 
SonicAlbert said:
There are other much more positive views of the Brick preamp than Jason's. If you read his thread about his Brick you might not be quite so eager to take his word for it. Also, he apparently doesn't own a 610 and in the other thread didn't indicate whether he has even used one. So you need to be very careful when taking somebody's word for it on message boards.

The best thing you can do for yourself is take a listen to any gear you are interested in, when at all possible.

The Brick is in fact "tubey" and might be just what you are looking for. It would be silly to rule it out so early in the game. Make a list of 5-10 preamps in various price ranges and then whittle it down from there.

I like the Groove Tubes gear I've used better than the original Ivory series gear I used to own, so you might feel the same way. Not pushing the Brick, just saying take a listen to it and decide for yourself.
Click to expand...

Good advice... I have a Brick and use it frequently. Mostly DI stuff but it gets a run at guitars once in awhile
 
I have a couple Dittos which are the DI only version of the Brick and they are quite good for that application. I also have a couple of the predecessor GT pre to the Brick, the MP-1. Great little tube pres. I've never used the UA pre, so I can't comment there. Other good inexpensive tube pres to look at include the Peavey VMP-2, a two channel tube pre with rudimentary EQ. Discontinued, but they pop up fairly frequently - typically $600-800 for 2 channels. An excellent pre (I have one). The aforementioned GT MP-1, a single channel tube pre that pops up on e-bay from time to time @$400 for a single channel with power supply. The Sebatron pres are also well worth looking at.
 
Silent Sound, I noticed that you mentioned possibly getting a chandler germanium pre. I wouldn't mess with the germanium line but thats my opinion. I go to a studio that has the whole germanium line, I've used the products and just don't like them. The preamp sounds good but one thing thats odd about the germanium line is that it only takes one tweak of a knob to mess something up and make it sound like crap. Besides the unit is 1100 bucks and the power supply cost an extra 200. I haven't used the 610 Solo or the brick but if i had to make a guess I would go for the 610 because I have never used a piece of UA gear that I haven't absolutely loved.
 
I also am looking at getting the solo 610. I have heard the brick, and didnt really like it, in my humble opinion. The new twinfinity looks really cool, has anyone had any ezperience with one yet? I would like to know how it stacks up to the 610, but no one in my area has one to demo yet.
 
SonicAlbert said:
There are other much more positive views of the Brick preamp than Jason's. If you read his thread about his Brick you might not be quite so eager to take his word for it. Also, he apparently doesn't own a 610 and in the other thread didn't indicate whether he has even used one. So you need to be very careful when taking somebody's word for it on message boards.

The best thing you can do for yourself is take a listen to any gear you are interested in, when at all possible.

The Brick is in fact "tubey" and might be just what you are looking for. It would be silly to rule it out so early in the game. Make a list of 5-10 preamps in various price ranges and then whittle it down from there.

I like the Groove Tubes gear I've used better than the original Ivory series gear I used to own, so you might feel the same way. Not pushing the Brick, just saying take a listen to it and decide for yourself.
Click to expand...

I did extensive tests, and the thing is muddy and it sucks. I compared with a friends 610, and the 610 simply blew it away.

he can check it out here:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=2961983&posted=1#post2961983

and if he wants the rest of the test results, he can pm me :)
 
the 610's come stock with one jj 12ax7 tube and, unless things have changed since i had one, a ge nos 6072a tube. the 6072a tube is a nice and kinda pricey (these days) tube. the jj 12ax7 tube is a good choice for a guitar amp, but not ideal for a microphone preamp. i know it's basically impossible to source nos 12ax7 tubes in sufficient quantity for production line gear, but that does seem like a weak link. my experience was that the 610 preamp opened up a bit when i put a nicer nos tube in there.
i still ultimately found it a little to colored for my needs, but paired with the right microphone (it does a nice job of mellowing out bright mics) it's great for vocals. amp or acoustic guitar and is a good bass di. far from the most versatile pre i've used though...
 
Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. No problem!

My main issue was that the A/B testing described in the other thread seemed flawed. It's not a proper test if the Brick is being run through the Presonus. Both units have to be level matched, eq matched, and auditioned separately with exactly the same signal path to the monitors.
 
SonicAlbert said:
Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. No problem!

My main issue was that the A/B testing described in the other thread seemed flawed. It's not a proper test if the Brick is being run through the Presonus. Both units have to be level matched, eq matched, and auditioned separately with exactly the same signal path to the monitors.
Click to expand...

again, the brick was recorded through the emu1212m...

how many times to i need to mention that?

:)

(not to mention the firepods preamps are bypassed if you do line in...and yes, there were tests through this unit as well.)

your ideas of testing are flawed in themselves... the point was to see the difference. Put on optimal settings, and then do optimal processing, as you would in any tracking/mix situation.

and yes there was a difference. And it didnt justify not using the stock preamps in my lowly firepod. Too bad for the gearsnobs out there ;)


the retailer i bought it from was so impressed i am now going to be demoing microphones for their company (not to mention they paid shipping back and didnt charge a restocking fee even though the unit was clearly used). Its not to say anything boastingly about myself -- i am a member of many other forums and nobody knows this, cause i dont spout off my mouth -- however, it is to prove that my testing was thorough.


and to address some of the things put towards me:

I do NOT own a 610, however i have a producer friend who does. Hence, my comparison. It still is dark, but it is ALIVE, unlike the brick.

another thing, yes, my review of the brick is negative, but you will find about 50/50 on the reviews, positive or negative. And that is not good, considering the amount of people out there who are quite readily able to say "yes this sounds great!" because they are using a soundblaster card and need a cheapo preamp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top