UA M610 vs solo610

[swelborn]

I'm leaning towards a s610 for my 2nd mic pre and found a M610 local for sale for $500. How do they compare? Thanks

 

[Nola]

I think the only difference is the M610 is rackmount, and the U610 is lunchbox. I'm not positive, but I think so.
Realize that pre is going to have a lot of color, somewhat dependent on the tubes you put in it. Cheap Russian/Chinese tubes are brighter in it. I have old Yugoslavian and GE tubes in mine, and they're nice and warm sounding. It takes two tubes, an input and output. When I first got it, the Russian tubes didn't sound very good to my ear. You should know about tubes and what you're looking for if going for one of these units. They might be too dirty for you or catch you off guard in some other way (tubes all vary). Great for vocals and bass. Good on acoustic guitar with the right mic.

 

[swelborn]

I think the only difference is the M610 is rackmount, and the U610 is lunchbox. I'm not positive, but I think so.
Realize that pre is going to have a lot of color, somewhat dependent on the tubes you put in it. Cheap Russian/Chinese tubes are brighter in it. I have old GE tubes in mine, and they're nice.

S610 looks like a stand alone unit, not lunchbox. I like the variable setting between the input and output gain control with the 610's to bring in more or less tube coloring.

 

[Nola]

I like the variable setting with the 610's to bring in more or less tube coloring.

Yeah, maybe I don't know the definition of lunchbox. I think of that handle at the top as a lunchbox pre.

Anyway, it's really really nice if you know that's what you want. It will go great with that GR. My two pres are a solo610 and a GR. Great compliments to one another. If you can afford the UA that has the compressor in it that's even better, but it takes up more space and might not fit in a home situation.

 

[Nola]

And just for the record, as great as the solo610 is on bass, many times I reach for the GR. It's clean yet not pristine, and very nice on bass as well. Mine is the ME-1NV. I think it's the same as yours for the most part. They're more of a 70s sound than 60s. Solo 610 is more of a 60s vibe. Either can and do make modern music. A buddy of mine runs a pro studio and the GR gets the most hours of any, and I can see why. Many times you can add color after the fact, so I wouldn't buy the 610 for that alone, though color at the source IS nice. What I love is the fatness it adds to bass (don't even need an amp sim and can use the DI) and the saturation on vocals, but again, that to a large degree that will depend on your tubes. I highly recommend some NOS tubes for that pre. The cheap/Yugoslavian 12ax7 tubes that mimic the expensive telefunkens are excellent. They were made up until about the 1980s so they should be plentiful still. You might pay 2x the price of a Russian or Chinese tube, but you will get 10x the lifespan and tone.

 

[swelborn]

I'm liking the idea of a tube pre. I see there's a lot of love or hate with the 610s', so I think I'll save and spring on a higher end unit like the La Chappell 583e, the two slot model with eq. More likely I'll love it. Between that and the GR, I should have all the versatility I'd ever need.

 

[Nola]

Between that and the GR, I should have all the versatility I'd ever need.

Yes, definitely. I've seen some hate for the 610 but it makes zero sense. My guess is those people don't know how to record, used the wrong tubes (e.g. Chinese/Russian), want a very modern sound from a vintage based tube amp, etc. None of these are the fault of the 610 -- it does exactly what it's meant to do. If you know what you're doing it's like the best pre-amp ever for that 60s vibe and mojo. It's a secondary pre though, not a primary. In general, you'd want to run most things through the GR, then bass/vocals through the 610 (or whatever tube pre you get). Otherwise you get a bit too much of the saturation buildup, which can be cool if you want a totally vintage sounding recording. So it really depends, but that's important to know about tube pres.