View other reviews for this product:
chrislieck « LOVE IT »
Published on 09/28/12 at 22:31Line balanced and XLR inputs. Join switch. You can use separately or linked. I love this unit and I do mean love this unit. I was hesitant to buy it and it was the very last pre amp I will buy for this year. We buy so many pre amps over a given year and most we just sell and move on to others.
I love this pre amp and I think that this review should help you decide if you want to spend the money. If you have never used an 1176 compressor then you may not know how to find the right sound but I am sure you have used the Bomb Factory 1176 so use that as a gauge of whether or not you will be able to use this unit correctly as it is a very pricey unit for a mono unit. The input has one BIG EASY TO READ knob that is very simple to use. There is shelving on the highs and lows and I normally just take everything out at 100hz and I cut the high mid as well. There is not much to the input of the 610 side but the thing you need to know is that if you are doing vocals, start out with the compressor out or no gain reduction. This will help you get a feel for the pre amp side. I really don't hear much difference when using really expensive mics and or mid level mics such as the Blue Bottle with the B8 capsule. I think that you will learn this pre amp better and faster if you don't start with the compressor engaged. Let the singer get warmed up or the guitarist. Get use to the input stages and the 610 will not let you down. It has a really fantastic sound but it is colored a bit. It has an old school sound and you will notice it right away. If you are not prepared to deal with playing with the unit and being patient then don't get this unit. It will not work for you at all. You have to have a great deal of time to dial in the right sound but when you do it is unmatched by to many pre amps out on the market today. There are few that can provide the same power that this unit has.
UTILIZATION
Once you have your input stage down start with a slight compression such as 2:1 or 4:1 and get a fast attack setting with a medium release and you will start to immediately hear the compression kicking in on high level inputs. I like the fact that the 610 input stage works so well with the input gain knob on the compressor side. You will find that you will be constantly editing the settings. I like to have one setting for the softer parts of a song and another for the louder parts of the songs. This allows me to control my compression levels and the sound of the compression. I like the chorus settings on a song to have less compression and some producers don't use the compression side rather only the 610 pre amp side. I like a bit of compression going in the unit so for me I like using the Join switch.
SOUND QUALITY
A bit colored sounding but old school in a good way. If your ears are not trained to hear compression then this unit will not be the one for you. Most kids new to the engineering world tend to talk about a unit and what is does but they can't hear it. If you can't hear it on this unit you probably should not be engineering.
OVERALL OPINION
Yes I have the luxury of owning so many pre amps so getting this one was a no brainer. If you have the money this unit is worth it.
I love this pre amp and I think that this review should help you decide if you want to spend the money. If you have never used an 1176 compressor then you may not know how to find the right sound but I am sure you have used the Bomb Factory 1176 so use that as a gauge of whether or not you will be able to use this unit correctly as it is a very pricey unit for a mono unit. The input has one BIG EASY TO READ knob that is very simple to use. There is shelving on the highs and lows and I normally just take everything out at 100hz and I cut the high mid as well. There is not much to the input of the 610 side but the thing you need to know is that if you are doing vocals, start out with the compressor out or no gain reduction. This will help you get a feel for the pre amp side. I really don't hear much difference when using really expensive mics and or mid level mics such as the Blue Bottle with the B8 capsule. I think that you will learn this pre amp better and faster if you don't start with the compressor engaged. Let the singer get warmed up or the guitarist. Get use to the input stages and the 610 will not let you down. It has a really fantastic sound but it is colored a bit. It has an old school sound and you will notice it right away. If you are not prepared to deal with playing with the unit and being patient then don't get this unit. It will not work for you at all. You have to have a great deal of time to dial in the right sound but when you do it is unmatched by to many pre amps out on the market today. There are few that can provide the same power that this unit has.
UTILIZATION
Once you have your input stage down start with a slight compression such as 2:1 or 4:1 and get a fast attack setting with a medium release and you will start to immediately hear the compression kicking in on high level inputs. I like the fact that the 610 input stage works so well with the input gain knob on the compressor side. You will find that you will be constantly editing the settings. I like to have one setting for the softer parts of a song and another for the louder parts of the songs. This allows me to control my compression levels and the sound of the compression. I like the chorus settings on a song to have less compression and some producers don't use the compression side rather only the 610 pre amp side. I like a bit of compression going in the unit so for me I like using the Join switch.
SOUND QUALITY
A bit colored sounding but old school in a good way. If your ears are not trained to hear compression then this unit will not be the one for you. Most kids new to the engineering world tend to talk about a unit and what is does but they can't hear it. If you can't hear it on this unit you probably should not be engineering.
OVERALL OPINION
Yes I have the luxury of owning so many pre amps so getting this one was a no brainer. If you have the money this unit is worth it.
