LA-610 MkII Classic Tube Recording Channel

Great warm sounding channel strip, awesome DI for Bass as well.

very nice vintage sound but the only flaw in my opinion is not being able to bypass the preamp

I use the LA-610 MkII for recording and mixing.

During mixing, the EQ and compression give me a special quality of sound that I can't achieve with most plugins.

For recording , I find the pre amp/EQ/compression works fantastically for vocal recording especially. The high frequency band works well at adding a pleasant "air" to the vocal when this is what I require.

The compressor works very naturally when controlling the dynamics of the singer. I have not yet found an instance when the limiter option has worked well for me.

I ran a comparative test between the instrument input with my Great River ME-1NV, Millennia TD-1 and the LA-610 MkII when preparing to record a bass guitar session. The Great River was very much better in my opinion than both other options. However, the LA-610 MkII performs well when capturing a direct guitar signal when I use an amp simulator in the computer.

I had the LA-610 MkII go faulty mid-session recently whilst recording tabla. The power relay switch stated to flicker on and off. As it turns out there was a problem with the power supply and all the relays in the unit downstream from that flickered on/off.

I was a fair bit disappointed to discover that the LA-610 MkII is made using SMD electrical components and not point to point wiring as the original UA hardware devices had before. This makes getting a repair done very much more complicated.

Fortunately, the local agents in South Africa, Tuerk Music in with the help of Matt Allison have been extremely helpful in identifying the problem and helping me get the unit repaired.

The only issue is that when I bought and payed for the LA-610 MkII and UAD2 solo card combo special, there was a shipment shortage from the supplier to South Africa. My unit arrive more that three months after I paid for it (worth the wait, by the way!) So now, when it came to repair the unit, it appears that I am out of warranty when in fact I am not. I will have to pay for the new power supply myself! If the folks at UAD a reading this, please see if you can rectify this. Paul Martin at Tuerk Music is my main contact for this if you choose to follow up.

In summary, I love using the LA-610 MkII. It will remain with me as a key part of my work as long as I am able to keep working in the exciting world of music recording!

Peace...

David Langemann
Creative Native Productions
Cape Town, South Africa

You really can't beat great valve mic pre/compression rack units.
I have a couple of other much more expensive brands which I really love. This unit has joined that elite club, it has character and warmth, correct use of the straight forward front panel can really add to most voices, guitars, bass etc..
I love just plugging my guitars straight in the front input.. great!
The "retro design" is also pretty cool !

Both 610 preamp and LA-2A compressor are evergreen classics, and their sound signature doesn't need more explanations. The combination of the two is something extremely powerful and usable.
One of my main concerns, when I was thinking to buy it, was the absence of independent I/O sections for preamp and compressor (like i.e. the 6176 channel strip). On the LA-610, you can bypass the compressor section, but you can't do the same with the preamp section. So, I was afraid to get a not completely flexible gear as the 6176 is.
When I finally got it in my studio, I started to experiment with it not only as a front-end gear for recording (this was obviously the main purpose I bought it for), but also for tracking previously recorded tracks (using the Line level input and output). There, I discovered the LA-610 can effectively be used as a standalone compressor, when needed, with its own lovely personal sound, when keeping the input preamp gain low enough to give minimum sound coloration.
Furthermore, I'm now used (for vocals especially) to record using very neutral preamps, and retracking afterwards through the LA-610. This way, I have a lot more flexibility, and I can fine-tune the LA-610 to make the tracks to sit perfectly in the mix without any other processing.
Definitely, the LA-610 is a really complete gear, you can use it as a front end pre or pre+compressor, but also as a standalone compressor, and as a "plugin" for tracking.
Really love it.

Hello
I work with this machine, the floor with a microphone in a pair of AT 4060. They seem made ​​for each other! The sound on top!
Thank Universal Audio!

This was my first piece of UA hardware. It will most likely be buried with me when I leave this world. The 610 MKll started it all for me, and now the only gear I own is UA. I love you Universal Audio!

Very good device, I am very happy with them. I really proved to be the voice recording. I also recorded them with bass guitar with very good results.

I bought this peace of gear about a year ago and since then it is my main setup for recoring vocals. Usualy my chain's like this: Brauner VMX into the LA-610, that goes to an old UA 1176LN and then into the desk (all connected with Vovox cables). I usally record with Steinbergs Nuendo and use the Studer plug-in on the channel as well. This gives me the sound I was looking for. It's easy to handle and a good starting point where ever one might wanna go. Thanks UA team, you make my day in the studio.

Together with a Neumann TL-103 or an Audio Technica AT4033, it covers every recording situation I come across in my way of work, I rate it a 4 just because I miss a "link" with that I could have had 2 and done bus-comp and mastering with it too:-)

My go to preamp for silky smooth and round bass vocals and acousitic guitar. What can I say ? Warm fat and big. Thanks UA !!!!! Next stop 6176.

This is my go to vox pre. The compressor levels out the vox very nicely and the tone matched up with the Rodes NT-2a, perfect!

This unit changed the game for me, it's my first choice for vocals, snare and bass. Absolutely awesome sound every time!