UA LA-610 or 6176 as bassguitar chain?

[Erlend_]

What do you think?

Im interested in getting a pre+comp primarily for recording bassguitar but of course it would be cool if it was also good for vocals, guitars and all that.

As far as I understand the preamp section is the same for both units but the compressor section is quite different. The LA-610 has the LA-2A "style" compression and is quite alot cheaper than the 6176 which is supposed to sound like the real 1176LN.

Normally I reach for the LA-2A plug when Im working with vocals and bassguitar but as always it depends on the source material. therefore I tend to gravitate towards the LA-610..


Anyone here who has tried either or both units? Would love to hear your opinions on these two units.

 

[HeadCrusher]

 

[Erlend_]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ9t_-BmhGM

That video was allright! The tone he had at the end was pretty good.. Im still wondering though if the LA-610 is capable of a more metal tone. Like really tight with that sweet KLANG-KLANG thing I happen to love so much..

 

[Razorjack]

The LA-2A is the king of bass compression but you're limited with such a clean preamp, for metal you need some more grind and less of the fuzzy tone. With a Tech 21 VT Bass in front it would give you any bass tone you'll ever need. A nice boost on the bass track at the freq where the kick scoops and you've got a great upfront bass tone that can level a house.

 

[rlcramer]

I hate to say this, but I had an LA-610 that I bought specifically for recording bass, but after hearing the Sansamp RBI, I sold the UA. The UA is clean, but didn't have enough character for my metal bass tracks. The Sansamp really slays.

Bobby

 

[Melodeath]

That Gearwire vid really got me GASing. Way too much $ for a single pre for me though.

 

[greyskull]

6176 id say

 

[Erlend_]

I hate to say this, but I had an LA-610 that I bought specifically for recording bass, but after hearing the Sansamp RBI, I sold the UA. The UA is clean, but didn't have enough character for my metal bass tracks. The Sansamp really slays.

Bobby

That Sansamp RBI looks very interesting.. Much nicer pricetag than the LA-610 although I presume it wouldnt be something I could use for vocals and such
Not a problem really. Im looking into some 500 series stuff for more pres and possibly a comp that I can use for other things.

 

[Kazrog]

For metal, I also highly recommend the SansAmp RBI or even the Bass Driver DI pedal. It is unbeatable. You can emulate an LA2A pretty well in the box with plugins (UAD-1/2 and Waves have good LA2A clones.)

 

[rlcramer]

Erlend_ - I switched for the LA610 to a Sansamp RBI for Bass and a UA Twinfinity for vocals. For about the same price, now I have a KILLER bass rig, and a pretty amazing Mic pre to boot. OK, the Twinfinity isn't as cool as a 610, but the Sansamp SLAYS the 610 for bass, and to be honest, a bass tone is much more important to my mixes than a vocal tone. YMMV, but I'm really happy with my decision to dump the 610 (which I originally bought as a bass DI). A friend of mine (coneyis) on this board kept raving about the sansamp for bass tracks, so when I finally made the switch, I was kicking myself for not listening to him sooner... Yeah - it's that good. Plug a good bass into it, and you'll see what I mean. It might be the best single improvement a piece of gear has ever made to my mixes - and I buy / sell / try - TONS of stuff.

Bobby