Universal Audio LA-610 Mk II - Manual (Page 17)

Insider’s Secrets
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Mixing Applications
The line-level input of the the LA-610 allows it to be used in mixing as well as tracking. Even if no
equalization or compression is used, the signal continues to pass through the transformers, the
tubes, and the polarity-reverse circuits, making it extremely useful for coloration of tracks. As Boisen
said in his review of the 2-610, “Any recording can potentially benefit from line-level tube-stage
processing.”
What’s more, the fact that all front panel controls of the LA-610 (with the exception of the preamp
Level control and the compressor Peak Reduction and Gain controls) are stepped makes it easy to
reproduce settings. Cooper found that “with its Gain switch set to +10, [the 2-610] fattened up kick
drum and bass tracks very nicely,” and Boisen reported that he was able to successfully use the 2-
610 to salvage overhead drum-mic tracks that had phase problems and a thin sound.
Of course, raising the preamp Gain and
decreasing the Level adds more tube
coloration to the signal being processed.
“At the +10 Gain value,” Cooper reported in
his review of the 2-610, “it was possible to
get deliciously nasty distortion on line-level
tracks.” You’ll also find that dialing in
judicious amounts of peak reduction from the
LA-610 compressor section can help get every
syllable of a lead vocal intelligible, even in a dense backing track, and can also help backing vocals
to “sit” correctly.
Improving the Sound of Your Microphone
In some cases, the LA-610 can even make an inexpensive microphone sound like an expensive one.
Boisen found that the 2-610 preamp allowed him to create “a terrific sound using [an inexpensive
stage dynamic microphone] with a female singer doing scratch vocals,” making it sound “amazingly
rich, airy, and expensive... It had no problems with graininess or undesirable coloration; indeed, in a
blind test I might easily have mistaken [it] for a costly tube mic.”
Live Applications
Although the LA-610 was designed primarily for use in recording, it can also serve as a powerful
addition to a live sound rig, especially in FOH (Front Of House) applications. We know of several
professional electric bass players who use the 2-610 as their onstage preamp, plugging their
instrument directly into its Hi-Z input and then routing the 2-610 output to their power amp. The same
trick works even better with the LA-610, where you have the benefit of compressing or limiting the
signal before sending it to the power amplifier.
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Dialing in judicious amounts of Peak
Reduction can help get every syllable of a
lead vocal intelligible, even in a dense
backing track, and can also help backing
vocals to “sit” correctly.