The differences would be things like increased depth-of-field, tone color, fidelity,probably ease of use of tracks in a mixdown....Its a higher end unit. It is a colored sounding unit. Very nice.

ok well i guess my next question is...

At this point im running Logic Pro on a Macbook Pro and as stated before a Presonus FP-10 as my interface. At this point what would it be wiser to do, pick up a higer end interface(apogee)? a nice compressor(empirical labs) or a nice mic pre.

i realize that most people say invest in the room sound, but my current location is temporary.

Ignoring possible sound improvement for the moment, analog mic presor compressors are stable technology. You would have no problem buying a 15 year old 610. Can't say the same for a digital interface. Pres and mics are probably better investments (in purely monetary terms) than anything digital.

If you are focused on tubes because you are coming from the guitar world get it out of your head. There is good tube recording gear out there, but it is not automatically preferable to solid state. These is a lot more classic solid state recording gear than tube gear. Tube lust is a guitar thing. Get rid of it when you put on your recording engineer's hat.

lol you totally called me out on the guitarist mindset of tubes. Ok with that being said ive heard alot about AD converters having a large role in your overall sound, is this something i should worry about right now, or should i stick with the presonus and invest in mic pres? and should i look for micpres with eq/comp built in ala La610 or something without.

melovine wrote: Ok with that being said ive heard alot about AD converters having a large role in your overall sound, is this something i should worry about right now, or should i stick with the presonus and invest in mic pres? and should i look for micpres with eq/comp built in ala La610 or something without.

No, don't worry. Be happy, and I mean it.

You have top quality converters. Many people use presonus including myself, so do yourself a favor and listen to Bob. He hit the nail on the head when he said use your money for mics and pres.

There are pre's that have inserts. Then if you like the pre you can keep it and narrow down the search for a compressor you like the sound of. Simply use an insert cable and plug into your patch bay and you have access to your whole rack, with all your gear. Now thats power! That is, if you have a rack.

Its really hard to tell how some product will turn out in your studio until you take the plunge and spend the dough. Thats why you want to spend your money wisely and not make decisions based on digital upgrades. I have made that mistake before, its easy to think that we need better digital when its really better analog that our ears are after.

Quality sound is all about the source.

Since you are coming from the instrument side of it, think of it like this.

The final part of amplifying your guitaris theamp.....lets say its a Fuchs, Carr, or maybe even something more exotic. No problems there....right? Next in line (we're going backwards to make a point) is a set of boxes. ALL of them are high-end...OCD, Keeley mods etc...and hooked up with low-impedance cables....The you bend down and plug in a ratty $100 student line guitar with a poorly cut nut and pickups that are almost microphonic.....

Wheres the weak spot?

So you want to get a really solid sound into your recording device. Its digital so there has to be conversion somewhere because you play guitar and so far guitar is still an analog signal(exceptions yes I know so shut up). The source is where you start your work in recording. As long as you can get it to the recording device with the proper type of signal, you should always look at the source as your goal.

The source itself is FIRST.

Then the MIC.

Preamp(really its micamp)

ad/da conversion

recording device.

In between any of these spots you can add compression...reverb...phaser....etc....anywhere.

Do you need tubes?

No. Unless you want tubes. A 610 imparts an exceptional tube tone to things. Its not always what you want.

What you really want for high-end fidelity with exceptional tone is TRANSFORMERS...iron in the system. There may be tubes present too, but its the transformers that add that noise we all strive for.

The 610 ia a very nice unit. There are so many others.

great advice guys, so it looks like ill be looking at a preamp, i forgot to mention i have a nice set of mics. one last question, i need a REALLY good universal, mic pre something that can jump from drums to guitar. near or under $1500

what do you think?

One channel or two?

For around that price street, theres very few units that get any better than a Langevin DVC.

Davedog wrote: Quality sound is all about the source.

What you really want for high-end fidelity with exceptional tone is TRANSFORMERS...iron in the system. There may be tubes present too, but its the transformers that add that noise we all strive for.

The 610 ia a very nice unit. There are so many others.

Yes, its the transformers! Not cheap, but thats what the doctor prescribed to those of us who suffer from thinking that getting another $500 pre is going to make the mix better. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong here, but I don't believe I've seen many pre's with good transformers in them for less than say $1000.

could someone list some preamps (with good transformers) that would be a good place to start researching. Im looking for a really up front andy sneap kinda sound. i would really like to pick it up off of Americanmusical.com because they have a cool payment deal where you can pay off a portion and they send it straight to you. But if i really should go somewhere else i dont mind.

Davedog wrote: For around that price street, theres very few units that get any better than a Langevin DVC.

Have you checked out one of these bad boy's yet?

I myself am looking for a great mic pre too so I've taken a little time to research what Dave is talking about and it makes perfect sense.

(dead link removed)

If you look at the Dual mono mic pre and the Dual channel limiter on this page you'll notice they are the same boxes as the Dual Vocal Combo.

Here is a review too:
Lavry Black DA11

If you have heard the sound that these types of limiters have on a signal, I have a feeling they are the type that do impress one easily. Like the LA-2A type sound PLUS the pro transformer input pre with a shelving eq. You can even run the limiter separate from the mic pre's with all four outs going to their destinations. Looks like The Langevin DVC is a all around sweet deal to me. Now all I got to do is figure out what I'm gonna sell to get it.

i have a LA-610 and it makes me very happy! great for di bass and warming up di guitar for modeling, vocals, and makes any mic i use sound that much better. the compressor and eq are very 'musical' and handy.
i just wish it was a dual, but great signal chain for under $1500. and yeah, i like tubes!

i want the 610 badly