I have some extra money saved up. I'm thinking about getting the UA 2-610 for my studio, but I don't know if it will be the best for the style of recording that I do. I currently own the dbx 386 preamp which I'm not satisfied with as my main preamp. I also need a better AD/DA converter, right now I'm suck with the 200 dollar Behringer 8 track converter that to my ear sounds horrible. I mostly record metal/hardcore. I need a preamp that will suit me best for that style. A preamp that will sound great on high gain guitar amps such as the Peavey 6505+ and Bogner Ubschall, that will sound good on all types of vocals including screaming, and that will sound great with drum overheads. Would the UA 2-610 be good for all of this? Or is there a better preamp that would suit me better? The UA 2-610 is around 2,000 dollars, but I would rather spend less than 2,000 dollars for a preamp if there's one that will suit me. For the AD/DA I want to spend around 1,000 dollars. I need one that as an optical out, has a switch that can change it from 44.1k all the way up to 192k, and of course has 8 balanced inputs. And one last thing, which is more important for me to buy first, the better preamp or the better converter?
Here is a link of some of the music I recorded for my band so you can get an idea of the sound that I record...
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RemyRAD wrote: Your problem is not one of equipment but of techn
RemyRAD wrote: Your problem is not one of equipment but of technique in using your equipment. You just think that throwing money at it will make it better. It won't. You have to get better.
What Remy says is probably correct in the sense that you can make a much bigger improvement by better technique than you can by better equipment. (If she put those words on every equipment query on this board she be right 80%? 90%? of the time.)
But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't get better equipment if you can have the money.
As far as the preamp goes, the sky is the limit. If you get a good quality preamp like the UA that has been around forever you are set. By "set" I mean that you can no longer make any excuses. You will still make recordings that suck, but you will know that you are the reason. Me, I got an API 3124. I am now forever forbidden for blaming any defect in my music on the preamp. If the drums in my recordings suck it's because I suck.
On the other hand, I'm concerned that you are focused on high bit rates for the converters when you are using a bargain basement unit right now. If you are using a Behringer unit now it will be years before bit rate is a limiting factor in the quality of your recordings. Buy an interface that (1) has lots of I/O options (2) has a few decent preamps (3) has pretty well regarded AD/DA. Note that the I/O options are the first priority and AD/DA is the last (My $.02 and worth every penny).
So right now, you have a decent preamp and a bargain converter. I you get a great preamp and a good converter/interface it will definitely be all on you. (Or, as Remy suggests, save all the money and get better on your cheap equipment. In a year you will be able to do much better recordings on the cheap equipment if you work hard - but...you have to work hard.)
The UA will absolutely do heavy guitars. Once you're into that r
The UA will absolutely do heavy guitars. Once you're into that range of pres, it's hard to ever say 'better'.