Playback: You Send Us Your Music, and We Play it Back
WINNER: UNA, “Blue Dress”

While this track uses modern electronica techniques, the classic analog sound of voice and guitar draws the listener into a cozy listening vibe. The UA 2-610 was the perfect foil to the background of edgy synths and static drum loops.

Carlos Castro, of Watersound Studios in Studio City has a lot of vintage UA gear. It was his special accomodation that allowed me to stage a mic-pre shoot-out with help from Keith Senior of the Guitar Center. After comparing all available mic-pre’s and even Carlos’ vintage UA pre, several studio owners agreed, after the blind test, that the 2-610 was not only the best sounding pre, but also most like Carlos’ amazing UA pre.
I used an AKG 414, using the hi impedence load, input gain at +5 and output at about +7.5 with no EQ, in and out of the pre to a Sharp DAT, the SXD-200, then digital to ProTools, an 882! It might not be the latest thing, but I record everything at 44/16 and nobody believes me. The 2-610 makes so much sense in that it clearly presents a detailed character, capturing all the nuance in her vocal. Jennifer Cook is a wonderful singer and has a voice that uses every bit of the detail that the 2-610 provides. Also, no compression was used, I did fader moves to keep everything that the UA pre captured.