The ua 610 mic/line tube preamp is legendary. for one, because it was the first implementation of the console “channel strip” as we know it. Prior to the 610 and all-in-one channel strips that followed, a console was merely the control surface for individual mic, booster, and line amps typically racked separately from the “board” itself. the console housed faders, attenuators, equalizers and filters, and each step in the topology had to be amplified by an individual, external, amp. as such, the sound of a single channel in a vintage tube console was the sum of several distinct components: a mic preamp, passive equalizer, booster amp, and finally the line amp at the mono or stereo bus of the console.

the standalone nature of the 610 module—built in eq, 70db of gain, all-in-one physical design—makes it effortless to incorporate into today’s hybrid recording environment. the 610 becomes legendary in another way: for the sheer euphonic glory it brings out of any source.