Universal Audio MK 610?

Anyone have experience with this mic pre?  http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LA610mk2/
For the price range it seems to have the best reviews for a tube pre.
 
Of course there is the Manley TNT which has both a Tube and SS channels.  Ideally if I only have one mic pre I would want diversity but at 2700 big ones the Manley is a little much.  But if it saves me from buying two down the road....
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TNT
 
Anyone have experience with either of these?

I have an original LA610 and the mkII, that's how much I like them.
I also have the 6176.
As Mike said the pre, the 610, is not exactly "transparent".

HTH,
T

Thnanks for the feedback guys.  Do you feel even with the gain very low it is still has a 'thick' tube coloration?

Thanks Mike

Mike,

+1 for what Mike (the other Mike here) says.  I was just at a big label producer's place last week and he uses LA for all his bass and says it is always just right.  But that is just about the only thing he uses it for.  However, he has lots of other toys and favorite chains.

The most flexible chain I've come across (and I ain't saying I've used them all, or even a majority) is the RND Portico II channel strip.  Modern Neve premap - which is to say a big transformer sound, clean but not superclean.  However, if you want a more vintage sound it has a knob and two position "silk" switch to add some and then some more harmonic saturation, while you can dial it in the amount w/ the knob.  We played w/ that feature at a studio and could pretty well match the sound of the BAE (1073 Neve clone).  It also pretty well matched a pendelum the studio owner uses for vox most of the time.  On rich sources like the distorted guitar it was really a blast.  Add a 4 band EQ w/ HP (again, clean but big) and a comp w/ feed forward and back modes and built-in parellel knob and a de-esser and you have just about everything you need in a channel strip.

It is about twice as expensive as the LA, but if you are recording your songs one instrument at a time it is hard to buy something more flexible w/o getting a couple of separate modules.  One the downside, it is about twice as expensive as many other good channel strips and you dont' get multiple preamps for recording at once or using on your bus output.  Ah, where's the lottery when you need it!

@

The RND was there too, I think, and maybe the stock moto preamp, too.

Almost any high-end pre or channel is going to sound good, although one might be better for this or that or work better with your voice.  Still, it is a matter of degree, not kind.  Once you get to a certain point, the mic and placement is going to have a bigger impact.  And a bad room.  One of the things about most (if not all) of the higher-end preamps is more gain, which often gives you more room tone in the recording, which shows up resonances, standing waves, etc.

Listening straight off my computer on $10 speakers I really couldn't tell much if any difference of our shootout - which should tell you something for many finished listening enviroments.  The subtle differences are blurred, if not lost.  But that doesn't mean that well-recorded sources ain't important - it makes it easier to mix and get separation of instruments, which does translate to airbuds etc.  If you are serious about capture, a nice preamp is a real help, whether it is a $300 Gap that you can play w/ the input/output transformer or the straight-wire of a Grace or a $4000 channelstrip w/ all the fixings.

@

I think the compressor is what finally pushed me over the edge.  I really cant wait to hear how my main mic mixes with it (SHURE KSM 44a).  I'll post my results when I get a chance for any interested parties

I didn't find anything lower than 1599 new.  I dont buy used gear unless it's an insane deal.  I would always rather spend a couple hundred dollars extra for new with a warranty and tech support (if needed). 

So many of my friends claimed they have gotten crazy deal off of Ebay on used gear but I have yet to find any true "insane deals".  Most used gear is still fairly close to the original price, I never find it worth it to take a chance on when I could just pay a little extra for new.  Now if I found a used one for 500....that would be something!

mybad?
I should have said something.
I'm on the road and my internet time is very limited.
I knew I missed something...
Sorry to both of you.

T