Universal Audio SOLO/610 Tube Desktop Microphone Preamp
Universal Audio SOLO/610 Tube Desktop Microphone Preamp.
The Universal Audio Solo/610 is a standalone mic pre-amp with handle, not the usual rack mounted type. It's about the size of two longish bricks stacked one atop the other, a form factor roughly used by a few other well known mono-preamps or DIs.
The SOLO/610 mic preamp/DI box from Universal Audio brings the best of their preamp designs to a single-channel format. The SOLO series features the solid build and audiophile components that define UA quality. Its portable form factor is convenient for use in the studio and control room, onstage, and on your desktop. The all-tube SOLO/610 imparts its alluring, characteristic warmth to all your digital recordings. Vocals take on new life; direct bass sounds huge and round; drums sound fat and punchy. Take it from Sweetwater: if you want to make great-sounding music, you need the right front end: the Universal Audio SOLO/610.
Below the knobs are a set of simple single throw switches. First is the Mic/DI switch, then the Low/Hi-Z switch to control the input impedence, followed by the 48v phantom power, an 80Hz engageable high pass, and phase switch. The impedence switch is nominally for switching between mics vs. line level instruments when DI'ing, but can be used for tonal variation in any use case. On the rear are XML inputs, and a mic/line switch to control whether it outputs a line level signal or passes through a mic level signal, perhaps to feed into some other downstream pre-amp or console pre-amp input. There is also a ground lift switch. On the front is also a DI input and a passthrough output. The input to the DI is passed right back out to the output, and is typically used to feed both an DI'd signal and an amp signal simultaneously.