The Universal Audio 6176 is an amazing channel strip. Containing the warmth of the 610b preamp, with the legendary 1176 compressor in a single unit, which can be linked or used independently of each other.
The 610b would be characterised as a 'warm' tube pre, which is to say, it will colour your incoming signal slightly with that beautiful tube tone, should you increase the gain. There are 3 input options: Mic, Line or the 1/4" input on the faceplate to D.I guitars, etc. There is a functional, if limited, eq in the form of two 3-way switches, which give you, in increments of 1.5dB, + or - 9 dB at either 4.5kHz, 7kHz or 10kHz on the top and 70Hz, 100Hz or 200Hz on the bottom end.
Then we move on to the 1176. With this you can either bypass the compression, allowing the signal to simply pass through the circuitry, or use mild compression at a 4:1 ratio, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1 or the ridiculous 'All' mode, which simulates the trick devised by engineers with the original units, where the compressor would act erratically, yet very musically. This is great for drum over heads for a huge, pumping sound. Very effective for parallel compression! This is a high end unit with a serious reputation. Expensive, but worth every cent. That's why I have 2 ;)
