[Matt]

I recently went to my guitar center to try out preamps and the guy
helping me began to rant about the Universal Audio LA-610, how it
"sounds like an Avalon without the price". Whether or not that is true,
I cannot afford an Avalon at this point so I figured I'd give the thing
a try. So I brought in my Rode NT1-A and laptop with mbox so I could
record my trials for later. I set it up in one of the quiet rooms in
guitar center and let 'er rip.

Sure enough the preamp sounds pretty dang good, and if used lightly,
the compressor sounds pretty good too. In fact, I actually recorded a
vocal take during this trial in guitar center and it really made my
voice pop out of the mix. The driven sound (gain up, output down) is a
really cool affect that I would love to use for rock vocals,
instruments, or for running samples through to give them a different
edge. It's just way too expensive for me (I'm about to head off to
college), but I still want something a bit higher end than the
focusrites in my mbox. I found the Solo\610 and 110. I like the look of
these things, specifically for their portablility without needing a
rack. I noticed that the solo\610 has the same tubes as the LA just
different quantities, which is a good sign. And I don't need the LA's
compressor, I plan to grab an RNC anyway.

Does anyone know if the Solo\610 has the same color and quality as the
LA-610? What are opinions of the Solo\110? Any other recommendations in
the price range? Thanks as usual.

Matt