[Dana Nielsen]

Hey @barrose! Love this question, and thanks for the thoughtful context!

You’re comparing a few solid options: your current UAD 6176 (which I also own and recommend often), your Apollo Solo, and the Neve 88M you’re considering. I know the 6176 is on loan or going away, so the core of your question is: Is the 88M a step forward or a step back?

Here’s my honest take…

TL;DR: Preamp ≠ Magic … EQ + Output Control = Magic

The Neve 88M is no doubt a high-quality piece of gear. But so is your Apollo Solo, and honestly, when it comes to just mic preamps, the differences between most units – even boutique ones – are often overstated, especially in a clean, low-gain scenario like vocals or acoustic guitar. Both the Solo and 88M offer clean, low-noise gain with solid conversion.

But what I personally really care about in a preamp isn’t the name on the front, it’s:

• A bit of EQ (even just a top-end shelf or low cut)

• An output fader (so I can push the input gain and back off the output for harmonic saturation)

That’s why I love the 6176. With input and output controls, you can drive the tube preamp for tone and still maintain proper recording levels … something neither the 88M nor Apollo Solo really let you do.

If your 6176 is going away and you want to replace both your interface and preamp in one move, then sure, the 88M can work, but it’s not likely to sound radically better than your Apollo Solo. Without EQ or output trim, it’s just… gain.

And when you’re not pushing gain into breakup or leaning into transformer coloration, most preamps (yes, even Neve) are going to sound more alike than different.

My Real-World Suggestion:

If it were me, I’d either:

• Keep using your Apollo Solo and take full advantage of the UAD Console to add EQ/compression on the way in (just like you’d print with a 6176), OR

• Invest in a more full-featured channel strip, something with EQ and output control that lets you shape your sound before hitting the DAW

$1,200 is a lot to spend on another “clean” preamp when you already have one in the Apollo. That money might go further toward a versatile mic, plugin suite, or even a 6176 of your own!

🎛️🎚️

Ultimately, the Neve 88M is well-built, but I wouldn’t expect it to be some massive sonic upgrade over what you already have unless you’re specifically craving that Neve badge or want to simplify your rig with an all-in-one interface.

Hope that helps! And would love to hear what others think, especially if anyone’s using the 88M and has A/B’d it with UA gear!

⚡️ Dana

[Sharon Sexton]

1. Great video! And, as always, you’re totally right.
   Now, what shall we do with those $1,200… mmm…

[Dana Nielsen]

Haha – thanks, Sharon! (and sorry for the delayed response!)

[Bar Rose]

Hi Dana,

Thank you for the detailed and super-helpful insight – I’ll stick with the Apollo for now.

Following your advice, I’m looking to add a hardware channel strip next and I’m leaning toward getting my own UA 6176.

For a vocals-and-guitars–focused setup, would you consider it essential, or are there other strips you’d recommend instead?

On another note, your “drive the pre, ride the output” note was a gem! I’d overlooked how much the 1176 side can do as a post-drive trim, and honestly have been avoiding using it. It’s a bit of a mystery to me, and I’m not sure how to use the 1176 on vocal & guitar recordings.

Love to hear your thoughts / tips about this piece of machinery and unravel its mystery 🙂

From what I could peice together, I’m thinking of two gain-staging approaches (with and without compression) for vocals and guitars in mind:

A) Keep the 1176 at 1:1 and use its Output to set level while pushing the 610 for color.

B) Apply light compression: set 4:1, aim for ~1-3 dB of GR, then trim with the compressor’s Output.

What do you think?

Thanks so much!

[Dana Nielsen]

Yay! Glad u got some good tips from it, @barrose!

A) You can actually drive the preamp input (1) and turn down the output (6) of the preamp independent of the compressor. You can, for example, bypass the compressor and use the Preamp Out (XLR on back of the unit) straight to the line input of your Apollo.

B) yep!- you can also link the Preamp Out to the Compressor In using the front-panel Join switch (13). 1-3db of reduction at 4:1 would be a safe conservative setting for natural sound. But don’t miss the more exciting/hype-y sounds you can get with that 1176-style compressor! The setting I use for almost everything on any 1176 is Slowest Attack, Fastest Release, 4:1. Push the compressor input until it sounds too compressed, then dial back the input to taste, always adjusting the compressor output as needed to avoid digital overs in your DAW.

Oh, and here’s a link to the manual – Page 3 has a great description and overview!

https://media.uaudio.com/support/downloads/6176_Manual.pdf

[Bar Rose]

Hey Dana,

As I was recording this instrumental, the meter was living in the red while Sharon was on electric – felt like a bit of an outlaw 🙂

I also used the UAD compressor to tame the bass peaks – what a ball that was, I love how it helps control the track dynamically.

By the way, I’ve been using a few tricks from your thread with Paul about ducking in Pro-Q4 and got tempted to apply it almost everywhere – ducking the reverb, the bass under the kick, you name it. Am I getting too trigger-happy with it? Any downsides or alternative approaches you’d suggest?

Side note – this instrumental is my first time using the Behringer LM Drum, which was surprisingly fun. I’m actually considering picking up either their take on the 6176 or their Neve-style dual preamp console – looks like I have to return my 6176 loaner.

I’d love to hear your general thoughts on these kinds of lower-cost recreations of high-end gear – what do you think of that approach in general?

There’s no ending to this instrumental yet since I still have to write the next part!

instrumental-uad.mp3 4 MB MP3 - Click to view

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[Paul Tucci]

Bar,

This is moody and pretty already. I was hoping @JBear would suddenly appear vocally and take it further.

[Dana Nielsen]

Hey Bar! (and @sexton)! Wow, I love this – such beautiful playing and recording! And to @-PT‘s point, I agree — @JLew will totally dig this awesome instrumental 😊.

“Outlaw” lolol – perfect word for that wonderful feeling of “breaking the rules” with your equipment. Haha, love it! Whatever you’re doing to “abuse” that 6176 sounds GREAT – keep it up!

I’m not familiar with those other specific pieces of gear you mentioned but in general, heck yeah, these days it’s easier and easier to get expensive-sounding results using budget-friendly gear. You could probably even return/exchange for something different if you’re not satisfied with your first choice (assuming you’re buying something new from Guitar Center, Sweetwater, Amazon, etc.).

No matter the brand/model you settle on, per the video above in this thread, I would just try to find a piece (or pieces) of gear that ‘check the same boxes’ as that 6176 if you can:

• Input gain AND output fader/knob (to control digital peaks when you’re in “Outlaw Mode” 🤠)
• EQ for tone shaping on the way into your DAW
• Compressor/limiter option for shaping dynamics on the way in, and controlling peaks/overs in your DAW

Let us know what you decide on, Bar!

I’m gonna listen to that instrumental again now, cause it’s so nice! 🙌