Summit MPC 100A, Universal Audio 6176, and the Neve 8801 REVIEW

Well we all A/B in some manner and yesterday I had the very good fortune of spending some time with Declan Lonergan of Bluebird Studios Co. Kildare. I posted a thread asking about people experience with the Universal Audio 6176 and Declan happened to have one and offer me the chance to come out and have a listen. Now before I go any further I am going to make it clear that I am writing this passage for not only pro's but also beginners. Some people like me slowly build up their gear over time and when we start spending 2k + we want to know what we are getting for our money. So let’s take a look at the three units that we did a fair side by side comparison. We worked with the Summit MPC 100A, the UA 6176, and the AMS Neve 8801. Now for anyone who is new to recording that is reading this please understand that this is not about what piece of equipment is better but more a case of what 'flavor' each box has to offer. I have also noticed that my short review on Pro Tools 8 which was posted here on Boards was also posted unknown to me on a separate blog so I won’t be using words like 'beef' in this article to try and describe the sound of something, just in case this ends up somewhere with my name on it. So we used a Fender Strat for guitar and we used some pre recorded vocals from a very adequate singer songwriter. So the first thing I will say is that each unit had something very unique to offer recording enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Everything I write from here on is my opinion and is in no way 'matter of fact’; the content written here is based on my experience with the unit. Now on the day Declan and I referred the units to chocolate of all things which for most people can only be a good thing.

So let’s start with the Summit MPC 100A:

The Summit MPC 100A retails roughly for around 2k. Summit Audio's MPC-100A is a combination microphone pre-amp and compressor-limiter in a single, two rack space packages. This single channel unit uses a tube microphone pre-amp with two inputs: a low impedance microphone input with phantom powering and a Hi-Z input for musical instruments like a bass guitar or synthesizer.

The summit MPC 100A was the one box that needed the least tweaking to find the sweet spot on both electric guitar and vocals. Straight from the start this box had a very tight, punchy, smooth and warm compression that was generous in both the highs and lows in terms of its frequency range. This unit had an extremely professional 'smooth off the edges sound', there were no cloudy artifacts or any negative artifacts.The summit was the one unit that delivered pristine smooth compression straight out of the box. We then plugged the guitar straight into the summit and it sounded very clean. This unit and I don't use this word lightly sounded very rich.

The second unit was the UA 6176:

The Universal Audio 6176 610 Valve Mic-Amp And 1176 FET Limiter. Legendary, respected combination of the 2-610 microphone/instrument preamplifier and the 1176LN compressor in one box.The Universal Audio 6176 Channel Strip delivers the classic sound of the legendary 610 Modular Console. Advances in digital recording technology are providing users with tremendous power and flexibility for increasingly less money. All too often, however, the audio quality of these systems is limited by their input stages.

This was the unit that I heard so much about and in testing I have to say it had a very warm/dark sonic texture. The vocals sounded extremely smooth and full. The UA 6176 had such a dark sound that one may find themselves reaching for the EQ section to attempt to clarify and enrich the overall tone of the box. This for me was slight negative but then again we tried it on one male vocal and guitar. I found the UA 6176 to be muddy going in with the strat so again I can see how bass players may love the fat resolve of the box but the clean guitar player may have an issue with its dark overpowering texture. As a guitar player I would pick the summit over the UA any day. Again this is only based on two instrument tests so I have no doubt that on bass guitar this unit leaves the rest in the dirt for smooth, creamy, round sounding bass. The summit and the UA 6176 sounded very close sonically speaking but the high end frequencies in the summit were just not there in the UA 6176. The UA retails somewhere in the ball park at around 2k. The UA was identified as the dark chocolate and we all like to indulge in dark chocolate once in a while. Either of these units will bring you sonic happiness one way or another, the key is to own both.

So moving on to the AMS Neve 8801:

The AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip is like having a complete channel from the legendary Neve 88R console – widely considered among the best-sounding analogue music consoles ever developed. Contained in a single rackmount unit, the 8801 combines a classic Neve mic preamplifier and equalization circuitry with an incredible 88R-style dynamics processor. Completely hand-built and hand-wired by Neve, this ground breaking Channel Strip delivers a front-end with all the quality and versatility that has become synonymous with the Neve name.

The AMS Neve 8801 has ducker, EQ, gate, compressor, pre, the list goes on and on, all one easy to navigate rack unit. I have to say I liked this unit allot. Some studios have all three like Bluebird but in my case I can only afford one so even though I will eventually own all these units I have to purchase carefully so I get a bit of everything and again that is the reason I went to listen to these units. I need something that gives me bang for my buck and as an owner of the Rupert Neve Portico 5012 pre I have come to expect nothing less but sheer quality in anything that has Neve written on it and the AMS doesn't fail to deliver. The guitar sounded really clear and bright I may add and I rarely hear this kind of clarity in any other product, period.

To summit up:

UA 6176:
Pros: Dark, warm, smooth, big sounding.
Cons: Needs EQ for some applications which in effect is adding processing.

AMS Neve 8801:
Pros: The most versatile of the three (Swiss army knife), compressor was not as impressive as the other two, better EQ section than the other two
Cons: None

The summit MPC 100A:
Pros: Fat and (damn I did it again) warm, smooth straight compression out of the box. Tight and punchy. Packed full of richness.
Cons: None

Conclusion:
I am looking for a tool that can get the job done with minimal work involved and that’s why I will be purchasing the MPC 100A first. I always felt that buying outboard was as simple as reading five reviews from big magazines but I was wrong. In the end we use the outboard to suit the studio we work in and the type of music that we make. All of these units are superb and to have the opportunity to sit in with Declan at Bluebird Studios helped me realize that this area of recording is much easier to understand when you stop and listen and compare and contrast. Had I not done this I would have bought the UA 6176 based on what I read on the internet but in actual fact that's not the box that I wanted. I feel a sense of relief to have stepped into this field, it didn't turn out to be a waste of time or above me. I feel more aware of what each unit does and what makes each unit so special. I don't feel intimidated by this research and although we didn't get to test out all the variables which would be time consuming at least I can say I got my feet dirty and it wasn't as terrifying as I first taught. I urge you to try before you buy, most pro dealers should accommodate you if you are serious about purchasing, like our own Paul Brewer. I feel a greater sense of knowledge can be taken away from this experience and to have the confidence to buy my summit and know exactly what it does means that I will feel satisfied with my purchase.