Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity

Last week I discussed one of the instruments used in The Destruction of All We Have Known, the sample recording I provided in a previous post about the capabilities of home studios. Well, today I would like to discuss a piece of hardware that was heavily used in that recording as well. This is the Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity.

Universal Audio released this preamp in 2008 to combine the warmth of tube powered preamps and the clarity of solid state preamps. When selecting a preamp to purchase, you are often looking for particular tones that you want to get from it. You select one preamp that sounds amazing with acoustic guitars and you may select a completely different preamp that sounds amazing with bass guitars.

With the Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity you get nearly infinite tonal possibilities from one preamp. This comes from the unique feature of combining the tube and solid state signal paths. Not only can you choose to have 100% tube or 100% solid state, there is a variable knob that lets you choose how much tube warmth you want and how much solid state clarity you want. This allows you to dial in specific combinations that bring out the best characteristics of whatever the sound source is that you are recording. 

For instance, maybe you are recording a guitar player that uses a lot of intricate finger picking. If you went with an all tube preamp you may loose some of the detail in the picking. By blending the tube and solid state, you can still get a warm acoustic tone but by blending more of the solid state into the signal you can capture more of the detail in what is being played.

Similarly, if you want a more retro styled warm vocal track and you would dial in more of the tube circuit while tracking your vocals. I have yet to find a source that I wasn't able to dial in the specific tone I was looking for and be completely satisfied with. 

Some of the additional controls on this unit are:

• +48V phantom power switch for using condenser microphones
• 15 dB pad for use on louder sources
• Mic/Line level switch for use when recording a bass DI for example in the Hi-Z input
• Output/Drive meter selector
• Low cut switch
• Polarity selector
• Input Gain knob
• Output Level knob

The versatility alone makes this preamp completely worth the $800 price tag, even if it is for only one channel. There are four channel models available for $2,000 but if you are on a budget and can only afford one channel, it is still worth the price. I have yet to find a preamp that can sound so good on so many different sound sources. Set your input gain and output level and then slowly adjust that blending knob until it hits that spot where everything sits just right and you are getting the exact tone you were envisioning.

What preamps are among your favorite and why? What makes them stand out above the rest for you? have you worked with the UA 710 before? What are your thoughts on this piece of hardware? Leave your comments below and lets discuss preamps!