Universal Audio SOLO 610 - Manual (Page 15)

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History of the SOLO/610
The SOLO/610 was inspired by the 610 console built by Bill Putnam Sr. in 1960 for his United
Recording facility in Hollywood. As was the case with most of Putnam’s innovations, the 610 was the
pragmatic solution for a recurring problem in the studios of the era: how to fix a console without
interrupting a session. The traditional console of the time was a one-piece control surface with all
components connected via patch cords. If a problem occurred, the session came to a halt while the
console was dismantled. Putnam’s answer was to build a mic-pre with gain control, echo send and
adjustable EQ on a single modular chassis, using a printed circuit board. Though modular consoles
are commonplace today, the 610 was quite a breakthrough at the time.
While the 610 was designed for practical reasons, it was its sound that made it popular with the
recording artists who frequented Putnam’s studios in the 1960s. The unique character of its
microphone preamplifier in particular made it a favorite of legendary engineers like Bruce Botnick,
Bones Howe, Lee Hershberg, and Bruce Swedien, who has described the character of the preamp as
“clear and open” and “very musical.”
The 610 console was used in hundreds of studio sessions for internationally renowned artists such as
Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, the Mamas and Papas, the Fifth Dimension, Herb Alpert,
and Sergio Mendes. The Beach Boys’ milestone Pet Sounds album was also recorded using a 610.
Legendary engineer Wally Heider, manager of remote recording at United, used his 610 console to
record many live recordings, including Peter, Paul and Mary’s “In Concert” (1964), Wes Montgomery’s
“Full House” (1962), and all of the Smothers Brothers Live albums. Heider’s console was later acquired
by Paul McManus in 1987, who spent a decade restoring it.
At least one 610 console is still in use at Ocean Way Studios, site of the original United Recording
facility. Allen Sides, who purchased the studio from Putnam, personally traveled to Hawaii to collect
the 610 console that was used to record the live “Hawaii Calls” broadcasts. Celebrated engineer Jack
Joseph Puig has long been ensconced in Studio A at Ocean Way with the 610 (and a stunning
collection of vintage gear) where he has applied the vintage touch to many of today’s artists, including
Beck, Hole, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, No Doubt, Green Day and Jellyfish.
In 2000, Bill Putnam Sr. was awarded a Technical Grammy for his multiple contributions to the
recording industry. Highly regarded as a recording engineer, studio designer/operator and inventor,
Putnam was considered a favorite of musical icons Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Duke
Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and many, many more. The studios he designed and operated were known for
their sound and his innovations were a reflection of his desire to continually push the envelope.
Universal Recording in Chicago, as well as Ocean Way and Cello Studios (now EASTWEST) in Los
Angeles all preserve elements of his room designs.
The companies that Putnam started—Universal Audio, Studio Electronics, and UREI—built products
that are still in regular use decades after their development. In 1999, his sons Bill Jr. and James
Putnam re-launched Universal Audio and merged with Kind of Loud technologies—a leading audio
software company—with two goals in mind: to reproduce classic analog recording equipment
designed by their father and his colleagues, and to design new recording tools in the spirit of vintage
analog technology. Today Universal Audio is fulfilling that goal, bridging the worlds of vintage analog
and DSP technology in a creative atmosphere where musicians, audio engineers, analog designers and
DSP engineers intermingle and exchange ideas. Every project taken on by the UA team is driven by its
historical roots and a desire to wed classic analog technology with the demands of the modern digital
studio.