Black Lion Audio Pre's used in Mod's

[mattkw80]

I am having my Project Mix I/O modded pretty soon, by Black Lion Audio. I am pretty excited, and cannot wait to get it back.

The Project Mix I/O does have pretty limited headroom, and Nate from Black Lion has already warned me that the Mod won't fix that, but as I understand it, I will be getting 8 really nice pre's out of the deal.

Does anybody know what the modded pre's are comparable too? Or, on par with?

I own a Universal Audio 610, so I am familliar with that. Nate from Black Lion said the modded pre's will be really comparable to that.

A friend of mine, who owns a studio and had his Digi 002 modded went one better and said he believe's the BLA modded pre's are actually better than the 610.

Anybody care to comment about the pre's on their own BLA modded equipment, and what they feel they are comprable too, or sound like?

Would you say the lean more towards a clean avalon type sound, or something more colored, or dark?

[mattkw80]

Anybody?

[AllAboutTone]

I will chime in, i don't really care for any preamps in convertor boxes, i use all outboard....Im sure some one else will chime in that has the black lion pres.

[TurboJets]

I had the Tweakhead mod done by them on my 1814FW and while the 1814 is not a Project Mix I/O I can't imagine the stock pre's are any different and I don't think I'd describe the "new" pre's as being anywhere near the flavor of a UA610. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe I just hear things differently but the 610 at least has some color and balls where the modded 1814 pre's don't have any color at all - they're like...sterile (in a good way). Yeah, they're clean, yeah the top end is smoother now and overall they're alot more useable now but 610 comparable[?]...no.

I'll have to re-visit them tomorrow in a session and listen more critically.

Killer mod, BTW. I love the difference I hear and highly recommend BLA's work.

[mattkw80]

Thanks for the input.

I had suggested the 610 as a comparisson, and I think Nate agree'd more on terms that it was "as good" but not so much meaning "sounded like" tone wise. A friend of mine, who has great ears, and lots of high end stuff to compare too, commented that he feels the BLA modded PRe's will be better than a 610.

With the Pmix mod, I am getting 8 Pre's re-done, the Micro Clock replaced, and the A/D stages replaced.

Out of all that... what would you guys guess is going to bring me the best improvement? What I am trying to ask I guess... out of all that, which of those elements will make the biggest difference?

Here' what I am hoping the mod will accomplish....

1. Best Pre's than what are in it, so that I'll finally have 8 Pre's suitable for recording a drum set.

2. Best A/D and D/A in general, and so that my monitor's sound better.

3. I really have NO IDEA what benefit the Microclock will be to me.

(What the heck does the Microclock do?)

[TurboJets]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

Out of all that... what would you guys guess is going to bring me the best improvement? What I am trying to ask I guess... out of all that, which of those elements will make the biggest difference?

Here' what I am hoping the mod will accomplish....

1. Best Pre's than what are in it, so that I'll finally have 8 Pre's suitable for recording a drum set.

2. Best A/D and D/A in general, and so that my monitor's sound better.

3. I really have NO IDEA what benefit the Microclock will be to me.

(What the heck does the Microclock do?)

IMO, the nicest part of the mod is hella better AD/DA. Detail is so enhanced. It's not something that smacks you in the face right away but once you get back to some serious tracking you'll begin to hear a hugely welcome increase in clarity over the entire spectrum, detailed transients, smoother (more natural) fades on sustained acoustic instruments sounds and more room ambience shines through.

The new pre's will definitely be cool for drums (although the EH 12AY7 is the shizz on toms and hand percussion IMO). But they'll be open and clean with more headroom than you're used to having.

Upgraded internal clocking helps minimize instances of jitter. I'm not too well versed in the technical explanations of what the clock does.

[ironbelly]

i had black lion mod my motu 2408 mk3 almost a year ago and am very happy with it.
the a/d d/a conversion is clearly noticeable in all the ways the post above described. i also tried the micro clock, it didn't seem to do anything for me so i returned it. black lion were good people and a pleasure interacting with.

[mattkw80]

Sounds good to me.

Turbojets... I actually own the EH 12AY7 as well.

I use it on kick, and think it's a really good pre for the money.

[mattkw80]

Anybody else care to make a comparison between quality of the Black Lion Audio Pre's, and a preamp you can buy?

Are my modded pre's going to be anywhere near the API 512 series?

[audiovisceral]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

Anybody else care to make a comparison between quality of the Black Lion Audio Pre's, and a preamp you can buy?

Are my modded pre's going to be anywhere near the API 512 series?

no. built in pres like these are almost always bland because thy use very basic designs.

api pres are far more complex. you could never fit the kinds of components good, colored pres require in a tiny interface like that, and it would cost $1k for the mod to do it.

the microclock should make your biggest impact imo.

[mattkw80]

audiovisceral, thanks for the reply.

I know this statement you made "built in pres like these are almost always bland because thy use very basic designs. " may be pretty obvious to everyone else, but it's something I had never really considered.

You've basically explained why cheap pre's suck in 1 easy to understand sentence.

More guts = More Money = Better Quality.

Less guts = Less Money = Less Quality

Originally Posted by audiovisceral

no. built in pres like these are almost always bland because thy use very basic designs.

api pres are far more complex. you could never fit the kinds of components good, colored pres require in a tiny interface like that, and it would cost $1k for the mod to do it.

the microclock should make your biggest impact imo.

[JustinAiken]

I should have my 002 back coming soon... what would be a good 4 channel preamp be to match the pres in the BLA002? So that I could use them all on the same source and sound natural...

[Snatchman]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

audiovisceral, thanks for the reply.

I know this statement you made "built in pres like these are almost always bland because thy use very basic designs. " may be pretty obvious to everyone else, but it's something I had never really considered.

You've basically explained why cheap pre's suck in 1 easy to understand sentence.

More guts = More Money = Better Quality.

Less guts = Less Money = Less Quality

Not really exactly. Sometimes "more guts" actually degrade the signal if not implemented correctly and less quality. Sometimes "less guts" does less damage to the signal if implemented correctly and better quality..Depends on the design/designer I guess...YMMV

[mattkw80]

Damn... you had to re-complicate the issue.


I'm going to have $475 + $50 rush service + damn near $150 in shipping.

I'm just hoping I get $675 worth of value out of the mod.

If I have to buy some nice pre's down the road, so be it.

My main goal in all of this was so I can get a better drum sounds, specifically out of my overheads. (x2 AT4050's).

[A LaMere]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

Anybody else care to make a comparison between quality of the Black Lion Audio Pre's, and a preamp you can buy?

Are my modded pre's going to be anywhere near the API 512 series?

With all due respect to BLA, I'm unsure that the 'modded' version of the pre's in my 002 rig are anything special. In fact, I'm unsure that they're any 'better' than the original version of the pre.

They might be?? truth is, I didn't use 'em much before.. and after listening to the modded version still don't have much of a use for them.

They ARE useable though. Are they close to a 512? Hell no!
they do seem 'tighter' to me than the stock, original pres I guess.

I'd say that they're probably comparable to something like the DMP-3 but with less headroom.

it's a bit strange to me to think that a single company will create both a digital clock and a preamp of any weight or substance to be honest... You're usually either really good at one.. or really good at the other... or... you just are mediocre at both.

Just some food for thought....
I will say, I'm VERY happy with the overall mod to my 002 rig.
Bottom line is: it sounds better to me... and it didn't cost me much

[Snatchman]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

Damn... you had to re-complicate the issue.


I'm going to have $475 + $50 rush service + damn near $150 in shipping.

I'm just hoping I get $675 worth of value out of the mod.

If I have to buy some nice pre's down the road, so be it.

My main goal in all of this was so I can get a better drum sounds, specifically out of my overheads. (x2 AT4050's).

If this offer any " help " to your efforts..(....), I had Matt ( BLA) mod a Digimax LT sometimes ago. Even tho I've sold it,the mod made that pre/converter channel become really good..! ( especially the converters)...Good luck.!

[mattkw80]

In another thread, there's some guys really lovin' the new BLA Preamp stand-alone.

Maybe, after I pay off the mod... I'll just buy one of those.

Can anybody explain to me what benefit I will get from the Microclock they install when they do the Mod?

[KEYBEEETSSS]

I have the mod... While I won't say that sound like api because I also have a 3124+ as well as a API A2D, the BLA pre definitely can hold its weight...They sound 50times better than the stock so dont let anyone tell u they dont... I also have a LA-610 & it sounds nothing like that either; BUT, neverless, you will have another pre to choose from in the BLA PRE because they really sound good...Can't give u a comparison but they just work on there own...

[mattkw80]

Now I'm even more excited! Thanks!