Black Lion Audio Mod Comparison Experiment

[O.G. Killa]

Originally Posted by guitar486

First off thanks again for doing this OG. One thing I must mention before getting into my thoughts is that it sounds like you are playing the hi hat a bit differently on some of the tracks (a little more open on a few and more closed on most others). Just wanted to put that out there for people to be aware of so it doesn't affect your judgement.

I know, and I agree. That was one of the obstacles to doing a test like this. There is no way to split a mic signal before a preamp to record the same performance on different machines (phantom power gets screwy). So that's why I did multiple performances on each machine.

[O.G. Killa]

great responses so far... keep 'em coming.

[oulablank]

OG , I really liked " u can't stop ". 4 on the floor baby !

[Sounds Expensive]

Originally Posted by peppertree

How are we to know that for certain? We would have to trust you

Honestly, dude! Maybe all of us should ask you the same question?

Mutt Lange is also using BLA stuff, the guys who design Altiverb used a modded 002r for some IR's, and there are plenty of very happy customers--including me. They have samples on the web. The BLA company appears to be growing. There are plenty of small companies that don't publish specs. Research, listen to the gear, make your decision. Many of us have done just that, our recordings sound stellar, and both we and our clients are happy.

Let OG do his thing, and let us use our ears. Thanks.

[flommer]

Originally Posted by O.G. Killa

I know, and I agree. That was one of the obstacles to doing a test like this. There is no way to split a mic signal before a preamp to record the same performance on different machines (phantom power gets screwy). So that's why I did multiple performances on each machine.

I haven't listened, but..

Since you can't split the Mic signal, would it not be a possibility to use 2 matched mics to record the same performance...? I'm thinking the mics would have less perceivable differences than would be apparent from 2 different performances.. You could swap the mics around as part of the random process..

Also, how about recording the playback from a monitor through the mic? That way the performance/mic position would be identical... I mean the goal is to highlight differences, not to create the perfect recording, right?

If you had a robot who (which?) could play the drums or strum a guitar.. well that would just be the best scenario I guess...

[flommer]

Originally Posted by Sounds Expensive

Let OG do his thing, and let us use our ears. Thanks.

That would go against his agenda. You can't say peppertree isn't single minded about this stuff...

[O.G. Killa]

Originally Posted by flommer

I haven't listened, but..

Since you can't split the Mic signal, would it not be a possibility to use 2 matched mics to record the same performance...? I'm thinking the mics would have less perceivable differences than would be apparent from 2 different performances.. You could swap the mics around as part of the random process..

Also, how about recording the playback from a monitor through the mic? That way the performance/mic position would be identical... I mean the goal is to highlight differences, not to create the perfect recording, right?

If you had a robot who (which?) could play the drums or strum a guitar.. well that would just be the best scenario I guess...

This is true and I thought about doing that. But I ran into the "wall" of mic variety (or lack thereof), and the sound of the mic changing with position. For example, I used a pair of TLM170s on the piano, a pair of CMC5s on the overheads and a pair of R121s as the drum room mics. I don't have 4 of each of those mics (only 2 of each), so then I'd have to use mics that I have 4 of (SM57s and MD421s). Which kind of defeats the purpose, since mic preamps respond differently with different mics (which was one of the things I wanted to experiment with, see if I noticed a difference). Also, since I technically only had the studio for a day (even though it really took me 2 and 1/2 days) I wanted to have everything setup and ready to go at the same time. The drums, piano, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar cab were all setup and mic concurrently. Then we just jumped from one instrument to the next, trying to move as quickly as we could because Dr Ford and Dan both had gigs Sat and Sunday and were squeezing this in for me, in between everything else.

Also, especially with things like guitar amp, a mic moved an inch left/right/up/down and significantly change the sound. So in that regard having two mics next to each other and comparing them is tough since the sound coming off the speaker changes dramatically within such short distances.

So, that's why I eventually decided on just using one mic setup and doing multiple takes. Again I know it's not the most ideal, but it is the most "real world" I could do given the time I had to do it.

[O.G. Killa]

Originally Posted by oulablank

OG , I really liked " u can't stop ". 4 on the floor baby !

Thanks man! That's my buddy Donny laying it down on the drums. If you read the post about the "audioslave" drum sounds... He's the same drummer on that too. Great drummer, fun guy to hang with too. Anyway... back on topic! ;-)

[stainless]

First, my thanks for doing this- I can appreciate the time involved.

For anyone interested- I e-mailed and spoke with the folks at BLA and they WERE WILLING TO SEND A LOANER, however there was a window and it was not "keep it however long you need it.."... the inability to coordinate a mutual window was entirely mine, not theirs. They were very willing to send me a modded 002 to try next to mine

I'm listening on JBL LSR4623P, in a treated room- I will say there is some subjectivity that comes with listening to something very similar A-P times and still being able to compare contrast.

I think it may have been better to have paired samples, which could have been stock/BLA, stock/stock, BLA/BLA-

I did perceive differences in what I would describe as "brightness and clarity"- the harmonics of the guitar, more 'chime' in the piano, and more resonance in the drums. I listened twice in opposite order and I had only 2 that the second time around I "rated" differently (basically + or 1)

my final tally is C,H,I,L,P were my preferences- D and G were the 2 that got split decisions

another option to this might be to set a matched pair of mic's literally one above the other to record the playback of known/recognized 1 minute clips (I realize this might entail some royalty/copyright issues), but by doing so, performance and sound projection would be the same

adjust levels using a signal generator, and let the pairs rip! (combined as above)

[Keybeeetsss]

O.G. I basically here to just thank u for taking out time, thought & more to even do this for ones who wanna hear or think its all a sham... I myself hadn't & probably won't listen to it because I've had a modded unit for 2yrs plus now (started with the TweakHead & now Sig Mod) & I know what it did for me & the differences it made... But again, just being appreciative for what u took out time to do as it seems that some can't do that

Kudos to ya!!!