Black Lion Mod for 002

[Mr.BossPlaya]

Has anyone had their 002 rack/factory modified by Black Lion? If so would you like to share your thoughts? I have been reading some reviews that state the difference is night/day with the new specs.

[twix]

I was very happy with mine. It is a big difference, little more punch and more open on the high end. Preamps are a bit better but nothing to write mom about. I have only done a few tests on them, as I have outboard preamps that i use.

[guitardom]

hey mr boss, the upgrade is a great great improvement, very happy i did it. i work on 2 002 systems, 1 with and 1 without, and the difference is quite noticeable. i have used the preamps when in a bind, they did seem more usable, but have not spent much time on them, use all outboard. the biggest improvement to me seems to be when tracking. mixing stuff recorded on a non modded unit is not that much of a big deal.imo

now after all the rave reviews, this was my dilema. sent it off to get modded, retuned in about 2-3 weeks something like that. had a VERY big project i was starting so wanting to get it done before i started. get it back, line input 8 was not working, big deal considering, i use 5-8 exclusively or the optical inputs. contacted them, very kind, said to send it back we will take care of it and pay for shipping. NO WAY i could make another wait. took about 3-4 months till i took a week off to go to namm to send it back. contacted him a few weeks ahead of time to schedule. he said he would send me a shipping label a couple of days ahead of time to cover shipping. never recieved the shipping label, small oversight i am sure they a very busy. spend $50 out of my pocket to get it there. then to my dismay, takes 3 WEEKS to get it back just to fix a bad opamp!!! trying to postpone the band, convinced them to just get editing done with our other 002 till it comes back. i get it back. hook it up in a frenzy, get right into tracking, find out the preamps are not working wich i use for my talkback mic. contack him and beg to let me check it out, i cant afford to let it go again. first thing he recomends is to check the ribbon cable to the pre's. was not hooked up, sitting on the bottom of the unit. plugged it in, no problems.

all of this said, performance wise i am glad i did the upgrade, but i did lose a little sleep over all of this.

[RokVox]

the biggest improvement to me seems to be when tracking. mixing stuff recorded on a non modded unit is not that much of a big deal.imo

Hey guitardom,

So If I understand you correctly, are you saying that stuff that was previously recorded into Pro Tools sounds the same on both the Modded 002 and the Unmodified 002?

In simpler terms, material that was recorded into Pro Tools before you got the 002 Modification, sounds the same going thru both 002's know?

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks!

[guitardom]

Hey guitardom,

So If I understand you correctly, are you saying that stuff that was previously recorded into Pro Tools sounds the same on both the Modded 002 and the Unmodified 002?

In simpler terms, material that was recorded into Pro Tools before you got the 002 Modification, sounds the same going thru both 002's know?

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks!

hello, no it is not the SAME but not a massive improvement. IMO when it comes to converters, the a/d has MUCH more to do with your quality than the d/a, which both are working in intervals dictated by the clock. once the data is recorded into the daw, any flaws or quality issues is forever embedded in the audio. you can improve the d/a side, but the quality issues are still there from the a/d side. hope i explained that ok. the biggest improvement in the mod is the digital clock. they do not do the converters, they said it is to pricey for such little improvement, upgrading the clock seemed to take care of MOST, not all of the limitations of the installed converters. then the opamps for the gain staging are also upgraded which is bound to help!

that being said, an improved clock will sound a bit better, but even myteks clocked by a big ben is still not going to remove the problems from the a/d side. i feel the biggest difference in the 2 units on the d/a side is the high end feels more open on the improved system. all of this is my opinion of course, hope it helps you some!!

[sunburst79]

Once something is recorded through less than ideal converters the flaws are there to stay. Any new material recorded through a improved converter will sound better on any system. The 002 mod will not make your old material sound any better but you new stuff wll show an improvement.

[RokVox]

Thanks Guys,

That answers all my questions.

[Mr.BossPlaya]

I appreciate all the info. I think that I am going to the modification but without the preamp upgrade. I use external pre's so I do not see the need.

Thanks!

[murph16]

I'm getting ready to do it, and as I understand it, the preamp upgrade is for the whole input stage, so your external gear will benefit from the new circuits in the line inputs as well. I'd get the preamps replaced if I were you so you can get all you can get out of it.

[defcon]

On this subject anyone have experience with testing the Black Lion Mod clocking versus say an Apogee master clock? I know its only half the equation that the mod is supposed to do the other half is the pre's etc... I have my Digi 002r clocked to an Apogee Rosetta A/D - 24/96, and it def improved the clarity "blanket off the mic" type stuff and the imaging was vastly improved.