Black Lion Audio B12A

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:24 pm

http://www.blacklionaudio.com/content.php?p=48

Has anyone picked up a Black Lion Audio B12A yet? Curious of opinions.

Jeff

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:40 am

There's a long thread over on Gearslutz regarding the BLA B12A;
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much- ... clone.html
Only 50db of gain with the B12A, so beware. SM7b's or chinese ribbon mics might not work so great without something else to gain them up (Fethead, Cloudlifter). It seems to sound close enough to a real API to work.

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:19 pm

I think it would be OK to have our own thread over here. I am interested as well. I used to have some pre's modded by BLA and liked them pretty well. I have been thinking a lot about building some variant of a 312 clone, but you really cant do it for less than what they are charging for these. Would love to hear feedback from someone using them on an actual record as opposed to a gear collector doing shootouts.

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:43 pm

Lance O wrote:I think it would be OK to have our own thread over here. I am interested as well. I used to have some pre's modded by BLA and liked them pretty well. I have been thinking a lot about building some variant of a 312 clone, but you really cant do it for less than what they are charging for these. Would love to hear feedback from someone using them on an actual record as opposed to a gear collector doing shootouts.

I posted the gearslutz thread link just for reference. Lots of discussion & B12A sound samples over there. There hasn't been much about the B12A here on TapeOp, which is a little strange.

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:20 am

I'm sorry, I hope that didn't come across as catty. There is a lot of useful info in that thread. Discussions over here just usually have less filler and self affirmation. Sometimes they are so light on filler though that they don't even happen!

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:35 am

Lance O, I agree with you about the posts over at Gearslutz. There just has not been much talk here about the B12A, I would have expected more. Not many reviews online either.

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:08 am

Well, it is pretty freakin cheap. Someone oughta pony up and write a review over here soon-like.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:09 pm

For the record, that Gearslutz thread is great. I cant wait to spend time listening to all of the sound samples. Thanks for posting it!

Jeff

Shane Michael Rose · Post by **Shane Michael Rose** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:40 pm

I would be interested in doing a review of this

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:15 am

Well, I ordered one this morning. It will be a month or so before I'll be able put up some actual songs using it though. Kinda feel like I should have gotten a pair, but really want to hear it before making the commitment.

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:25 pm

I just talked shit about shootouts, so of course...here's a few shootout files.
.
http://draggonfist.com/preampfiles

It might not be the most useful comparison, as I don't have access to an actual 312/512 to run it against, but if people are curious about the general tonality, you might find it useful. I just finished my first SX202 mod (7 more pairs to go), so I shot them out at the same time. Hopefully some of you are familiar with those and can use them as a point of reference. All the samples are of the same performance and the signal path goes: AT Pro 37>preamp>MOTU 828>Logic. The files are 96K and 24 bit and levels were generally matched on the way in and subsequently normalized with no other processing or plugins. The Pro 37's might not be ideal for the vocal takes, but they are the only mics that I have 4 of.

The 4 preamps are:
?BLA B12a
?DIY EZ1290 (Pretty faithful Neve 1290/1073 clone, with Carnhill xfrs and Grayhill switches)
?Symetrix SX202 Stock
?Symetrix SX202 w/Monte Mods (new output opamps and different coupling and bypass caps)

The samples are:
?acoustic guitar (cheap fender)
?male vox
?Mono drum Overhead

I am uploading the files now, so everything should be up in a minute or two.

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:31 am

I added some mp3's as well.

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:13 am

I checked out Lance O's drum sample files: I thought the DIY EZ1290 sounded the best, followed by the B12A. Wasn't impressed by the Symetrix in either stock or modded form. I'll probably buy a B12A soon, and compare it to my buddy's pair of API 512's. I prefer the Neve-clone sound more, I think.

lancebug · Post by **lancebug** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:03 pm

I just re-uploaded the vocal files. The first set were distorted due to user error.

I agree that the EZ1290 is coolest sounding of the bunch, but I do give the edge on acoustic guitar to the b12a. I may have to build an EZ1290 of my own. It absolutely kills on vocals (when not using a Pro 37).

FWIW, I pulled the trigger on a 2nd b12a today and I should have some full mixes around the end of January with lots of examples of the b12a in context, rather than a/b shootout comparison.

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