Black Lion

We've put mics, guitars and even miked guitars through the Black Lion Audio Auteur preamp to test its mighty claims. Now, Black Lion even challenges us to throw some samples through its steal of a preamp, and we're happy to do so.  

Someone challenged us to make the most absurdist mic pre demo we could, and the best we could come up with was to try out the Black Lion Audio Auteur preamp on an Ovation Mandolin. No, there's no forced-perspective used in this video; Owen and Matt are power-forwards.  

The multi-talented Black Lion Audio Auteur preamp has a hard time finding an audio source it doesn't sound great on. BLA's Matt Newport points the Auteur towards an O'Malley-strummed Takamine acoustic, as if we needed more proof of his pre's outstanding performance.  

To show the augmented effects across the board of the Black Lion Audio Auteur, Matt Newport had it test the preamp out on a variety of things, including vocals. At least that was his excuse. We think he just wanted to be serenaded by Owen O'Malley's dulcet tones.  

The Black Lion Audio Auteur is a laudable preamp from a company that finds ways to make stuff sound way more expensive than it costs. Sometimes, however, electric guitar speaks louder than words, and this might be one of those cases.  

Black Lion Audio made a name defying the restrictions of your recording gear by modifying your interfaces and preamps to perform worlds better for just a little bit more dough. Now, the Auteur Preamp -- one of Black Lion's own products -- is doing the same thing without the middleman process of having to buy a preamp and get it fixed up.  

One of the defining characteristics of most travel guitars is that you wouldn't care too much if you broke it. One of the defining characteristics of most classical guitars is that you'd be afraid to take them anywhere. The Blackbird Guitars Rider Nylon says "Nevermore!" to both of those, even though there are obvious ornithological differences at play in that reference.  

Remember the penultimate Death Star Trench scene in A New Hope? Think of yourself as Luke, the RE204 Audio Analyzer as your X-Wing's targeting computer, and Matt Newport as Obi-Wan guiding you from the great beyond. Yeah, I thought you'd understand.  

Don't let the name "Sparrow" fool you. The Black Lion Audio Sparrow Micro Series ADC will make your audio sound huge.  

With so many products on the market, Black Lion Audio has to pick and choose which gear they will modify. Matt Newport of Black Lion tells us about his standards for not only what products get modified, but who gets to modify them.  

Any company that wants to survive must recognize ways to improve towards the future and Matt Newport has a vision of what is next. Check out this video to see what exciting possibilities may come.  

While Black Lion Audio enjoys making inexpensive products that perform well, they always keep the environment in mind through all of their processes. Matt Newport talks about how BLA takes strides to ward off waste.  

Black Lion Audio does more than just equipment modification. They put out some of their own products, too, like the MicroClock. It embodies their philosophy of maximum sound improvement for minimal money.  

Are your stock clocks a crock of poppycock? Matt Newport and Black Lion Audio has the clock mod for you, and guess what: they use the same oscillating crystals as NASA. Just like the shuttle, Lieutenant Dan!  

How cool is this? Matt Newport of Black Lion Audio happily vivisects both a standard Digidesign Digi 002 and his modified version. You don't have to be an expert at observing differences between two very similar photographs to see how much has been changed here.  

Right out of the box, the Digidesign Digi 002 is a pretty good "prosumer" grade system, but Black Lion Audio knows it can unlock even more potential without breaking the bank. Hear a side by side comparison that will show your ears exactly what makes Black Lion Audio roar.  

Meet Matt Newport, the man behind Black Lion Audio. Matt's company Black Lion Audio will take your Digi 002, MOTU and other popular gear you have and make it sound thousands of dollars better for much less than that.  

Despite its huge importance to quality of digital sound, the role of the digital word clock is often hidden from the view of the novice project studio builder. In very short, this is because inexpensive I/O cards or interfaces...