Black Lion audio mods. for MOTU gear.

[demonsp]

Greetings;

I'm interested in people who've had BLA mods. on their MOTU gear. (I own an 896HD)

Anyone?

Cheers.

[Jason Dirckze]

I'd be interested too...Am thinking of getting the mod for my 2408mkIII but not sure on what kind of improvements I will get. You cant always trust the user testimonials on those sites...

Cheers,

Jason

[Henry]

Alot of guys at gearslutz complain about waiting 6 months to get their gear back! just read it 2 weeks ago.

[Jason Dirckze]

So you actually have to send your unit in??? Is there no option to have them mail out the parts and for you to mod the unit yourself?

There's no way I could be without my audio interface for even a day...

Cheers,

Jason

[templar]

While I don't have any MOTU gear, I did try Black Lion Audio's mod for the Alesis 3630...The mod itself turned the 3630 from a door stop into something actually useful.

The parts where shipped promptly, instructions where easy to follow. I've no complaints about their service at all.

[Jason Dirckze]

Good to get some positive feedback!

Cheers,

Jason

[demonsp]

Thanks for the replies!

And yes, the units have to be sent in.

[Howard Jones]

Well, this statement is the direct opposite of what Templar wrote.

[templar]

Well, this statement is the direct opposite of what Templar wrote.

Whoops, my fault...only the 3630 mod is available as a DIY kit - this is what I have used.

I've checked the website, and it seems that the other mods require you to send your gear in... D'Oh!

[Howard Jones]

Thanks for the clarification. Wonder how long it takes to send in your widget and then have it returned? You'd have to really want to do it...

[Henry]

6 months!

[Howard Jones]

I guess you didn't know that before you did it? Would you do it again?

[Henry]

I didn't send anything! I just read at Gearslutz it was taking 6 months for Black Lion to turn around the units and they were complaining.


Most of the stuff he upgrades is pretty crappy anyway, it would cost the same just to buy a good pre like Dav BG1 for $600 usd or a decent firewire unit with 2 high class pre's like a Yamaha i88x $400 usd. I would just sell the duff gear and buy smart. Might take longer, but the results will be worth it in the long run.

[davemc]

Yeah nice pres make a difference, although good recordings can be made on lesser gear if you take the time to learn how. I find the 002 convertors around the same as black face digi stuff. Better then old 16 bit blackface adats. Not as nice as my 2" he he Better pres and convertors are not going to polish a turd. Just let you hear it clearer.

[PeterR]

from the DI electric guitar samples I heard on GS the 002 mod made a huge difference.

a mytek sample was included too and the modded 002 was much closer to the mytek than the orignal unmodded 002 (he had 2 002s- one modded, one not).

[Jason Dirckze]

I was more interested in upgrading the converters and clock, since I have the 2408mkIII, it doesnt have preamps anyway (and I have my Studer 169 pres...)

For a couple hundred US, It would be more cost effective than going Apogee or similar

Anyway, it's a no-no for me as I cant be without the unit.

Wasnt the complaining on the Gearsluts forum due to lack of parts???? I think they have all the parts in stock now

Cheers,

Jason

[Henry]

The sample was really good, close to the mytek. 002's are pretty awful, the preamps are crap and the converters are ordinary. You tell ppl this and they don't believe you!

[Roy]

So what did the 3630 mod do for it and how much did it cost?

[davemc]

[quote="Henry"]The sample was really good, close to the mytek. 002's are pretty awful, the preamps are crap and the converters are ordinary. You tell ppl this and they don't believe you![/quote]

No I believe you. Not big on most cheap preamps myself.
Although convertors in the 002 useable, as said not as bad as my old black face digi stuff. Not as detailed as my HD 192's I had. DA was not great so I brought a Mytek Stereo DA. Room, monitoring and mic pres is where I would look at spending money on first if on a budget. I do think the playback and acoutics is overlooked by people wanting to buy the best and latest gear, if your not hearing back with detail, your over looking details.

[templar]

So what did the 3630 mod do for it and how much did it cost?

Sorry if I'm stealing the thread...

Given the time and cost, you'd probably be better off buying a RNC...

Costs:

I got the 3630 off ebay for around AUS$100...
I got some sample IC chips from Texas Instruments for $0
Bought a couple of That VCAs and the Mod Instructions for around AUS$70
Bought a new power supply from Dick Smiths AUS $25

I bought the 3630 just to experiment (and plus a friend was doing all the soldering work....thanks Frank!).

Before the mods, the 3630 was really dark sounding. The thing starts to pump, regardless of the reduction level.

After the mods, the compression is really transparent...and just does what a compressor should do, reduce the gain of an incoming signal. It's not going to transform a 3630 into a 1176, la-2a or any other great colour compressor.

The mods pretty much redo the audio circuit. All the Power supply and ICs are upgraded. Also the circuits that deal with compression and noise gate are all improved.

As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, all the mods Black Lion Audio offer are for pro-sumer gear...There's nothing special about the mods, generally they just substitue the important parts for higher spec bits. The sort you get if you just bought good gear to start with ;)

I hope this helps,
Templar

[Roy]

Thanks. I was given a 3630 a long time ago. I might just continue using it as a paper weight.
:D