Following its Seventeen compressor, boutique US audio company Black Lion Audio has announced the Eighteen channel strip – recalling the sound of Melcor 1731 op-amp processing that pre-dated the establishment of API.
Eighteen features a mic preamp with Cinemag input and output transformers and two BLA1831 discrete op-amps, as well as a passive program EQ with a custom Cinemag inductor. In spite of that, the company says, ‘this channel strip’s preamplifier circuit is not just another clone, but rather an homage built to pay proper tribute to one of the most classic designs in the world’.
Black Lion Audio developed the BLA1831 as a custom, discrete op-amp to deliver ‘vintage tone’ while still matching a noise floor of modern equipment.
Eighteen has a punchy midrange with smooth top and bottom ends. It also uses an original passive inductor-based equaliser featuring a custom-made Cinemag inductor, one that both discerning ears and those new to pro audio are sure to appreciate.
More: www.blacklionaudio.com
