Fast and Beefy, Times Four
The four-channel rackmount version of Black Lion Audio's ever-popular Auteur MK2 preamp, the AuteurQuad combines an ultra-high-speed front end and a transformer-coupled output stage. The combination, which we've seen from Black Lion before, delivers lots of nuance and detail, nicely balanced with a beefy, vintage-flavored assertiveness that holds its own in a mix. The AuteurQuad has 65dB of gain on tap, so you can feel free to use your favorite ribbon mics on quieter sources. A DI input is provided on channels one and two for direct injection of electric guitars, bass, keyboards, and the like. Per-channel pads, polarity reverse, and phantom power complete the feature set. At Sweetwater, we like the Black Lion AuteurQuad a lot. It's versatile and sounds great. Stack your rack with a few of them for outstanding multi-channel value!
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Excellent value in a four-channel preamp
Since 2006, Black Lion Audio has been helping musicians and engineers improve the sound of their equipment, and they've built a solid reputation for coaxing world-class sound out of modestly priced gear. As an outfit that cut its teeth doing acclaimed mods, Black Lion, unsurprisingly, produces innovative audio equipment of their own design that consistently outperforms its price range. The AuteurQuad is a four-channel version of the company's desktop model — which is, itself, a second-generation iteration of its well-received predecessor. As such, the AuteurQuad sports a revamped gain stage that delivers higher gain, lower noise and distortion, and a more extended frequency response than the original design. Through the AuteurQuad, drums sound huge and punchy; vocals sit pretty; guitars soar. No matter what the source, the Black Lion AuteurQuad performs like a pro.
About Black Lion Audio
Founded in Chicago in 2006, Black Lion Audio has made their mark on the audio industry by hot rodding audio equipment and upgrading the sound quality of popular music-production gear, elevating industry-standard products to new levels of sonic quality. Though they started off modding gear from other manufacturers, they've utilized their cumulative expertise to design their own line of boutique mic preamps and word clocks. BLA gear and modded gear can be found in studios from LA to New York to Nashville and heard on projects from artists like Maroon 5, Alison Krauss, Metallica, T-Pain, George Strait, MGMT, Beyonce, George Duke, Slayer, Erykah Badu, Rod Stewart, and more.
Black Lion Audio AuteurQuad 4-channel Preamp Features:
- 4-channel preamp with ultra-high-speed input stage and Edcor output transformer
- Instrument DI jacks on channels 1 and 2
- Mic/DI bandwidth: 10Hz–30kHz
- 65dB of gain handles any type of microphone, including ribbons
- Metering on all 4 channels
- Per-channel phantom power, polarity reverse, and pad
- Pad: 10dB (mic), 13dB (DI)
