Reviewer:
Kevin Mucha
from Villa Park, IL United States
I am pleasantly surprised with the Black Lion Auteur preamp. I bought it without a prior listen and figured for the price it was worth the risk. It is that, and then some. Nicely detailed preamp with not a lot of frills. Two channels with a simple gain knob, buttons for pad, phantom and polarity reverse. XLR for input and TRS for output. The one item I didn't dig is it's size. It is slightly larger than one rack space high so it takes up some extra room. It's a little smaller than a third of a rack space in width so you can at least get three of these on the same tray. While I don't have any Neve units to compare to I do own a Calrec PQ 1061. I'm told these units are on par with Neve (of course depending on model). I can say the Black Lion compares very favorably to the Calrec. Not as aggressive as my API 312s but not as soft as my UA 610. I can see using this on guitars, vocals and bass for a different flavor. I plan on getting more of these as soon as I can.
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BL Audio Auteur
November 2, 2010
Reviewer:
Ike
from Vaasa, West-Finland Finland
This is a nice sounding preamp for a reasonable price. Sofar I've used it in tracking vocals, and it seems to produce a quite clear top end and a beefy bottom, which suits my voice truly well. I like the coloration it produces. At highest output levels this is not the most quiet preamp around, though, but this can be helped somewhat by using the pad or rolling back the levels a bit. Bottom line is, I'm very satisfied with the Auteur, and it looks cool, too!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Our Go-To Preamp
July 2, 2010
Reviewer:
Joel Cruz
from Old Bridge, NJ United States
I have to give this preamp 5 out of 5. This is our workhorse. We always begin by plugging right into this pre and 9 times out of 10, we get exactly what we're looking for. The Auteur is a very balanced-sounding mic preamp. Doesnt scoop your guitars, but it doesn't muddy your vocals. It can give the right tone to soprano or tenor sax, but also have the transcient response to capture a kick drum or thicker-sounding snare. You will not be disappointed by this preamp. We've used it with great results using a U87 and AKG 414. If you're on a budget, this is the preamp to get. You'll enjoy the "expensive" sound. Also, BLA delivers on every promise, you have nothing to worry about with this company. Go for it!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Great Sound For Under $250 A Preamp!
January 16, 2010
Reviewer:
John Erler
from Chicago, IL United States
After owning an FMR RNP for about a year I went on a search for another low cost preamp that boasted a professional high quality sound. As luck would have it, I stumbled across this gem. The Auteur does not disappoint. The bass response and rich open tone of this preamp make it a valuable tool in my collection. The RNP has its place, but the Auteur is a definite go to. I imagine that I'll probably get another. Also, not to be overlooked, the customer service at Black Lion is second to none. I had some questions about their Digi 002R modification. To my amazement they answered my email the next day and they were very detailed a helpful.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Keeps getting better
January 14, 2010
Reviewer:
Simon Milliman
from Portland, OR United States
I was initially a sceptic of a lot of the hype around this unit, but could not be more pleased with the quality of sound these preamps produce. It's a big, fat sound without sounding tubby. I've used it so far for acoustic guitar, direct recording electric guitar, vocals and drum machines as well as reamping and experimenting with it for some mastering. While it may not have been the perfect preamp for all of those applications it did a very good job and the tracks stack very well in the mix. The guitars I reamped sounded big and juicy and even the song I fooled with mastering it through the Auteur sounded much bigger and bolder. Reamping software synths and drum machines through this unit has giving me amazing results. This unit will drastically improve any stereo signal you route through it.
I've owned the unit for a couple of months and the Auteur grows on me more and more as I try different things with it. I haven't found a better deal for quality studio preamps anywhere.
Auteur preamp - buy it 
