Preamp Shootout on Vocals With this Preamps: - AMS NEVE 1073 DPA - API 3124+ - Black Lion Audio B12A - Black Lion Audio B173 - Tube-Tech MP 2A - Universal Audio 2-610
Excellent shootout! They all sound good! Really shows you a solid vocal performance is most important! I own both black lion audio preamps and think they're great. Great to see they really hold their own in this test against some classic mic pres!
Im glad I got both of the black lion audio preamps because they all sounded almost exactly the same to me. Both of the b.l.a cost a fraction of the price of the others.
I am thinking of buying Black Lion B12A - a preamp I know very little about - so I came to RU-vid for some sound tests. Of the 6 preamps here, before I knew which was which, I listened carefully and, guess what? I chose number 6! The B12A. Thank you, Lizissewingbox!
B173 all day. Run it through a Distressor or a 1176+LA2A and kill some vocal takes. I'd even add a Pultec EQ clone to my chain and bypass the EQ to give even more warm to the takes at times.
Theres some harsh push in the upper mids and thats on every example so I wouldnt put that down to the preamps , seems like her vocal may have been processed after the pre which is although subtle , would still distort the clean take , would really like to hear straight dry takes on male aswell as female vocal to build a better picture of how to utilize these tools
My blind test notes: 1. Thick! 2. More open, more treble, still kinda thick! 3. Thinner, more narrow and focused 4. Way more 3d and forward, just pops right out. Nice! 5. Really balanced and pretty, favorite? 6. Lots of upper mids, forward
The ones that stuck out to me were 2,3, and 4 for very different reasons. roughly speaking (they're all very similar) 2 sounded like a pop record, 3 sounded like a classic rock record, 4 sounded like the vocalist was featured on a rap song I think 2 would be the best for the type of music I make personally, the treble cites thru and it’s really thick and big. 3 had my favorite tone it sounded very contained and balanced and like it would be easy to mix with these results, sounded almost less dynamic and upfront than 2 but had an overal more pleasing tone to my ear. 4 was kind of erratic parts of it I didn’t like and parts sounded great like the line “she is going to follow through” while “being that” sounded the worst to me; however, I think 4 had the most energy almost sounded like a completely different take. I didn’t like the low mids on 4 but the energy was unique and could be used to make something really creative and engaging even if it isn’t as balanced as the others. With more processing 4 might honestly have the most interesting results whereas 3 sounded the most “quality” and 2 was the most “ear candy” like to me.
I'm sorry but I was not uble to understand your reply, becouse I wanted to be friendly repling with " Danke in your language" but i know reaaly few german words. However I saw that is appreciated a personal comment about the blind test so i wish to give my contribute. I liked the 1-2 and 6. The First for his balanced and countoured sound, the 2 for the fresh sound and the 6 for " in the face approach" . My Monitor speaker are Dynaudio M1 with Dynaudio Amp. 1 mt front. best Regards Froicht mich (correctly?)
Hi Antonio Okay, i write a thank you back for watching the video! Interesting, the 6 ist the Black Lion Audio B12A, this preamp si mutch cheaper than the 1 and 2 (Tube-Tech & Universal Audio). But not always, the expensive will win! Yes i thin 1 meter for the speakers are a good distance. Important is to place the speakers in the right position -> equilateral triangle. All the best, Andy from LIZI STUDIO - Bern
Hi Antonio Yes the Black Lion B12A is great for a clean and in your face vocal. i love the sound from the Neve and Tube-Tech, i think you have e little more mids and this is also good for the in your face in the mix. and also good for a warm vocal sound. at the end its always a question of taste and also of the song arrangement and vocal sound. All the best, Andy LIZI STUDIO - Bern
6 sounds more pleasant than others. cleaner. nicer high frequencies. I wish they used more "s" lyrics. anyway, I think they used a de esser, cause the s is almost erased...good work, thanks!
My blind test results. 1 muffled 2 muffled 3 best 4 good for pop music 5 boring 6 crisp!!! They all sounded good just being hyper critical. I'm delighted that I just ordered the b12a (before hearing this). But as usual I'll always hanker for the damn 1073. It crushes every vocal or acoustic blind test. Amazing test. Best yet. I've got a gold lion 1073 clone on the way but it's understandably not as good.
Hey Tockusa, thank you! Yes the 1073 is always a great "to go" preampt! And yes, the black lions are realy good for this smal price! All the best Andy from LIZI STUDIO Bern
I had similar opinion, although I probably liked 6 a little more than 3, and 5 was natural rather than boring. 4 was a little light on the lows, but that can be a good thing sometimes.
I had trouble hearing the difference between these honestly. I could hear maybe a very subtle 2% difference at most between some of these. I've read people talking about how the preamp is huge, a u87 matched with a cheapo pre will sound like trash, while a u87 with a nice pre will sound godly. Is this the difference I read about, or am I missing something? I thought there would have been a more obvious difference from how people talk about this.
for shure the difference are not that mutch. thats absolut normal :-) but when you summing more tracks with good ore not so good preamps you will her more difference.
Great shootout, but subtle differences would be lost in a mix except for a solo vocal. I hate that I still liked the Neve and API the best and for different reasons. The truth is no one is loosing a Grammy because of using clones of the original.
@@geoffreymerrifield5666 API has a more direct sound. More precise that can cut through a little better. Love them on acoustics, percussion and some vocals that need to pop through a mix. You can still overdrive them pull the edge off with some harmonic distortion. Neve give a warmer color to the sound and is more a go-to for vocals, bowed string interments, classic bass guitar tones… they are both equally as diverse in different ways.
I thought the same, and my second was the B12A, number 6. Maybe it was the difference between the punchy low end of the UA and the Neve that made it stand out. However, have only tested on headphones so far.
1. API, 2. Neve, 3. BL B12... black lion did good... not as good as the 2 others in dynamics and 3D feeling... BL173 was disappointing. Tubetech and UAD not at all up to the others in saturation and crispness... sounds just like a "standard" good sound card (boring).
