The FET Compressor King of the Jungle

The Black Lion Audio Seventeen 500 is the company's version of the classic '76 limiting amplifier. More specifically, it's their idea of ​​what the '76 could have been if it had been created with today's technology and in a 500 Series package. The Seventeen 500 FET Limiting Amplifier features an improved and redesigned IC-based front end, which is combined with BLA's custom output transformer. This combination results in a clean, modern sound when the Seventeen 500 is lightly compressed, a harmonically rich vintage character when driven harder, and a ton of bass that perfectly complements its open highs. The Seventeen 500 also features Black Lion Audio's proprietary power decoupling for an incredibly low noise floor, and its high-quality Nichicon signal capacitors are considered the highest quality capacitors currently available. Overall, many studio engineers are very impressed with the Seventeen 500's level of detail, character, and versatility.

Incredible versatility and value

Black Lion Audio first gained notoriety by offering custom mods for classic studio gear, so thinking outside the box is par for the course. This is why many of the Seventeen 500's standard features would be considered “hot rod” if found on other hardware compressors. These features include an adjustable frequency sidechain, separate selectable HPF/LPF, and a dry/wet mix knob for integrated parallel/New York compression. The Seventeen 500 also includes stereo link functionality for connecting two units. Just like its inspiring ancestor, the BLA Seventeen 500 FET Limiting Amplifier is sure to find its way into many drum, bass, and vocal tracks… and beyond. Tip: Unlike the original, the Black Lion Audio Seventeen 500 produces faster attack times when turned left and slower attack times when turned right.

Characteristics

• Black Lion Audio's version of the classic 1176 FET limiting amplifier in a 500 series package;
• Designed with professional audio and plug-in guru Tobias Lindell;
• Improved and redesigned IC-based front end that sounds clean and modern when lightly compressed or has a harmonically complex vintage character when heavily compressed;
• Custom-designed, Chicago-made output transformer offers big impact and low-cost focus;
• Proprietary power decoupling for incredibly low noise;
• High quality Nichicon signal capacitors;
• Frequency adjustable HPF side chain;
• Separate selectable highpass and lowpass filters;
• Wet/Dry/wet mix button for parallel/New York compression;
• Stereo link functionality to connect two Seventeen units together;
• Aspect ratios: 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1, “All Buttons In”;
• Attack: continuously variable 20-800ms;
• Release: continuously variable 1200–50ms.

Specifications

• Processor type: FET compressor;
• Number of channels: 1;
• Controls: Input, Output, Comp Mix, Ratio, HPF, Attack, Release
• Ratio: 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1;
• Module slot size: double;
• Power usage: ±16 V DC.