Digidesign 002R Tweak Head Modification Reviews
"First of all, I would like to thank [Matt]. I had already read a lot about the BLA modifications, and I was in doubt if I should have them done on my 002R. I had read the testimonials, but was skeptical about how good the results actually were. To my surprise, the BLA modification was easily the best thing I could have done in the last 5 years... The D/A of my modified 002R sounds, at the least, as good as the D/A from a 192i/o. I can hear clearly all the details and variations within the music. Before the modification, such dimension wasn't possible!
The A/D is FANTASTIC now! It has an incredible PUNCH and much more sound definition. I ended up selling my three [product name omitted]. The on-board preamps are also much better, and now I can use them side-by-side with my higher end equipment: Canil Pro Audio R312 & FET9, Neve, and Avalon.
I would like to congratulate the whole BLA team for doing such a great job with my Digi002R."
--André Mattos (A.M.P.)
Record Engineer, Musician, Producer, Teacher
Amazonia, Brazil
"All I can say is WOWWWW; I could not believe what I could actually hear now on my monitors (event 20/20z); the exact same monitors I've had since my owning of a 002R.
I have been getting some wonderful sounds out of it before but the work it takes to do that was so tedious; I always use the car as my reference b/c I know exactly what I should hear & thatz what I'm use to; before my Tweak Head Mod, there were always things I didn't notice in the monitors that would stick out in the car or not stick out @ all when I wanted it to; now, the spectrum is there, the imaging is MUCH more improved, I hadn't ever been able to feel punch sitting directly in front of the monitors as to where now I can & its a clean punch @ that; I can actually hear the sounds of the different verbs now as to b4 I didn't notice them one way or another besides the fact that I knew they were there; now I really hear the tails & everything; the headroom I have now, Wowww....
I've worked on a ton of records mostly being Gospel & then R&B, like I said have gotten good sounds before but the mod is an immediate difference; Ohhh & the pres' are unbelievable to be coming from the 002R; I have a 103 & a JM37DP (JoeMeek dual pattern) going straight in & it sounds phenomenal; no compression, no eq, jus pre...002R pre @ that...who would ever think of such...BLA didn't pay me to say anything, matter of fact, I had to email them to find out how to leave a review so this is not a fake infomercial; this is a true believer in what I have gotten from these GREAT GUYS; & they're really great seriously; beyond the standard customer service...
I'm a "Dove Award Producer of the Year" nominee of 2006 from a record done in LE but now its GRAMMY TIME with my "HD"-TO-GO`......."
--KEYBEEETSSS
"u HeaR dAt"
"Yo Blacklion,
Steve Christensen from Sugarhill studios here. I had the Tweak Head mod on my 002R done a few weeks ago and just wanted to let you know that I'm blown away with the result. I wasn't expecting such a dramatic change and I'm very pleased. I've been spreading the Black Lion word and hopefully a few more people will be coming your way."
--Steve Christensen
sugarhillstudios.com
"The sound is ENORMOUS...I'm honest-to-goodness, truly hearing things in my favorite all-time albums that I've never heard before!!! And it's more than nuances... OK...a rundown:
It makes the [product name omitted] seem like listening through a telephone. 3D, 3D, 3D! Goodness! I can finally hear & feel an extremely tight and round bass again! [Product name omitted] bass is flabby/nearly non-existent. The high end sparkle is stunning, perhaps the biggest, most incredible improvement. The ENTIRE spectrum seems as though it's been extended tenfold compared to other gear and the previous mod... I've always been hesitant reading a gear review when one claims, 'It's like being right there in the tracking room with the artist!’ But I experience that with this...I listened to 'Pyramid Song' by Radiohead...sounded like Thom Yorke was singing over a piano 5 feet away...
Perhaps the craziest improvement of all is the stereo imaging...cannot be put into words, and to try would do it no justice... Not only is the overall sound improvement apparent, but there's such feeling to the sound...this thing is pushing some major air...it hits you more than just 'sounding good.' I did a simple mix on the fly of a song from our EP...just panning, levels, 1 EQ plug, light reverb on vox, worked room mics for natural verb... my wife, also shocked (she and the Tweak arrived within an hour of each other...both from Chicago, funny) exclaimed it sounded so much better than the mixes we got from San Juan, where the drum tracking and the mixing were BOTH done exclusively on PT HD! I was there, hyper-focused for all of it, and honestly I was NOT hearing some of the things I'm hearing now...whoa...! LUSH, LUSH, LUSH I haven't even tracked yet...just listening back. Can't wait for that!
I know this is an attempt at being short & to the point, but maybe still a little lengthy...and I've only had it for a few hours! I'm holding back on some other very obvious observations. Matt, this is insane...and you know I've worked with some really high end gear...is it possible that this sounds better than and/or as good as an HD system? Impressed doesn't even cover it! I'm beyond impressed..."
--Paul Taverna
Boston, MA
"I had been listening to my reference CDs for the last little bit now that I'd gotten my 002r 'Tweak Head' box back. Its funny how it seems that now, listening in my little 9'x9' room; the walls and speakers seem to disappear. Went back and listened to a mix I'd been working on. Heard stuff I didn't before: looseness in the, say, sub-120Hz-ish region, poorly set up verbs and delays. Didn't take me long to dial up the 'less-is-more' approach with both, and got a tighter, punchier mix with a more solid bottom and tighter imaging of stuff with verbs/delays on it. And that was just the one mix.
Threw up a mic yesterday, did a quick little scratch track with me gargling out some vocals and an acoustic guitar, one mic. Light compression, little 12k shelf (the mic was a Royer 121), outboard pre. Since it was just the one channel, put a little hall on there for a touch of space when I listened back. Listened in my room, brought it to the studio I work at, for my day job, with an HD system. I'm getting used to the room and monitors at the studio now, and it seems like for the first time, everything that WAS (or WASN'T) there at my home studio was in the same place at the big studio. No weird frequencies, no 'blanket' over the top end, space was how I heard it in my room, etc.
So although I haven't used the 002R pres (yet) since the Tweak Head mod, seems like the line stage in and A/D conversion is pretty damn good... For the first time, I think I'm going to be able to use my outboard gear on mixes without ANY reservations about generation loss. Now I'm going to have to listen back to everything ELSE I've been working on and redo it. The box is [expletive omitted] amazing."
--Neale Ramakrishnan
Freelance Engineer
"Now that I’ve had time to put the 002R through its paces, I thought I’d send you some thoughts...
This is clearly the best studio upgrade dollar I’ve ever spent. The sound quality is amazing. I sold my [product name omitted] without reservation.
I’ve found the benefits of the mod far outweigh any benefits one could achieve with more EQ and/or compression. The stereo image is more open and alive. It’s not harsh or murky any longer. There is more dimension, depth and weight. The better resolution and overall imaging brings it much closer to analog. There is an even quality to the sound that wasn't there before. It takes less time to accomplish a better mix. It’s easier to make good choices.
Tracking with the mod has been great, even with my same mic's, preamps, amps and singers; the new parts sit in the track much better than before. I'm now benefiting from the larger sound stage. The sounds aren't fighting for space as they did before. Basically, each instrument stands up on its own and is not minimized by the others.
Another bonus (one I had forgotten about) is that you’ll get four really great mic preamps. I’ve compared these pres to some of the best in my studio, and they stood their ground. They have now become additional choices in my list of good pres.
I can't say enough good things about this mod.
One thing to consider; if you are going to do it, I’d say go all the way with the best mod. This gives you the best BLA offers along with minimizing your shipping cost and down time."
--Brad Cobb
DMT Pyramix Engineer