Level-Loc: back and better than ever.

"We're doing this."

In this business, updated re-creations and homages to classic studio hardware are announced every week. It’s a phenomenon that we’re no strangers to here at Black Lion Audio; the Seventeen, Eighteen, and our preamps are all fine examples of modern takes on studio classics. It’s a big part of what we have done for years.

So when we saw what users were willing to pay for dusty, 60-year-old Level-Locs rife with leaky capacitors… we realized that there was a demand that we were in a fantastic position to fill. So we got to work.

It didn’t take long to realize that modernizing the Level-Loc was harder than we thought it was going to be. We’re sorry it’s taken so long, but we really wanted to get it right.

And we did. Here’s how.

Come together right now

The core development team for the Level-Loc’s return was:

• Preston Whiting - VP of Operations at Black Lion Audio

• Bo Medin - Founder, Golden Age Audio

• Matt Engstrom - Senior Director, Outbound Licensing at Shure

• Jon Haber - CEO at RAD Distribution

Preston spent most of Level-Loc’s development elbow-deep in dusty circuits, evaluating the performance of vintage units and comparing their performance to that of the prototypes

Bo served as the senior engineer. He studied the original schematic, determined what was needed to modernize our version, and laid out an entirely new schematic. Bo heavily modified an early prototype unit to solve numerous initial problems, and served as a crucial advisor for Preston’s testing and bug fixes.

Matt was the best Shure partner we could ask for. He was extremely knowledgeable about the vintage unit, and offered us insider insight into its history, including access to original parts, service documentation, and tech notes. He became a regular at the BLA shop, working in close collaboration with us to see the project through to completion. The audio testing he did during the prototype stage gave us supreme confidence that we were moving in the right direction. 

Jon assembled and led the team while providing critical resources for the project. His patience and encouragement gave the engineering team the confidence to keep progressing through a series of tough project challenges. 

A brief history of crunch

Music production has a long and storied history of oddball products that find their niche when used outside of what they were originally designed to do; Roland’s TB-303, The Yamaha NS-10, and of course the 1176’s All-buttons-in mode. Level-Loc certainly deserves a page in the left-field gear history books. 

Introduced in 1967 as the Shure M62V; Level-Loc was originally intended as a compressor for use with PA systems in public speaking. It may well be the only compressor with a setting for “Distance Selector.” 

“I remember reading an interview with Tchad Blake where he said the Level-loc was one of his secret weapons and he wished someone would bring it back,” recalls Matt.

“After reading that interview, my band bought a Level-Loc for around $50 (it was the 90s, and prices had not exploded) and we used it on a few albums. It was noisy and it took a little while to get it dialed in, but it had an unmistakable sound. From that time on I wanted to somehow bring back the Level-Loc.”

“Shure does not have an analog audio processing business,” Matt continues, “So I wasn’t able to put together a plan to develop a new  Level-Loc internally when I was in product management. But when I moved into a new licensing role a few years ago, I made a plan to find a partner to make the Level-Loc. My first call was to Preston at Black Lion Audio. Preston, Jon, and I had a meeting and right then and there Jon said, ‘We’re doing this.’

Unique challenges

One of the most unusual aspects of the original Level-Loc was that it operates at mic level as opposed to line level.

“We had to rethink how we set up the test parameters and how we measured compression specs when testing our Level-Loc prototypes,” said Preston. 

“None of our older test files could be used as a starting point because they were all set up for line-level compressors. The level loc project required a thorough evaluation of the vintage units' benchmarks to set up brand new testing methods for our recreation.”

“I felt that it was important to stay as true to the original design as possible,” adds Bo. 

“We kept a pure analog signal path with discrete components, and opted not to use a switched-mode power supply section—the new Level-Loc is instead powered by a 24 VAC adapter. I did the first schematic drawing along these lines, and revised it along the way."

“We all agreed that it was important to add a dry/wet mix control and a balanced line level output,” Bo continues. 

“Due to the small space available, a few ICs were used in addition to the discrete circuit. The transformers, two of the same type, are an important part of the design, and we were able to source transformers that are very close to the one used in the vintage units.”

“The Level-loc, being a vintage design, will never have the same low noise level as some modern designs but we believe that using it correctly, noise is not a problem and most importantly, it has the sound and the character.”

Finding the best one

When researching older units, the team found that performance and calibration across multiple original Level-Loc units could vary wildly. The new Level-Loc’s performance was informed by data sourced from several classic units:

• Two units from Tchad Blake, the engineer who originally popularized the Level-Loc for processing drums

• A fully-restored unit owned by Shure’s Adam Beck

• Matt Engstrom’s DIY Level-Loc, affectionately known as The Matt-Loc

“We discovered that some units had a low calibration level while others had a high calibration,” said Preston. “Units with low calibration levels begin compressing at lower input signal levels than the units with high calibration levels. The low calibration level produces the heaviest gain reduction and harmonic saturation, but it could also cross into undesirable overload with very loud sources.” 

Loco Mode is born

Not found in the original Level-Loc, Loco Mode came into being once the varied calibration of original Level-Loc units was discovered. 

“In comparison, the higher calibration level units handled loud signals better,” Preston continues, “offering signature Level-Loc character without overloading the circuitry. The difficult thing about that was that each calibration style has desirable characteristics! Choosing which calibration style to replicate in our reboot was very difficult. We eventually realized… Why not both?”

Loco Mode is the low-level calibration mode modeled after Tchad Blake's units. It represents the most extreme compression and saturation characteristics we found of any classic Level-Loc we tested.

Loco Mode is not a feature of the classic Level-Loc, of course… it’s engaged by pulling the input knob into the extended position.

Vintage crush, modern convenience

Of course, the updated Level-Loc employs several new features that make it much more versatile and easy to use in-studio than the original Level-Loc. They include:

• Phantom Power. Vacant from the original, which was typically used in public speaking scenarios where a dynamic mic would have been more likely deployed than a condenser. Without it, an external phantom power box would be needed to connect a condenser mic to the Level Loc's input during tracking. 

• A new mix knob. Level-Loc is an extreme effect that benefits from being added to a mix in parallel with an unprocessed version of the sound source. Capture both a compressed and an uncompressed version of the sound source and blend to taste — without using up two mics and two channels. 

• A new input pad. Vintage Level-Loc users often use an external pad before the Level-Loc to reduce line-level signals down to the mic-level signal that a Vintage Level-Loc input expects. We eliminated the need for this by including a built-in pad. 

• A new, faster release option (Mod setting). This “mod” offers a quicker release time that preserves transients better than the standard release mode. Matt was key in helping us dial in this setting. He auditioned it on multiple instruments and offered valuable critiques, and we adjusted the mod release timing based on his feedback.

• Increased the maximum output level of the line level output. This output, (labeled AUX on the vintage unit) offered a much higher output level than the mic level output, but lacked the drive expected of modern line-level devices. We nearly doubled the maximum output level from that of the vintage units.

The Shure stamp of approval

“I’m so impressed at the diligence and dedication that Preston and Bo put into this,” asserts Matt.

“I had the idea to replicate the authentic sound of Level-Loc while adding some modern, common sense features like phantom power, Loco mode, and an alternate release time… and Preston and Bo delivered it! A real Level-Loc that measures true to the original and offers a lot more, too. I want to express my gratitude to Jon, Preston, Bo and the teams they worked with to bring this to market. Congratulations to everyone involved!”

Get one!

Level-Loc is expected to be available on dealer shelves in Q4 of 2026. You can find a dealer here.