Corry BanksThursday Black Lion Audio (BLA) announced that they are officially under new ownership. Although the announcement came as a surprise, there seems to be big things on the horizon. According to the BLA Facebook page, “Black Lion Audio is under new private ownership that is very passionate about our mission to create high quality gear at affordable prices.”
Matt, the former owner is probably one of the most genuine and helpful guys I’ve met in the industry. If you ever needed to call BLA you could very well end up speaking to Matt himself. BLA’s product and services are exceptional high quality pieces of kit that remain made in my home town of Chicago, USA. I hope that this means big things for Matt as well.
I cant help but to wonder if BLA will continue manufacturing the Dizengoff branded Neve preamp clone, D173. It would be a shame to see such a promising project such as their clone brand Dizengoff go under before getting a good start. Maybe Matt will move onto develop this line and brand more.
BLA’s mission statement is
We are a boutique audio company in Chicago. We take pride in providing our customers with OUTSTANDING quality gear for their recording studios at prices that are ridiculously affordable.
So, why the sell? According to BLA “BLA was sold to provide the resources necessary to realize future releases that require an enormous amount of R&D (such as the BLA Interface…hooray!).” This is both sad news and great news. As long as the new owners remain “passionate” about BLA’s credo for high quality gear at low prices, the future looks bright.
Perhaps the best reassurance of BLA remaining in tact was made in a simple statement by BLA last week “There’s no need to worry; we were not bought by an evil corporation. We will continue to make amazing gear according to the same process we’ve developed over the years.”
Here is what BLA had to say on their Facebook page regarding the sell.
Dear Friends of BLA,
As many of you have heard by now, Black Lion Audio has been sold to some good friends of ours. We wish Matt the best of luck in whatever the future holds for him and appreciate the contributions he made.
Black Lion Audio has always been more than one person. It is a collective of designers, musicians, and audio industry veterans. The staff and design team who brought you the BLA products and modifications you’ve come to know and love is 100% intact. We are very excited about the future of BLA and our upcoming releases.
Sincerely,
Black Lion Audio