Black Lion Audio Bluey User manual

©2021 Black Lion Audio. The Black Lion
Audio ‘Lion Face’ logo, BLA, are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Black Lion Audio.
This manual and any associated intel-
lectual property are subject to copyright
protection. No part of this document may
be reproduced in any form without explicit
written consent from Black Lion Audio.
Notice
This manual provides general information, preparation for
use, installation and operating instructions for the Black Lion
Audio Bluey.
The information contained in this manual is subject to
change without notice. Black Lion Audio makes no warran-
ties of any kind with regard to this manual, including, but not
limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and t-
ness for a particular purpose. Black Lion Audio shall not be
liable for errors contained herein or direct, indirect, special,
incidental, or consequential damages in connection with the
furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
Bluey
FET Limiting Amplier
Owner’s Manual

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with dry cloth.
7. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat regis-
ters, stoves, or other apparatus that produce heat.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type
plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other.
A grounding-type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong.
The wide blade or third prong is provided for your safety. If the pro-
vided plug does not t into your outlet, consult an electrician for
replacement of the obsolete outlet.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particular-
ly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit
from the apparatus. If the power cord becomes frayed, stop using
immediately.
11. Use only attachments/accessories specied by the manufacturer
12. Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket or table specied by the
manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use
caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid in-
jury from tip-over.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for
long periods of time.
14. Refer all servicing to qualied service personnel. Servicing is re-
quired when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as
power supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or
objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been ex-
posed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.
15. This apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing, and
no object lled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the
apparatus.
16. Note that this apparatus is not completely disconnected from the
AC mains service when the power switch is in the OFF position.
17. The mains plug or power inlet on the product is used as the discon-
nect device, so the disconnected device shall remain readily opera-
ble when reconnected.
18. Any changes or modications not expressly approved in this manu-
al could void your authority to operate this apparatus.
IMPORTANT !
Be sure to use a three prong AC cable that properly ts the power
source. Please use the correct fuse designated on the rear panel be-
fore plugging in the power cord. Improper selection can result in dam-
age to the unit that will not be covered under the warranty.
The lightning ash with an arrowhead symbol within an equilateral tri-
angle is intended to alert the user
to the presence of uninsulated
“dangerous voltage” within the
product’s enclosure that may be
of sucient magnitude to con-
stitute a risk of electric shock to
persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.
The Black Lion Audio Bluey complies with all applicable / RoHS/
WEEE European Union directives.
Do not attempt to service this unit yourself, as it will void your warran-
ty. Please check your unit carefully upon receipt and return to place
of purchase immediately if there are any problems with the product.
After that, the standard Black Lion Audio 3 YEAR warranty will apply
to defects in materials and workmanship.
INTERNATIONAL
For service or warranty assistance, please contact the Black Lion Au-
dio distributor in your country through the dealer from whom you pur-
chased this product.
LIMITED 3 YEAR WARRANTY
Black Lion Audio’s Bluey is warranted by Black Lion Audio to be free
from defects in materials and workmanship for the period of THREE
(3) YEARS to the original purchaser. In the event of such defects, the
product will be repaired without charge or, at our option, replaced with
a new one if delivered to Black Lion Audio prepaid, together with a copy
of the sales slip or other proof of purchase date. The warranty excludes
problems due to normal wear, abuse, shipping damage or failure to use
the product in accordance with the specications.
All parts and labor are covered under this Limited Warranty. However,
if it is determined by Black Lion Audio that the device was damaged or
made defective through abuse, we reserve the right to charge the cus-
tomer for the cost of the repair.
Black Lion Audio shall not be liable for damages based upon inconve-
nience, loss of use of the product, loss of time, interrupted operation or
commercial loss or any other damages, whether incidental, consequen-
tial or otherwise. This warranty gives you specic legal rights, and you
may have other rights, which will vary from state to state.
This warranty is not transferable.
SPECIFICATIONS
Attack Continuously variable 20uS to 800uS
Release Continuously variable 1200mS to 50mS
Ratio Pushbutton selected 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1 and any
combination
Voltage 115VAC, 230VAC rear panel switchable
AC Mains Input IEC320-C14 standard plug
Fuse 50Hz uses F2AL both are 20mmx5mm
Dimensions Width 438mm (19”)
Height 88mm (2U)
Depth 250mm
Weight 8kg
QUICK START GUIDE
Mute your studio monitors. Using balanced XLR cables, connect your
Bluey to your mixing bus or patch bay. If you are using two Blueys in
parallel (or stereo), connect the two units using an RCA cable. Set all
controls to full counter-clockwise position, and all pushbuttons dese-
lected or in the off position. Set the COMP ON button to the off position,
bypassing the unit, and apply power.
Unmute the monitors, and verify that signal is passing to and from the
unit. Set the INPUT, OUTPUT, ATTACK and RELEASE controls to about
12 o’clock, set COMP MIX to full clockwise, select RATIO 4, and press the
ON pushbutton. Increase the INPUT until the meter is deecting a few
dB. Again, verify signal is passing through the unit. Done!
A note on the Attack control:
The Attack control on the Bluey works a little differently than you may
have encountered on other ‘76-style compressors. Turning the Attack
knob to the left (counter-clockwise) will yield faster attack times; slower
times result when turning to the right (clockwise). We’ve found this con-
trol scheme to be more intuitive; akin to a volume knob decreasing level
to the left and increasing to the right.
•Attack: Continuously variable 20uS to 800uS
•Release: Continuously variable 1200mS to 50mS
1. Power Button: This turns the unit on and off.
2. Input: Sets the threshold and controls the level at which the com-
pressor starts compressing
3. Output: Applies makeup gain to compressed signal to compensate
for signal lost during compression
4. Attack: Controls the amount of time it takes for the unit to react to
an incoming signal
5. Release: Controls the speed at which the compressor releases the
compressed signal
6. Comp Mix: Allows the user to blend the dry uncompressed signal
with the wet compressed signal to allow more natural sounding
compression
7. Ratio: Controls the amount of compression applied (Yes, it does all-
buttons-in-mode)
8. Meter Mode: Selector switches GR meters the amount of gain re-
duction applied (+4 meters output level at 0 with +4dB output; +8
meters output level at 0 with +8dB output)
9. Power IEC Input: Power input jack
10. Voltage Selector: Set to correct voltage in country used in
11. XLR Output: Balanced line-level output
12. RCA Stereo Link: Use standard 2-conductor RCA cable for stereo
linking
13. XLR Input: Balanced line-level input.
Note: For proper performance, balanced XLR must be used for all in-
puts and outputs.
A note on Bluey’ 500s buffering:
Bluey features additional input and output buffering circuitry not found
on most other compressors; as such you may nd the input to run a
little hotter than you might initially expect. This extra gain is useful for
directly inserting Bluey in a console insert point. Additionally, it serves
to model the manner in which the original Bluey was used as a console
insert while also ensuring stable level balance when adjusting the Comp
Mix control.
A note on stereo linking
When running a pair of Blueys via a stereo link, start by setting both units
to matched settings, as the detector circuits are the linked elements -
not the controls. Note that due to design limitations of the ‘76-style com-
pressors, no two units will ever be 100% matched without an external
battery-powered balancing box. If you don’t have a balancing box, you
may need to make slight alterations to the Input and Output controls to
create perfect stereo matching.
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