Neve
Encyclopedia
Neve Electronics was a manufacturer of music recording and broadcast mixing consoles and hardware. It was originally founded as Neve Electronics in 1961 by Rupert Neve
, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console.
circuit designs. In 1964 the company moved to Cambridgeshire
. It was in that year that Neve Electronics built one of the first transistor based mixing consoles for Philips Records
Studios in London. The company moved to a purpose built factory in Melbourn, near Cambridge
where in 1968 they designed the 2254 compressor limiter for ABC Weekend Television
in the UK.
It was also in 1968 that Neve Electronics began to distribute their products in North America. Vanguard Records, of New York City, was the first American recording studio to take possession of the Neve console in October, 1968.
. During the seventies Neve Electronics produced a whole series of mixing consoles for both broadcast and recording studios. In 1973 the 8048 console was produced; this included the newer 1081 microphone/line preamplifier and equaliser. In the same year Rupert Neve sold Neve Electronics to the Bonochord Group. He continued working alongside Neve Electronics until 1975 when he left altogether.
In 1977 Neve Electronics began using digital technology with the introduction of their Necam system. Necam stood for Neve Computer Assisted Mixdown. The first Necam system was installed at Air Studios in London
. In 1979 the 8108 console was produced using both analog and digital technology. The console had assignable controls and memory mixing faders.
to form AMS Neve
which is still in business today.
design microphone/line preamplifier with three equaliser bands. The equaliser had a fixed 12kHz
high frequency band and switchable low and mid range bands with cut and boost controls. There was also a passive -18dB/octave high pass filter. Two switches were also fitted on the module's front panel for equaliser bypass and phase polarity. The 1073 module was designed to be part of the 80 series Neve console. It was never intended for use as a stand alone module. It is now regarded as a "desert island" preamp by many recording engineers, it has been used on a countless number of hit records over the past 30 years from Rock, Rap, Hip-hop, to Classical. The sound is described as very big, fat, and colored. The factor contributing to the larger than life sound is greatly attributed to the design of the transformer which seems to add subharmonics to the signal. The Equalizer section of the 1073 is regarded as very "musical" and practical and has become the favorite choice of many engineers for tracking and mixing.
and recording purposes. The unit could be linked for stereo and multi-channel operation. The compressor processed the audio signal before the output amplifier, meaning the output level could be raised after compression of the signal. The controls included compression attack and recovery times. There was also has a bypass control to switch the effect in or out of the circuit. Other configurations were available at the time of the product's release.
The Neve 33609 compressor limiter was recently re-designed by AMS Neve
and labelled as the 33609JD stereo compressor.
Rupert Neve
Rupert Neve is an English electronics engineer and entrepreneur, who is particularly known as a designer of professional recording equipment. He is known for his work on microphone preamplifier, equalizers, and early large format mixing consoles...
, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console.
Company formation
Rupert Neve formed Neve Electronics in 1961. The company specialised in producing professional audio equipment and mixing consoles. The products used high quality components and utilized Class-AElectronic amplifier
An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal.It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude...
circuit designs. In 1964 the company moved to Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. It was in that year that Neve Electronics built one of the first transistor based mixing consoles for Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
Studios in London. The company moved to a purpose built factory in Melbourn, near Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
where in 1968 they designed the 2254 compressor limiter for ABC Weekend Television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
in the UK.
It was also in 1968 that Neve Electronics began to distribute their products in North America. Vanguard Records, of New York City, was the first American recording studio to take possession of the Neve console in October, 1968.
1970s
In 1970 Rupert Neve designed the 1073 module for the new A88 mixing console; this console was designed for Wessex StudiosWessex Sound Studios
Wessex Sound Studios was a recording studio located in Highbury New Park, London, England. Many renowned popular music artists recorded there, including The Sex Pistols, King Crimson, The Clash, Theatre of Hate, XTC, The Sinceros, Queen, Talk Talk and The Rolling Stones...
. During the seventies Neve Electronics produced a whole series of mixing consoles for both broadcast and recording studios. In 1973 the 8048 console was produced; this included the newer 1081 microphone/line preamplifier and equaliser. In the same year Rupert Neve sold Neve Electronics to the Bonochord Group. He continued working alongside Neve Electronics until 1975 when he left altogether.
In 1977 Neve Electronics began using digital technology with the introduction of their Necam system. Necam stood for Neve Computer Assisted Mixdown. The first Necam system was installed at Air Studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1979 the 8108 console was produced using both analog and digital technology. The console had assignable controls and memory mixing faders.
Merger with AMS
In the eighties there were concerns about Neve Electronics' financial situation. This was partly due to their ambitious investment into research and development of projects such as the DSP console and the Necam system. Another product that was included in the company's research and development programme was a digitally controlled routing system; very few of these were sold. In 1985 Neve Electronics was acquired by the Siemens group; then in 1992 the Siemens group combined Neve Electronics with another newly acquired company, Advanced Music SystemsAMS (Advanced Music Systems)
AMS were a manufacturer of professional studio equipment. The company later merged with Neve Electronics to form the award winning AMS Neve Ltd company, who received an Emmy in 1992 and a Grammy in 2000.-Background:...
to form AMS Neve
AMS Neve
AMS Neve Ltd was the result of the amalgamation in 1992 of AMS with Neve Electronics.-Background:Neve Electronics was a British manufacturer of mixing consoles that originated in the work of Rupert Neve in the 1960s...
which is still in business today.
Neve 1073 Console Module
The 1073 was a Class-AElectronic amplifier
An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal.It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude...
design microphone/line preamplifier with three equaliser bands. The equaliser had a fixed 12kHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
high frequency band and switchable low and mid range bands with cut and boost controls. There was also a passive -18dB/octave high pass filter. Two switches were also fitted on the module's front panel for equaliser bypass and phase polarity. The 1073 module was designed to be part of the 80 series Neve console. It was never intended for use as a stand alone module. It is now regarded as a "desert island" preamp by many recording engineers, it has been used on a countless number of hit records over the past 30 years from Rock, Rap, Hip-hop, to Classical. The sound is described as very big, fat, and colored. The factor contributing to the larger than life sound is greatly attributed to the design of the transformer which seems to add subharmonics to the signal. The Equalizer section of the 1073 is regarded as very "musical" and practical and has become the favorite choice of many engineers for tracking and mixing.
Neve 33609 Compressor Limiter
The 33609 was a 19” rack mounted compressor limiter produced by Neve Electronics for broadcastBroadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
and recording purposes. The unit could be linked for stereo and multi-channel operation. The compressor processed the audio signal before the output amplifier, meaning the output level could be raised after compression of the signal. The controls included compression attack and recovery times. There was also has a bypass control to switch the effect in or out of the circuit. Other configurations were available at the time of the product's release.
The Neve 33609 compressor limiter was recently re-designed by AMS Neve
AMS Neve
AMS Neve Ltd was the result of the amalgamation in 1992 of AMS with Neve Electronics.-Background:Neve Electronics was a British manufacturer of mixing consoles that originated in the work of Rupert Neve in the 1960s...
and labelled as the 33609JD stereo compressor.
Timeline
- 1961: Company based at HarlowHarlowHarlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
. - 1964: Moved to the Priesthaus in Little ShelfordLittle ShelfordLittle Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, which is on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool...
. - 1966: The Neve Group of Companies formed 1 December 1966 to take over business run privately by Rupert Neve.
- 1966: Consoles made for the TV Centre, MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. - 1969: First broadcast consoles for Associated British CorporationAssociated British CorporationAssociated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
TV and Granada TV. - 1969: First consoles to the USA: Sound Studios, Chicago and Vanguard studios in New York. First 16 track consoles.
- 1970: First console to AIR Studios, first desk for BBC TV Lime Grove StudiosLime Grove StudiosLime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...
, a standard 8008 24/8 costing £15,000. - 1970: Rupert Neve Incorporated (USA) formed April 1970.
- 1970: Rupert Neve Canada formed (sales company) 10 September 1970
- 1975: Rupert Neve leaves the company under contract to not produce a similar product for ten years (i.e. Focusrite 1985).
- 1977: 8058 and 8068 Mark 1, 5312, 5315
- 1978: Rupert Neve and Company Ltd becomes Neve Electronics International on April 1 1978.
- 1978: Neve digital design department formed.
- 1985: Neve taken over by the FAF group Group of companies end 1985.
- 1992: Company is amalgamated with AMS in BurnleyBurnleyBurnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
with remaining staff either moving to BurnleyBurnleyBurnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
or the LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Sales Office. Company now called AMS NeveAMS NeveAMS Neve Ltd was the result of the amalgamation in 1992 of AMS with Neve Electronics.-Background:Neve Electronics was a British manufacturer of mixing consoles that originated in the work of Rupert Neve in the 1960s...
. - 2005: AMS NeveAMS NeveAMS Neve Ltd was the result of the amalgamation in 1992 of AMS with Neve Electronics.-Background:Neve Electronics was a British manufacturer of mixing consoles that originated in the work of Rupert Neve in the 1960s...
acquired by SAE InstituteSAE InstituteThe SAE Institute is a private college founded in 1976 by Sound Engineer, Record Producer and businessman Tom Misner. The first school was opened 1977 in Sydney,...
. - 2010: SAE sells its interests in AMS Neve back to Mark Crabtree.