Rupert Neve
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rupert Neve is a well-known engineer of high end pro-audio recording equipment, particularly notable for his microphone preamps, equalizers, compressors and large format mixing consoles. He is often credited as the man who made the recording console. [1] He was the third person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Technical GRAMMY and became an inducted member of the Mix Hall of Fame in 1989. [2]. He was named man of the century by Studio Sound Magazine in 1999, and was selected by his peers as the number one audio personality of the 20th century.
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[edit] Biography
Neve, living in Argentina at the time, began repairing and building radios in the early days of World War II. When he was 17, he volunteered as a soldier for the British navy. He soon after settled in England, and built a mobile recording studio in which he recorded choirs, operas, and public addresses. In the 50s he worked for Rediffusion, a maker of loudspeakers. Neve left the company and formed CQ Audio, and manufactured hifi speaker systems. In the early 1960s, he designed and built a mixing console for a composer named Desmond. In 1964 he built a transistor based mixing console with an equalizer for Phillips Record LTD. Demand for consoles increased rapidly and led Neve into a life of the manufacturing and designing audio recording equipment. Neve has founded or been involved with several companies. Currently he runs Rupert Neve Designs, which is based out of Wimberley, Texas. [3]
[edit] Companies
[edit] Neve
Neve's first company was a manufacturer of high end recording consoles in England. It was originally operated out of Neves home, and moved to its own premises in the late 1960s. It was sold in 1970s [4].
[edit] Arn Consultants
A company still owned and operated by Neve. Introduced in the mid 1970s, it focuses on sound reinforcements and acoustics of complex buildings such as churches.
[edit] AMS Neve
The original Neve group was sold to Siemens in 1985, and the company closed down the Neve group and turned into a Siemens subsidiary, AMS LTD (often AMS/Neve). This company has no affiliation with Neve, but has several of the original staff from the Neve group.
[edit] Focusrite
The company made outboard gear, mainly dynamic processors and equalizers. The company was liquidated in 1989. Mr. Phil Dudderidge, who incorporated a new company Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd, bought the assets of Focusrite Ltd. He still manufactures the designs from Focusrite LTD, and still markets the products designed by Neve. Neve has not designed any products for the Focusrite brand name since he sold the company.
[edit] Amek
ARN Consulting helped Amek design Consoles
[edit] Taylor Guitars
Neve designed the ES pickup system for Taylors acoustic guitars
[edit] Rupert Neve Designs
ARN Consulting currently trades under this name. Rupert Neve Designs markets a small variety of microphone preamplifiers, Equalizers and Compressors.
