A Designer Emerges
1960’s
Musique Concrete London
Desmond Leslie, a professional composer of Musique Concrete was using a room full of tape recorders (a new medium in those days). He needed a device, which would help him get these sounds ‘mixed’. He had an EMI contract for the musical background to Shakespeare plays.
Rupert designed a mixer and gave Desmond a price, which he agreed. But there was no money to pay for the parts. This was a unique custom designed piece of equipment and not saleable to anyone else. Rupert and Evelyn decided to ask Desmond for one third of the price in advance. Desmond agreed at once. So the very first mixer was built.
Rupert and Evelyn had recently become Christians. What seemed a commonsense solution was clearly God’s guidance. It protected the company from accepting custom console contracts, which were not financed, and the policy has been continued throughout the life of the business.
Window of Opportunity
The Neve Company
In 1961 a new opportunity presented itself: the advent of the pop music scene in London. Two studios were foremost in London to recognize the need for new techniques for sound processing and mixing when recording the modern music of that day. They were Recorded Sound Ltd and Phillips Records Ltd.
Recorded Sound Ltd, London
One of Rupert’s very early clients was Leo Pollini of Recorded Sound in London for whom he designed and built two valve consoles. The first was for the studio. The design was based on the successful equipment Rupert had built in the Plymouth days and included features that were innovative for that period.
The other was an outside broadcast console. Recorded Sound had a contract with Radio Luxembourg to broadcast a series of live Sunday afternoon concerts for which they needed a high quality reliable, transportable console with all the features of studio equipment and be capable of feeding music landlines. This console was based on the earlier studio console that had been working successfully at the Bryonstone Street Studio. Both these consoles were used by Mr. Pollini for many years who found them robust and very reliable. Characteristics for which Neve equipment became renowned.
Transistors Take Hold
By 1964 Rupert had developed high performance transistor equipment that replaced the traditional valve designs. The first client for the new transistor equipment was Phillips Records Ltd. Rupert Neve was commissioned to design and build a series of equalizers to enable them to change the musical balance of material that had been previously recorded. This was before the days of multi-track tape machines. Rebalancing a 2-track recording usually meant a new session with artists, producers, and engineers re-convened at great expense. The success of the equalizers led to orders from Phillips and other recording studios for mixing consoles. These attained a reputation for sonic clarity and excellent workmanship. Demand grew rapidly.
Complete three and two track Studio and Portable Console for Phillips Records Ltd London
From The Neve Home…
The company was still operating out of Rupert and Evelyn’s home, an old Rectory near Cambridge, England. A metal workshop and stores occupied the old coach house. A prefabricated building in the grounds accommodated the drawing office, project engineers and sales office. Before long, many of the rooms in the house were commandeered for research and development, purchasing, accounting, and secretarial services. Studio owners and engineers came to discuss their requirements not only from London but from many parts of the world including the United States, Australia, South America, many countries in Europe and the Far East.
Workshop alongside Neve home
Neve Channel Amplifiers comprise a range of high performance input amplifiers available for use on NEVE sound control consoles, which incorporate alternative arrangement s of filter and frequency response curves.
Neve Channel Amplifiers are designed to accept signals from microphone and line sources and raise them to 0 dBm for feeding a 600 ohms load. Low noise and distortion and generous overload performance are important features of these amplifiers.
Neve 1066 Channel Amplifier
High frequency, mid-frequency (presence) and low frequency correction controls are provided. The shapes of the curves and the frequencies have been carefully chosen to give the maximum possible flexibility in high quality recording. In addition a steep cutting high pass filter with a choice of cut-off frequencies may be included.
…Into The Factory
Early in 1969, the business moved into a purpose built factory. During the next five years, a satellite factory to manufacture modules was established in Scotland. Sales offices were opened in Toronto Canada, Bethel Connecticut, Hollywood California and Nashville Tennessee; and agents were appointed round the world. By 1973 the Neve team had grown to over 500 worldwide.
The business was built on principles of integrity, ‘going the extra mile’, amazing team loyalties, innovative but very simple technical designs and workmanship second to none.
