Some commonly-asked questions about the company are listed below. For product-related FAQs, we recommend you consult the ‘Resources’ section on our individual product pages.

No, Rupert Neve Designs and Neve (now AMS Neve®) are not the same company, and have no affiliation with one another. Rupert Neve founded the original Neve company in the 1960s, and this first era was when all the classics were created: the 1073, 1081, 1084, 2254, BCM10 and 80 Series consoles, etc…but Rupert sold the company in the mid-1970s, and did not design anything Neve-branded after that point.

AMS Neve is a UK company formed in the early 1990s through the amalgamation of Advanced Music Systems and Neve Electronics, and produces products of their own design, including copies and derivatives of early Neve equipment.

Rupert Neve Designs is a USA company founded in 2005 by Rupert Neve, Evelyn Neve, and Josh Thomas, and is the culmination of over six decades of Rupert’s legendary design work. Always striving for improvement, Rupert had no interest in repeating his previous designs and spent 15 years training a team to develop new products rooted firmly in classic analog traditions. Our mission is to preserve Rupert’s legacy in everything we do moving forward.

Learn more on our History page.

In the mid-1980s, Rupert was commissioned by Sir George Martin to build a new no-compromise mic preamp & EQ circuit for his already-famous AIR Studios Montserrat console. Dubbed the ISA 110, George loved this module so much that he outfitted his entire AIR Studios London console with them as well. The ISA 110 served as the launchpad for a new company founded in 1985 by Rupert and Evelyn Neve: Focusrite Ltd.

Under enormous pressure to go into mixing consoles again, Focusrite Ltd accepted several orders for what would become the famous Forte desks. Though the audio part of the design was complete and proven, the digital control side of the design (outside Rupert’s field of expertise) ran into delays, and only two of the original Forte consoles were shipped before 1989. The company ran out of time and money, resulting in liquidation in January 1989.

Mr. Phil Dudderidge – who had recently sold his company, Soundcraft – bought the assets of Focusrite Ltd, incorporated a new company called Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd, and inherited the Focusrite range designed prior to 1989. Mr. Dudderidge turned the Focusrite company into what it is today, but Rupert never designed any products for Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.

All Rupert Neve Designs products are designed, manufactured, and tested in the USA.

The 1073 was the best mic preamp that Rupert could design in 1970, but it was always his belief that designs should be reconsidered and updated in a constant quest for perfection as knowledge and manufacturing capabilities advance. The Shelford Channel is the evolution of everything that was great about the vintage modules, with higher performance and much greater flexibility. Similarly, with the 5088 Discrete Analog Mixing Console Rupert finally achieved the sonic results he sought with the original 80 Series consoles – with lower noise, greater dynamic range, simpler maintenance and more versatile configuration options. And both the Shelford and the 5088 still have “that sound”.

We don’t make copies or clones of any equipment, vintage or otherwise – we adhere to Rupert’s design philosophies in crafting original equipment to the very highest standards of musical quality and reliability. This is done by preserving the most revered elements or intentions of his legendary vintage equipment, but these elements are always advanced and refined to fit the requirements of the modern engineer.

No. We design and manufacture our own custom transformers, each purpose-built for the exact required specifications of our circuits.

It’s a common misconception that dropping a vintage-spec transformer into a modern piece of gear will provide “that vintage sound”, but this is not the case. Here are Rupert’s words on the topic:

“From the earliest days, all my designs were transformer-coupled. But an audio transformer cannot be entirely successful without including the electronic circuit in the design because it works as an integrated package…of course, transformers that are not correctly configured for a particular application can introduce astonishing results! Audio transformer design is almost as much an art as a science…which may be why many circuit designers avoid them.”

In other words, a circuit’s performance is a result of how all its components and sections interact with one another. It’s not just about using “vintage parts”; true high-performance equipment requires a more customized approach. This is why we design all of our own audio transformers, as well as the custom discrete op-amps in the 5088 console. You can read more about this on our Design page.

Our equipment absolutely has the unmistakable sound of a Rupert Neve design, and it can achieve all the tone of the vintage modules if desired…but we made sure it’s also flexible enough to go in entirely different directions when appropriate, so you’re not boxed in to one sonic character. Watch this video about our exclusive Silk circuit to learn more.

One of the most important things that Rupert’s equipment has always done is to make things easier for the engineer, and that’s a huge part of what we do as well. With our preamps, you’ll often find yourself using less EQ because sources just sound “right” from the beginning. With a 5088 console – or our Summing units – you may notice mixes coming together more quickly than you’re used to. With the Master Bus Transformer, you’ll need fewer plugins to make it “sound like a record”. And the RNDI preserves the natural sound of your instrument so you don’t need to spend time & energy tweaking it later to make it sound “real”.

These outcomes are the natural result of following Rupert’s design philosophies in everything we do: wide bandwidth, low distortion, properly-designed transformers, discrete class-A circuitry, and bulletproof reliability. Learn more on our Design page.

We do not make any plugins, though some of our equipment and circuits have been officially modeled by Yamaha for their digital consoles. You can learn more about that on Yamaha’s website.

All our equipment comes standard with a 3-year warranty – but if your gear is older than that, don’t be afraid to get in touch with our Service & Support team and we’ll help as best we can. Our out-of-warranty service rates are very reasonable, and our turnaround time is typically very fast.

Watch this video to learn more about our Customer Support philosophy.

Absolutely. We service and support all Rupert Neve Designs products, including all discontinued ones. Contact our Service team for more information.

Sorry, we only support Rupert Neve Designs equipment. You should reach out directly to your equipment’s manufacturer for service & support.

While we don’t have an official endorsement / partnership program, we’re always interested in hearing about how our equipment is being used – and we love telling interesting customer stories, no matter how big or small. Feel free to reach out to marketing@rupertneve.com to tell us what you’ve been up to with our gear.

Sure! You’re always welcome to email info@rupertneve.com with any ideas or questions.

Rupert Neve Designs and the R logo © Rupert Neve Designs, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.