


In the early 1990s, as affordable digital recording gave rise to countless project and home studios, people realized the value of taking a Neve preamp or two out of a console and racking them up for home use. This cumulative layering of color on every track is a big part of what makes a record tracked and mixed on a vintage Neve console sound the way it does.

The sonics of the mic input transformer would be captured to tape and then the line input transformer would add it's own magic during playback and mixing. In a British console in the '70s, the balancing of inputs and outputs was done with transformers, so you ended up with a separate mic input transformer and line input transformer. Neve's transformers are revered for the sonic girth and punch they add to whatever signal runs through them. Transformers introduce a certain amount of coloration to audio signals, and the saturation characteristics of a transformer are determined by various factors, including the materials used and the winding structure of the coils. A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled wire coils. In original 1073s, the mic preamp and the line amp have separate, and differently designed, input transformers that are essential to the big, musical sound. The Neve 1073 modules consist of three main features: a mic preamp, a line amp and a three-band EQ section with a hi-pass filter. Deservedly, the name Rupert Neve (issue #26) is one of the most respected in the field of recording equipment designers. This preamp/EQ is a near perfect culmination of design that resulted in a big, iconic sound that has helped shape the tone popular music. There were other compatible modules that came first, such as the 6/, but nothing has captured the ears and hearts of today's recordists like the 1073.
#What does the neve 1073 preamp do series#
By far one of the most revered and imitated microphone preamp/equalizers is the Neve 1073, originally released in the early 1970s as the main channel module in the infamous 80 Series consoles.
