Rupert Neve 5059 User Manual download pdf (Page 1)

56 September 2012 | audiomedia.com

upert Neve Designs

has added

something new to its classy Pro Audio

range, the Satellite 5059: a 16-input,

dual stereo output Summing Mixer.

Borrowing design elements from its illustrious

5088 mixer and Portico II channel and bus

compressor, this rack of Neve magic is a lovely

addition to the studio line up. So, whether

you’re fitting out your production room or a

home recording set-up, there is something to

choose from the Rupert Neve Designs range.

The Rupert Neve name is synonymous with

sound quality and excellence of circuit design.

His creations have helped many producers and

engineers capture, shape, and produce some of

the greatest sounding records of our time.

Summing mixers V’s In The Box (ITB)

There has been much debate about the pitfalls

of mixing ‘In The Box’, and whether analogue

summing is better than digital summing

where a mix is concerned. To determine this,

there have been many published shoot-outs

between mixes and mixers comparing their

desk versus ITB work.

So I’d like to put a few things on record, as

far as I am concerned, about this controversial

subject. I say there is absolutely nothing wrong

with mixing purely ITB with most of today’s

DAW software; there are no real limitations

or summing flaws, but there are differences.

In the classic sense of mixing, analogue signals

in a conventional mixer are affected all the time

– op amps, transformers (any components, in

fact)… These can all add harmonic distortion

and other elements that we find pleasing to

the ear.

Summing digital signals within a computer

is all about the maths, combining all the ones

and zeros. This is an exact form of mixing with

nothing added to the signal path. While the

ITB internal floating point mixer can have

hundreds of dB’s dynamic range it has no

headroom in the classic sense. A typical DAW

has 0dB headroom, and beyond that, clipping

will occur that won’t be nice at all.

But having said that, if you had plug-ins

that induced the same qualities as analogue

hardware, such as Waves NLS Summing

console emulation or Slate Digital’s VCC Virtual

Console Collection, then you can achieve

similar results. So, it’s just a different way of

working. Great results are achievable with ITB

– you just might have to treat levels with a bit

more care and select useful plug-ins if you want

to achieve a similar analogue sonic quality.

A big factor in Summing vs ITB might also

be controllability – having actual hardware

like a mixer means more hands on control.

The tiny adjustments you do instinctively with

your hands on faders as you listen will help

more than anything to achieve a great mix.

One of the first things I learnt as an engineer

is to get the balance right – it’s no good having

great sounds if you can’t hear the vocal or

drums properly!

Now that’s sorted, we can look at the Rupert

Neve 5059 suming mixer baggage-free.

In Detail

The 5059 is a 2U 19-inch rack unit, decorated

in RND’s uniformed vintage white faceplate – a

solid 0.22-inch aluminium plate mounted on

the front of a heavy steel shell with magnetic

screening. Like all the other Rupert Neve Design

units, this box is impeccably constructed.

Laid across the front in left to right order are

two rows of input controls in two banks of eight.

Each input has channel level rotary faders going

from infinity to +10dB, pan control, an insert

switch, and a stereo 2 send for routing to the

alternate second output.

The first thing you notice is the solid

machined construction of the knobs – no cheap

off the shelf plastic being used here. Also, you’ll

notice that the levels have dB level markers,

although have no indent at 0dB. I really

enjoyed discovering this because it said to me

that Rupert knows how studios work, and how

people use their gear. To enable a useful recall

of a mix, any outboard gear has to be set exactly

the same – something that can be quite hard

to do, especially due to the inexact marking

of a unit or the variances of any continuous

potentiometer (pot), so to help this you can

calibrate your outboard hardware with a tone

to unity gain. That means that what you put

in is that same as what you get out. You don’t

touch the level controls, so any ident on the

level control could interfere with this set-up

process. A lot of engineers I know work this

way, and would be the way I would use this in a

mix studio set-up.

At the far right of the Satellite are two

stereo output controls, both of which are

supplemented with a texture control and

a silk selection switch. The dual outputs are

somewhat different to most summing mixers,

this being purely for alternative configurations:

maybe sub groups or stem mixes, routing to a

second Satellite unit, or even to use the other

output to utilise the other texture /silk control

and route back into the main stereo output.

There are also level indicating and power

LEDs. The rear has a power socket for RND’s

own universal filtered low noise switching

power supply, while inputs are via D-Sub

connectors in banks of eight, as well as four

D-subs for the send and returns of the inserts.

Note that these inserts are always sending, and

only replace the input signal once activated.

This means they can be used for aux sends

for separate effects or setting up compressors,

recorders, etc. Lastly output is via balanced XLR

for both stereo outputs.

Silk/Texture

Now this is where Rupert’s magic really happens

for me… yes, the mixer is fully class-A with

Rupert Neve Designs 5059

Satellite Summing Mixer

TECHNOLOGY Review

THE REVIEWER

Alan Branch is a

freelance engineer/

producer and

ex-member of the

On U Sound Crew. His

long list of credits

include Jamiroquai,

Beverley Knight, M

People, Simply Red,

Depeche Mode, Shed

7, Sinead O’ Connor,

Bjork, and Sade. www.

alanbranch.com

“There is something lovely about the sonic change in the tiniest of details as you drive the channels.

Pushing level into the mix buss and adjusting the master output produces more of that lovely sheen,

its transformers blending in a lovely musical flavour to the tone…”

Alan Branch

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Summary of Contents

Page 1 - Rupert Neve Designs 5059

56 September 2012 | audiomedia.comRupert Neve Designs has added something new to its classy Pro Audio range, the Satellite 5059: a 16-input, dual ster

Page 2 - Information

audiomedia.com | October 2012 57custom transformers. RND has perfected the Neve circuit design for many years, refining out all the unwanted artefacts

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Rupert Neve 5059 User Manual Page 1

Browse online or download User Manual for Audio mixers Rupert Neve 5059. Rupert Neve Designs 5059

Summary of Contents

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Rupert Neve 5059 User Manual Page 1

Browse online or download User Manual for Audio mixers Rupert Neve 5059. Rupert Neve Designs 5059

Summary of Contents

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