20 Years Of The AMS Neve 88R Series Console
People & Music Industry - A podcast by Sound On Sound
In the 20 years since its introduction, AMS Neve’s 88R has proved that there is still a market for top-flight, large-format analogue consoles. In this episode, Robin Porter tells Sam Inglis how Neve built upon their design heritage to create what might be the ultimate analogue mixer and how they’ve adapted its state-of-the-art technology to bring to market a range of desirable project-studio equipment.
Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:19 - Robin Porter Background02:50 - Working With Rupert Neve 06:19 - The 88R Console Design 09:04 - How The 88R Differed From Other Consoles 14:46 - Voltage Mixing vs Current Mixing 20:18 - Improving Dynamic Range 23:24 - Benefits Of Analogue Over Digital 25:01 - The Role Of The 88R In Immersive Mixing 28:00 - Other AMS Neve Products Using 88R Tech 32:00 - Expandable Products 33:00 - UK Manufacture35:24 - The Next Generation Of Engineers
AMS Neve BiogEngineering led and dedicated to advancing the art and science of recording, AMS Neve is a privately owned, British manufacturer that focuses on providing the best possible audio tools for creative professionals, in both the analogue and digital domains.
Historically, AMS Neve is the fusion of two distinct companies – Neve, which was founded in 1961 by British electronics design engineer Rupert Neve, and AMS, which was founded in 1976 by electronics engineer Mark Crabtree. After undergoing various ownership and management changes, it became wholly owned by Double Oscar® winner Mark, who has run the combined company since 1992.
With a reputation for innovation, attention to detail and for creating the world’s finest sounding, longest-lasting analogue and digital consoles, AMS Neve stands at the pinnacle of professional audio design and engineering. Its products consistently top the desirability list among discerning artists, producers and facility owners and for more than 50 years it has driven significant technological advancements in the audio field.
Robin Porter BiogRobin Porter was 18 when he joined Neve in 1973 and, apart from a brief sabbatical to study engineering and acoustics at university, he has been with the company ever since. During his career he has held a number of different positions – from working in the Test department to engineering in the custom engineering department and eventually moving into Analogue R&D.
He has been instrumental in the design of many of Neve’s most iconic products including the 88 Series of consoles, the Genesys and Genesys Black consoles and the recently released 8424 summing mixer. The projects he is most proud of include designing the Aux module for Sir George Martin’s Air Monserrat console, on which he was also Test engineer, and the design of the 88R console and SP2 scoring system, which is used on 80% of all film music recorded today.
Sam Inglis BiogEditor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).
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