Next up, those 1285 modules will make an interesting stereo pair :)
No the console hasn't been forgotten. Waiting for parts and at least I can get some more immediate use out of the racks I'm building.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Its official! I built my very first Neve pre-amp. Still got to callibrate the Vu and wire the phantom +48v, but it powers up, and sounds mighty fine !
Next up, those 1285 modules will make an interesting stereo pair :)
No the console hasn't been forgotten. Waiting for parts and at least I can get some more immediate use out of the racks I'm building.
Next up, those 1285 modules will make an interesting stereo pair :)
No the console hasn't been forgotten. Waiting for parts and at least I can get some more immediate use out of the racks I'm building.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Today I started work on racking the excess modules I have with the hope of getting them into service, quicker than I might get the desk!!
First off, its the turn of the 3415/a
The original faceplate of the module, now rests to the right of the VU meter. I did this for nostalgic reasons.
The guts of the module, will be mounted on a base plate.
From left to right:
Phantom on/off
Phantom led (Red)
Output level
VU
Original 3415/a faceplate
Gain ( I know I have these backwards but I figure this will be my design quirk !!
Power switch
Power switch led (Blue)
First off, its the turn of the 3415/a
The original faceplate of the module, now rests to the right of the VU meter. I did this for nostalgic reasons.
The guts of the module, will be mounted on a base plate.
From left to right:
Phantom on/off
Phantom led (Red)
Output level
VU
Original 3415/a faceplate
Gain ( I know I have these backwards but I figure this will be my design quirk !!
Power switch
Power switch led (Blue)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
So its stalling time as I wait for the 4BA and 6BA screws so I can replace the rather rusted screws currently occupying the console, and I am scratching my head trying to figure out ways and means to come up with the funds to fill this console with mic pre/eqs.
Delivery time is three weeks for the screws so in the mean time, I am going to attempt to rack the 3415 I have and I also hope to take the mic pres out of the two 1285s I have. These were originally a talkback compressor.
I will post details of this sub-project, as it proceeds.
Delivery time is three weeks for the screws so in the mean time, I am going to attempt to rack the 3415 I have and I also hope to take the mic pres out of the two 1285s I have. These were originally a talkback compressor.
I will post details of this sub-project, as it proceeds.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Geoff Tanner
Geoff, as metioned in previous posts, has been an invaluable source to me, and hundreds of others with Neve related questions.
In October 1971 Geoff moved to Cambridge and joined Rupert Neve & Co. Ltd. in Melbourn, near Royston, Herts., as an Electronic Design Draughtsman. Progress and his thorough understanding of the products manufactured (complex broadcast and recording consoles) led to his promotion to Head of the Electrical Design Drawing Office less than 12 months later.
In an effort to rationalise the design of the complex circuits he produced thirty "Technical Information Sheets" which gave precise design rules to ensure consistent technical specifications from the many different console designs (Over 70% of the audio control consoles were built to custom requirements). The Tech Sheets became a "bible" for other engineers designing and assembling other similar products within the company.
In 1978, Geoff moved up into the Sales Engineering Department of Neve Electronic Laboratories (as it was then renamed) and liased directly with customers to provide design input for the drawing offices. In 1980 a new role was offered as "Special Orders Manager" leading a team of wiring and metal technicians to design and build virtually any custom product that a customer might require. This could be anything from a 36 channel music recording console to a tiny 2 channel tape transfer unit for the Metropolitan Police.
The Special Orders Department was very successful and was expanded to include the Spares Department and the Special Projects Department. The former because of our intimate knowledge of the products manufactured and the latter because other companies were so impressed that they were asking Neve to make products for them, unrelated with audio!
The annual turnover of this relatively small department approached £500,000 and a very high profit margin was maintained. Unfortunately, the company was involved in take overs first by ESE, then Siemens, and the new management were only interested in producing standard products. The profitable custom business was down graded and, as a result, it became very hard to run an independent custom department against the general motivation of the new management. Thus, in 1985 Geoff left Neve Electronics (after fourteen years) and branched out on his own as a freelance engineer.
Geoff independently continued his work with Neve consoles, their upkeep, repair and maintenance. He built monitoring/duplicating consoles for CBS Records in Aylesbury and a similar console for Audio Productions in Croydon. He has flown all over the world fixing consoles including trips to the USA, Japan, Israel, Spain and Ireland. In 1994 he designed and built the huge 56 channel 24 track recording console at Great Linford Manor in Great Linford, Milton Keynes…. That now resides in Steakhouse Recording Studios, in North Hollywood, USA.
Geoff has established a company in the USA (Aurora Audio) to continue to look after these beautiful consoles and to manufacture new products of similar quality to the Neve range that he knows so well.
Check out his gear:
http://www.auroraaudio.net/aa_html/aa_products_b.htm
Here you can check out this bad boy !!
Geoff, as metioned in previous posts, has been an invaluable source to me, and hundreds of others with Neve related questions.
In October 1971 Geoff moved to Cambridge and joined Rupert Neve & Co. Ltd. in Melbourn, near Royston, Herts., as an Electronic Design Draughtsman. Progress and his thorough understanding of the products manufactured (complex broadcast and recording consoles) led to his promotion to Head of the Electrical Design Drawing Office less than 12 months later.
In an effort to rationalise the design of the complex circuits he produced thirty "Technical Information Sheets" which gave precise design rules to ensure consistent technical specifications from the many different console designs (Over 70% of the audio control consoles were built to custom requirements). The Tech Sheets became a "bible" for other engineers designing and assembling other similar products within the company.
In 1978, Geoff moved up into the Sales Engineering Department of Neve Electronic Laboratories (as it was then renamed) and liased directly with customers to provide design input for the drawing offices. In 1980 a new role was offered as "Special Orders Manager" leading a team of wiring and metal technicians to design and build virtually any custom product that a customer might require. This could be anything from a 36 channel music recording console to a tiny 2 channel tape transfer unit for the Metropolitan Police.
The Special Orders Department was very successful and was expanded to include the Spares Department and the Special Projects Department. The former because of our intimate knowledge of the products manufactured and the latter because other companies were so impressed that they were asking Neve to make products for them, unrelated with audio!
The annual turnover of this relatively small department approached £500,000 and a very high profit margin was maintained. Unfortunately, the company was involved in take overs first by ESE, then Siemens, and the new management were only interested in producing standard products. The profitable custom business was down graded and, as a result, it became very hard to run an independent custom department against the general motivation of the new management. Thus, in 1985 Geoff left Neve Electronics (after fourteen years) and branched out on his own as a freelance engineer.
Geoff independently continued his work with Neve consoles, their upkeep, repair and maintenance. He built monitoring/duplicating consoles for CBS Records in Aylesbury and a similar console for Audio Productions in Croydon. He has flown all over the world fixing consoles including trips to the USA, Japan, Israel, Spain and Ireland. In 1994 he designed and built the huge 56 channel 24 track recording console at Great Linford Manor in Great Linford, Milton Keynes…. That now resides in Steakhouse Recording Studios, in North Hollywood, USA.
Geoff has established a company in the USA (Aurora Audio) to continue to look after these beautiful consoles and to manufacture new products of similar quality to the Neve range that he knows so well.
Check out his gear:
http://www.auroraaudio.net/aa_html/aa_products_b.htm
Here you can check out this bad boy !!
All about the benjamins !!
Finally sourced the 4BA and 6BA screw I've been looking for ! If you're in the same position, www.trfastenings.com will be able to hook you up.
At this stage, I've hit that financial wall mentioned in the first post on this blog and although, (Thanks to the kindness of certain individuals) the cost of re-stocking this console with mic pre/eqs isn't as much as I initially thought it would be, its still a lot of $$$$$$!!
In 2000, I got a loan from the bank to buy some studio gear as I knew, as an artist, I wasn't able to get the sound or style I wanted with other producers or studios, so being my usual stubborn self, I went about acquiring the knowledge to record and produce myself (For the record, I had a Number 1 for ten weeks here in Ireland and was due a royalty cheque. I went to the bank with a letter from my record company at the time, saying how much I was due. On the strength of this, they gave me a bridging loan. Sadly, on the day I went to collect the cheque from the record company, they handed me a sixty page contract and told me no funds could be released until I signed the dotted line. Cue Legal battle and bank getting very annoyed!!).
I had a great advantage as I grew up with a live sound background, so it wasn't long before I had the hang of things, but as time has gone on, I've been on a crusade to acquire the best of the best. As a result, my credit rating has been severely damaged, but all in the name of music, I suppose !!
Luckily, I've been kept a float by the kind words of people, more so than anything, as its been the "Pats on the back" that has kept me mentally on top of things (Many times I've thought, "what's the point"), but I love what I do. I don't know how to do anything else really and for as long as I can remember, I've been working with music, whether its been back-stage, on-stage, over the stage, in a studio, on the radio or my brief stint as a broadcast engineer (My only 9 to 5 ever !!).
On another note, all the black panels have come back from the spray shop. The replacement end pieces are being re-made and I am now going to start the difficult task of rebuilding the Studio/ headphone and selector panel. I don't need all the routing so I am going to simplify this. Also hoping to re-route the PFL to the AUX PPM.
My Soundcraft 3200.
Me in the US earlier this year. Although my girlfriend will tell you different, If I have kids, the boy will be called Midas, and the girl Neve !!
Finally sourced the 4BA and 6BA screw I've been looking for ! If you're in the same position, www.trfastenings.com will be able to hook you up.
At this stage, I've hit that financial wall mentioned in the first post on this blog and although, (Thanks to the kindness of certain individuals) the cost of re-stocking this console with mic pre/eqs isn't as much as I initially thought it would be, its still a lot of $$$$$$!!
In 2000, I got a loan from the bank to buy some studio gear as I knew, as an artist, I wasn't able to get the sound or style I wanted with other producers or studios, so being my usual stubborn self, I went about acquiring the knowledge to record and produce myself (For the record, I had a Number 1 for ten weeks here in Ireland and was due a royalty cheque. I went to the bank with a letter from my record company at the time, saying how much I was due. On the strength of this, they gave me a bridging loan. Sadly, on the day I went to collect the cheque from the record company, they handed me a sixty page contract and told me no funds could be released until I signed the dotted line. Cue Legal battle and bank getting very annoyed!!).
I had a great advantage as I grew up with a live sound background, so it wasn't long before I had the hang of things, but as time has gone on, I've been on a crusade to acquire the best of the best. As a result, my credit rating has been severely damaged, but all in the name of music, I suppose !!
Luckily, I've been kept a float by the kind words of people, more so than anything, as its been the "Pats on the back" that has kept me mentally on top of things (Many times I've thought, "what's the point"), but I love what I do. I don't know how to do anything else really and for as long as I can remember, I've been working with music, whether its been back-stage, on-stage, over the stage, in a studio, on the radio or my brief stint as a broadcast engineer (My only 9 to 5 ever !!).
On another note, all the black panels have come back from the spray shop. The replacement end pieces are being re-made and I am now going to start the difficult task of rebuilding the Studio/ headphone and selector panel. I don't need all the routing so I am going to simplify this. Also hoping to re-route the PFL to the AUX PPM.
My Soundcraft 3200.
Me in the US earlier this year. Although my girlfriend will tell you different, If I have kids, the boy will be called Midas, and the girl Neve !!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Today, I have uploaded some old catalogue pictures for you to enjoy, so enjoy!! (Titles thanks to memory man, Geoff Tanner!)
Can't find 4BA or 6BA screws anywhere !! These are the black, countersunk screws that hold the faceplate to the module frame (6BA) and the screws that hold modules to the console rail (4BA).
Any help sourcing these greatly appreciated !!
AIR Oxford Street
Left = BBC TV Centre.... Right = RCA Hollywood (In Cello now but not sure what's happening to Cello)
Neve factory C1970
Shepperton or Pinewood (They look similar!)
8014 console... customised I think!
Wiring shop and test dept C1970
That custom 8014 again
BBC Elstree & RTE compere operated
Not sure, custom console C1970... love the Lockwood Monitors! Neve used those too.
Can't find 4BA or 6BA screws anywhere !! These are the black, countersunk screws that hold the faceplate to the module frame (6BA) and the screws that hold modules to the console rail (4BA).
Any help sourcing these greatly appreciated !!
AIR Oxford Street
Left = BBC TV Centre.... Right = RCA Hollywood (In Cello now but not sure what's happening to Cello)
Neve factory C1970
Shepperton or Pinewood (They look similar!)
8014 console... customised I think!
Wiring shop and test dept C1970
That custom 8014 again
BBC Elstree & RTE compere operated
Not sure, custom console C1970... love the Lockwood Monitors! Neve used those too.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Geoff Tanner = Legend !
I must start this post with a word of thanks to my new friend in LA, Geoff Tanner.
He has been an invaluable source of information to me and has been very helpful with any questions I have had, and believe me, there has been a bunch of em!!
I've been a busy beaver trying to source parts etc and over the last week, and with great success!
This is what my stock list now looks like:
1x 3415/a, 3x 2258, 2x1289, 4x1286, 3x1272, 1x1271, 2x1285, 1x1786, 9x1277, 6x1276, 22x 1918 and 4x 1927.
Not bad for two weeks hunting !!
Bits of this gear I will strip to rack (Mic amps etc), and others I will mod to suit the console (eg. 1271 to a 1272).
Biggest diffculty this week has been trying to source replacement screws. I need a box of 4BA and 6BA black, counter sunk screws. Any help getting them online ?? mark@futurecodeproductions.com
I have also managed to source somebody (Who comes with a "REAL" seal of approval), that makes 1073 modules at a nice(ish) price, so that sorts the 18 of em I need ! All I need now is the $CASH$ to pay for them !!!
See http://www.brentaverill.com/
Only thing I haven't sourced is 4x 2073 or 2074 modules if anyone can help?
Still waiting for manuals :'(
I must start this post with a word of thanks to my new friend in LA, Geoff Tanner.
He has been an invaluable source of information to me and has been very helpful with any questions I have had, and believe me, there has been a bunch of em!!
I've been a busy beaver trying to source parts etc and over the last week, and with great success!
This is what my stock list now looks like:
1x 3415/a, 3x 2258, 2x1289, 4x1286, 3x1272, 1x1271, 2x1285, 1x1786, 9x1277, 6x1276, 22x 1918 and 4x 1927.
Not bad for two weeks hunting !!
Bits of this gear I will strip to rack (Mic amps etc), and others I will mod to suit the console (eg. 1271 to a 1272).
Biggest diffculty this week has been trying to source replacement screws. I need a box of 4BA and 6BA black, counter sunk screws. Any help getting them online ?? mark@futurecodeproductions.com
I have also managed to source somebody (Who comes with a "REAL" seal of approval), that makes 1073 modules at a nice(ish) price, so that sorts the 18 of em I need ! All I need now is the $CASH$ to pay for them !!!
See http://www.brentaverill.com/
Only thing I haven't sourced is 4x 2073 or 2074 modules if anyone can help?
Still waiting for manuals :'(
Friday, September 02, 2005
As the dust settles!
Yesterday I took delivery of the remaining modules for this console and they came with a severe hit of realisation !!
What have I got myself into !!??
As much as I realised this was going to be VERY hard work, I think I am now realising that it is going to be, not just VERY VERY hard work, but VERY VERY VERY hard work !
None the less, I am determined to see this through and will continue to do so until I hit the financial wall that is just around the corner.
Some of you may be wondering what I am doing starting this project concentrating on the cosmetics, rather than the electronics.
Its all well in good having a good looking Neve console, but its not much use sitting pretty !
I did this for a number of reasons:
1, I had some time free and had to wait for the modules to arrive before I could start evaluating what work needs to be done.
2, I felt bad that the console had sat in a garage, unloved and cold for the best part of a year and
3, When you take something like this on, there is no going back so I thought why not work ahead of myself, therefore installing the notion that there is no option of quitting. It doesn't matter in what order I under take work on this project as it all has to be done eventually anyway!
I guess this is a method of justification.
In my search for information in the last two weeks, I have discovered that there is an awful lot of information with regard Neve online, but it is all very hard to find.
So many people have been so helpful with regard this project and I thank you all for your helpful information.
To add to my shopping list, I need 4 x 2073s or 2074s so Santa, can you add them to the 18 x 1066s/1073s ?
I've been a good boy !!
Paint arrived and so I have been spraying panels. Also cleaned down the metal work and gave the patch bay a once over. I've inserted what modules I have just to keep them safe and now its on to the output modules to see whats needed there.
The 1918 Routing modules alonside the blue leds recently added to the new scribble strip.
Looking slightly better. The routing panel in this picture is the one I spoke about earlier in this blog. It cost more than than the desk did at the time it was built and also includes headphone and speaker levels. The module below that is talkback.
I'll get into the output section at the rear next week.
Yesterday I took delivery of the remaining modules for this console and they came with a severe hit of realisation !!
What have I got myself into !!??
As much as I realised this was going to be VERY hard work, I think I am now realising that it is going to be, not just VERY VERY hard work, but VERY VERY VERY hard work !
None the less, I am determined to see this through and will continue to do so until I hit the financial wall that is just around the corner.
Some of you may be wondering what I am doing starting this project concentrating on the cosmetics, rather than the electronics.
Its all well in good having a good looking Neve console, but its not much use sitting pretty !
I did this for a number of reasons:
1, I had some time free and had to wait for the modules to arrive before I could start evaluating what work needs to be done.
2, I felt bad that the console had sat in a garage, unloved and cold for the best part of a year and
3, When you take something like this on, there is no going back so I thought why not work ahead of myself, therefore installing the notion that there is no option of quitting. It doesn't matter in what order I under take work on this project as it all has to be done eventually anyway!
I guess this is a method of justification.
In my search for information in the last two weeks, I have discovered that there is an awful lot of information with regard Neve online, but it is all very hard to find.
So many people have been so helpful with regard this project and I thank you all for your helpful information.
To add to my shopping list, I need 4 x 2073s or 2074s so Santa, can you add them to the 18 x 1066s/1073s ?
I've been a good boy !!
Paint arrived and so I have been spraying panels. Also cleaned down the metal work and gave the patch bay a once over. I've inserted what modules I have just to keep them safe and now its on to the output modules to see whats needed there.
The 1918 Routing modules alonside the blue leds recently added to the new scribble strip.
Looking slightly better. The routing panel in this picture is the one I spoke about earlier in this blog. It cost more than than the desk did at the time it was built and also includes headphone and speaker levels. The module below that is talkback.
I'll get into the output section at the rear next week.
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