Neve microphone

[SNJ Studio]

Hi all

Has anyone seen or heard this? http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2008/01/ ... crophones/

I am trying to find more info on it, and what the LDC version will be like.

sE Electronics - never really a brand that blipped on my radar.. thought they were kinda pro-sumer...

Already owning Royers and a U87, it is not screaming at me to listen to them, but hey I always like to hear a Neve design..

Anyone getting these?

Adz

[13thbeach]

It better be absolutley mind blowing for the $4999 price they are asking. I guess things will never change, just include the "N" brand and watch the price go through the roof,
regardless if it is good or not. I'm sorry but I don't care who designed it. If its being cheaply produced in china, it ain't worth 5K.

phew!.....now back to watching reruns of McGyver.

[rob]

and the first thought that popped into my mind is "what is Mr Neve's experience with microphone design?"

and this is not to discount that a microphone contains many aspects of design that are a part of broader electronic theory of which Rupert probably understands.

[lonearranger]

There is a review of the Mic in May 2009 Sound on Sound.

They compare with some of the high end ribbons and U87s/414s and its does get a good wrap, seems to have the best top end response for the ribbons, with out any harshnees, active electronics, low noise and 2 transformers.

SE do have their own factory, so I guess they can take the quality thing quite seriously if they want to, but 5k is a lot of money for a a few magnets and a bit of foil!

Cheers
Michael
Alternation

[Linear]

I got to try one out for a while.

To me is sounds like a Coles 4040 with some great EQ on it boosting the tops and settling the mids.

So really, you could spend $1900 on a coles and $3000 on a great EQ and then be in the ballpark. But I know what I would rather have...

Michael C reviews one in the next AT.

Cheers

Chris

[rob]

or a 4040 with a high input Z preamp?

[Linear]

Possibly - but it's more than that. It's got some 'air' that I don't think a 4040 would ever have without EQ (like boosting 15k on the quad eights)

What sort of Hi Z do you mean? I often swap between 500 and 2k on a 2-610... not that different.

Chris

[rob]

10K or greater. The only preamps that will do this are the AEA and the **cough** ProHarmonic Class S which offers 33K input Z

[13thbeach]

I just read the review in AT. Its gets a great wrap for sure. No doubt its a great mic all round and could turn into a modern day classic (getting ahead of myself here). But for that price you could buy a pair of Royers or Coles 4038's and still have change to rent Mcgyver videos.

[rick]

there is a video somewhere on utube were rupert talks about this ,
well he doesnt actually talk too much about it as "his designs and happiness and texas and the brain and .."

i am afraid it is very apparent this man is now very old !,
and at a point were it looks and feels like they are just trotting him out to make use of his name ,
i am sure he can make a great ribbon mike with active electronics
but i digress

the said promo piece like watching a heroin user "nodd off" in mid sentence
very disturbing...
i had kinda lost the faith in him as a current force many years ago , when i read the mix "born again christian interview "
were he thanked the lord for his designs and texas ... a lot

but greg simmons and then andy stewart managed to get a good interview out of him years later and "literally" revive his public career (he keeps thanking AT .. yes really !.

as the world spins we will all get older that is for sure , and you got to give it to him for keeping up the work though , its remarkable
i hope i can still string any part of a sentence together about audio in the twilight years

i am sure the SE mic would be great , i am sure i am not getting one , or any off his modern designs either.
i will leave that to the somebody who hasnt noticed all of his "recent ..last 25 years designs " .. do not hold any resale value at all

i think the "signature " is almost a guarantee that it will work well and you will lose the large amount of money they cost .

[Chinagraf]

I found this quote from Mr Neve rather confusing - "Recent developments in the way that humans perceive sound are demanding significant advances both in performance and the philosophy of audio processing. That which was ‘good enough’ for light-hearted amusement fails to satisfy the thoughtful listener "
Has the way humans perceive sound changed recently? Did I not get the memo?

[rick]

yeah thats the whole spin , he says now we know that life would be more enjoyable if kids listened to music with extended freq response and more dynamic range etc etc , he even says there would be less wars if we adopted the "new" approach his is championing - but of course the details are secret !
i wish i could find the damn utube video

[musikwerks]

I think it's poor form for these manufacturers to continue to prey on his name. Kind of like the neighborhood dog that's always trying to hump your leg.

[jkhuri44]

there's a war we have to win before we get ppl to listen to music with extended frequency response....


buying original music on cds or records.... then we have to win the war where they need decent stereos....then when all is said and done,,,there will still be wars and strife....coz unfortunately music listeners arent making global policy :P or maybe they listen to electronic noise! hahaha

[13thbeach]

Has the way humans perceive sound changed recently? Did I not get the memo?

Oh haven't you hear Andy, There's a new operation where you can actually have your ears surgically removed,
then have a new set of Rupert Neve converters installed in their place. You obviously didn't get the memo.

[heathen]

Could you imagine if they invented cochlear implants back in the 60's or 70's, having massive transformers hanging off the side of your nugget, probably better they were invented recently.

I dunno soon people with cochlear implants may have better hearing than everyone else, definitely a different way to perceive audio. Could even come with a whole software suite for tweaking.

If ever needed them I'd want xlr inputs too. :)

[Linear]

i reckon it's a $1500 chinese mic with a $3500 endorsement.

is early focusrite stuff 25 years old already?? original ISA pres/eq's are pretty good...

Chris

[13thbeach]

I think SE/Neve's thinking and pricing is rediculous. As Chris said, they are pushing the price right up due to assosiation. SE/Neve will be loosing out on a massive chuck of the market as nobody in their right mind will actually buy this mic. You can rule out ALL project studios, and probebly a major majority of pro studios. However if it were priced accordingly they of course would sell a shit load of these mics, people could actually use and enjoy them, and they (SE/Neve) would be a major player in the high end ribbon mic market challenging Royer etc...

The other issue for your investment is, will this purchase hold its value in 10 years time??? ....two Coles to go please!

[mfdu]

for you, Mat



since your last two posts made no reference to the man with the hair i figured i'd better hop in and help out.

[13thbeach]

HAHA! Yeah!!!! Now where are my iced vovo's.?

[mfdu]

waiting for the opening of A.R.S.E.



hmmmmm.



he he.

[13thbeach]

Hmmmm.......what would MacGyver do??

[mfdu]

he'd be opening his A.R.S.E. soon, and wide. that's what mcgyver'd do!

[rick]

i reckon it's a $1500 chinese mic with a $3500 endorsement.

is early focusrite stuff 25 years old already?? original ISA pres/eq's are pretty good...

Chris

maybe you misunder stood i think all his stuff is good !

the first focusrite brochures showed up in 1986 for the ISA channels but i think AIR had them back in 85
as a custom order to extend a neve 8078

the actual focurite consoles ( gee i wish i still had the hard bound advertising brochure for them it was beautiful !)
were talked about but not delivered until 88-90 , well some of them.
they were $1millionbucks and half of the people that ordered them never got theirs or thier 40 % deposit back , because the company went under ( bankrupt )
rupert went to ground - actually there were reports he was living in a campervan with his wife .

those consoles bring about $140 k for the big ones nowadays

the isa channel strips which were about 4k each bring about $1800
and the rest of focusrite gear is anybodies guess on the day .

i thought the original series stuff was amazing and i would own an original focusrite desk probably above ANY used desk on the market .

Rupert never signed them though ... he was bankrupt by the time they were finally delivered :(

his name was mud for the next ten years untill amek tracked him down and restarted the fire
every time i see his signature on a piece of gear i wonder
whose idea was that his or the marketeers ..
actually i dont really wonder

[mics]

Hmmmm.......what would MacGyver do??

hhmmmmm let me see;\\

Aluminium foil, NEVE Cambell, and Gaff, i reckon he could make a ribbon NEVE too. lol

[13thbeach]

haha! now i'd pay 5 grand for that.

[Milo]

Heath;
Regarding your cochlear musings: I sometimes have to wear hearing aids, as due to heredity I have a dip around 500-800Hz (how critical is that!!), plus right ear is worse than the left. What they do is take a frequency response graph of your hearing, then give you a software-controlled aid which inverts the downward curvey bits, so the result is a flat response, thus eliminating your dips. Unfortunately, they've got the curve right, but not the tone: you can hear more, but the sensation is thin, to say the least (and this is a $4,000 set!). The main result I've found from all this is I've discovered how wonderfully the ear /brain compensates for deficiencies: I can still do a good mix (verified by others) - always without the aids - and I still enjoy listening. And, of course, you can't wear headphones when you've got microphones in your ears - you can guess the result.
Perhaps if Rupert made the ear mics......hmmmm.

[heathen]

Heath;
Regarding your cochlear musings: I sometimes have to wear hearing aids, as due to heredity I have a dip around 500-800Hz (how critical is that!!), plus right ear is worse than the left. What they do is take a frequency response graph of your hearing, then give you a software-controlled aid which inverts the downward curvey bits, so the result is a flat response, thus eliminating your dips. Unfortunately, they've got the curve right, but not the tone: you can hear more, but the sensation is thin, to say the least (and this is a $4,000 set!). The main result I've found from all this is I've discovered how wonderfully the ear /brain compensates for deficiencies: I can still do a good mix (verified by others) - always without the aids - and I still enjoy listening. And, of course, you can't wear headphones when you've got microphones in your ears - you can guess the result.
Perhaps if Rupert made the ear mics......hmmmm.

Hey Milo, very interesting, real bummer as around 500-800 is very critical. I guess once you have heard other good albums as a reference and as long as the deficiency is consistant then you're mixes would be consistant and you would be able to compensate in the freq range which is troublesome for you. But yes having these great hearing aids that sound thin would not be fun, would annoy me too. Though technology will hopefully get there one day.

Maybe send em to Rob and see if he can knock something up and interface some nice line amps with them with some big chunky transformers. :)

I've got a brain injury and find I use my left ear more for critical listening than my right. Slightly weak down my right side. I had a hearing test a while ago and it was fine but feels like I can't focus as well from my right side, weird.