Rupert Neve Shelford Channel
Transformer Gain Mic Pre, Inductor EQ, Diode Bridge Compressor
A Whole New Vintage – Over fifty years in the making,
the Shelford Channel is the definitive evolution of the original
technologies in Rupert’s classic console modules like the 1073, 1064,
1081 & 2254, thoughtfully advanced and refined for the 21st century
studio. The Shelford Channel is built around Rupert Neve’s first new
transformer-gain, class-A microphone preamplifier in over 40 years, the
“best-of-the-classics” inductor EQ section from the Shelford 5052, a
tone-packed Diode bridge compressor, the analog power of variable Silk
saturation, a new dual-tap transformer output stage for maintaining
headroom or allowing the full driving of the Channel without clipping
standard converters, and twice the operating voltage of vintage designs.
With richly-colored tonal options for making bold statements with your
music, and precisely-engineered detented controls for recall, the
vintage-inspired Shelford Channel maintains the soul of Rupert’s classic
designs with new levels of versatility, delivering what can only be
described as the combined essence of fifty years of Rupert Neve’s
designs.
The Input Stage and Transformer Gain Mic Pre
Like Rupert’s designs from his time in Little Shelford , the Shelford
Channel’s preamplifier uses a directly-coupled transformer input with
gain provided by the custom transformer itself – a first in over 40
years for Rupert Neve. This new custom-designed input transformer, along
with its careful integration with the surrounding circuitry, is
critical to the Channel’s bold and instantly recognizable character.
With this classic topology, the input
transformer design is extraordinarily challenging, and the RN4012
transformer utilized in the Channel went through many generations before
Mr. Rupert Neve was satisfied. This transformer provides the first 15dB
of gain, with the rest of the 72dB of gain provided by the discrete,
class-A amplifier blocks controlled by a stepped attenuator and
precision trim pot. Whereas Rupert’s more modern designs (e.g. the
Portico Series) utilize a combination of TLAs (Transformer-Like
Amplifiers) followed by an input transformer for pristine low & high
frequency detail and galvanic isolation (see comparing input topologies
notes), the Shelford Channel’s design directly couples the input
transformer to the microphone line. When this new transformer is
combined with its surrounding class-A input amplifiers, the result is
the unmistakably smooth high and low frequencies of the most famous
vintage modules in the world, yet with incredibly low noise and superior
isolation. The mic pre section also includes a sweepable 20-250Hz
high-pass filter, Mic / Line selection, 48V phantom power, and polarity
reverse.
“It sounds like the best aspects of the 1073 and 1066's.
It sounds so familiar and comforting, and the compressor is mind blowing. You
can move in fine brush strokes, but it can also be a bulldozer.”