Rupert Neve 542 - Tape Emulation

The ultimate “color box”.
In addition to the 100% analog tape emulation circuitry – great for bringing out 3rd-order harmonics – the 542 incorporates a soft-clip circuit that tames the harshest sources and enhances 2nd-order harmonics, variable Silk Red & Blue for an infinite variety of transformer tones, and a blend control to dial in in the perfect amount of saturation.

Transformers Imitating Tape
Unlike digital emulations, the “True Tape” drive circuit works by feeding a custom-designed interstage transformer acting as a “record head”, which in turn is coupled to a correctly-equalized replay amplifier. As the voltage rises on the “record head”, saturation increases, and a soft clip circuit engages at higher levels to round off peak transients. The sound of the tape circuit can be further modified with selectable 15 / 30 IPS modes and a pre/post-tape blend control.

What is Silk?
In addition to the tape circuit, the continuously variable Texture control with Silk Red and Silk Blue modes provides a whole other level of control over the harmonic density and tonality of your tracks & mixes. The Silk Red mode accentuates transformer saturation in the high and high-mid frequencies to amplify the vibrant midrange harmonics associated with Rupert’s vintage equipment, while Silk Blue accentuates saturation of the lows and low-mids to add thickness and weight to any source – especially useful for “thin-sounding” tracks or mixes. Unlike EQ, these Silk & Texture controls saturate the output transformers, and add highly musical harmonics to the source material according to the amount of Texture applied.

Drive the 542 hard, choose your Silk flavor, and crank the Texture knob for a rich, saturated, vintage vibe – or disengage Silk entirely for a more purist, hi-fi tape effect. The choice is yours.

Rupert Neve R6

Power You Can Trust

Power-wise, the R6 has more than double the required current for a 6-space chassis to prevent the power rails from failing under a higher than expected load. To help monitor and troubleshoot problematic modules, the R6 is equipped with LED current metering to show how much power is being used. The internal power supply itself has been carefully designed and double shielded to avoid significant magnetic induction in any of the channel positions. With such attention to providing and monitoring power, the R6 helps your modules realize their fullest potential.

Connect Like Never Before

With a plethora of connections available, the R6 backpanel is practically a patchbay on its own. The R6 features 8 channels of balanced I/O options including DB-25, XLR and TRS that may be used interchangeably. This versatility is especially handy when you are taking the R6 with you to another environment where you are unsure of the cables available, or if you need to convert DB-25, XLR or TRS connections to another format using the THRU functionality on channels 7-8.

Solid Steel Construction

The chassis is comprised of solid steel with bumpers to support the unit in both horizontal and vertical configurations and features a collapsieble handle for portability. All connectors and fittings are of the highest quality to ensure that the R6 will hold up to many years of use.

A New Level of Confidence in the 500 Series

Because the R6 is built to 500 series specifications, it will work flawlessly with any properly designed 500 series module you wish to include in it. To help accommodate modules that are slightly out of spec, the R6 has variable-position screw holes to make the installation process go more smoothly. The 500 series link function can be enabled in pairs on the R6 using the link jumpers on Channels 1-2, 3-4, or 5-6. Matching blank panels are also available to cover any empty slots.

Please note: Slots 4-6 are intentionally produced slightly smaller than slots 1-3 in order to accommodate off spec modules. As a result, the R6 is unable to accommodate two 2-slot (double-wide) modules.