When we see a new product like this new channel strip, its important to remind readers that this company Rupert Neve Designs (or RND) is the last company founded by Rupert Neve himself, based in Wimberley, TX. The engineering team he still had the chance to mentor are now tasked to preserve the revered elements of his most prized vintage designs, while thoughtfully advancing and refining their feature sets to meet the needs of the modern recording engineer.
The name for the new product originates with Rupert’s birthplace – Newton Abbot, England – and reflects the sonic journeys of his life: from Newton Abbot to Wimberley, vintage to modern, and everything in between. The Newton includes a fully Class-A mic preamp with a sweepable high-pass filter, a musical 3-band discrete EQ section with LF & HF shelves and a fully parametric mid band, a fast & flexible VCA compressor, and custom Rupert Neve Designs transformer-coupled outputs with RND’s beloved harmonic color stage: variable Silk Red & Blue.
The parametric mid-band of the Newton EQ section includes another 31-detent potentiometer and a wide range of mid frequencies to boost or cut, switchable from 220Hz to 7kHz. This makes the MF band particularly flexible, allowing for taming low-mid muddiness, boosting mid frequency presence, or removing any harshness in the upper midrange. The carefully-chosen fixed Q setting maintains a healthy balance of musicality and precision – just wide enough for brush-stroke equalization without adversely affecting neighboring frequencies.
The Newton’s input stage accepts both mic and line level signals, the compressor’s action can be linked with a second Newton, and 31-position detented controls are used throughout. This makes the Newton ideal not just for tracking, but also for stereo bus processing when paired with a second unit. The compressor can be placed pre or post EQ, and both the EQ and compressor can be fully bypassed via switches on the front panel.
Like many other recent Rupert Neve Designs products, the Newton Channel also offers both Main and -6dB Outputs, the latter enabling engineers to fully drive the Newton in order to achieve more transformer harmonics without clipping the next device in the chain. Coupled with variable Silk Red and Blue modes to enhance musically relevant harmonic content across two different frequency ranges, the Newton offers a wide variety of sonic coloration possibilities ranging from clean & transparent to over-the-top vintage tones.
The Newton Channel also uses a custom transformer output stage with a balanced MAIN standard line level output. Additionally, a separate -6dBu XLR output can compensate for high levels of input and Silk harmonic saturation, enabling engineers to fully drive the Newton to achieve more transformer harmonics without clipping the next device in the chain. Both outputs are active and can be used concurrently.
The Newton Channel is made in the USA and begins shipping worldwide in June 2023, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1,999 USD.
www.rupertneve.com
