NEVE MARINAIR 10468 ROUND VERSION T. 1424 ? Geoff T or others HELP ?

[Museamp]

Hi,
I have two Neve units both similar and both awesome the 1066 and 1073 . ONE unusual thing about these modules is that the Mic input transformers have the same
Marinair # 10468 on them but look different and sound alittle different. The rectangular
one in the 1073 ( I see all the time ) and a round one that has model LI. 10468 in in my 1066 and on top I think it says N W T. 1424 ( the stencil on the NW T. is worn though so it could be different letters ? ) . Does anyone have these modules or a 1272 with this Round Marinair 10468 ? Would anyone sell a round one to me ? There is not a /s at the end of the 10468 #. The reason is that I prefer the round one - its a bit nicer on my voice, Drums, and Guitar tracks. I would like to put one in my 1073 so at least without EQ I can use the 1066 and 1073 as a stereo pair. With all the talk about Knockoffs I'm surprised I've never seen anyone talk of this subtle transformer difference. Alot of talk about the differences in the new copy of St. Ives LO1166 output transformer. I hope this doesn't burst a bubble in the Transformer copiers Holiday season and I'm not trying to make trouble for them. They are getting the copies pretty close but I like my round 10468 in my Neve 1066 much better. The 1066 I have has boards B 181, B 182, B 183, B 284, B 205 If that helps pinpoint its age or vintage issue. Is this a very early 1066, Very new original or very rare bird. I use SM 58 SM 57, Elam 251 (with AC 701 Tube Euro version) and 430 / 421 Senn. microphones with these preamps they all sound a bit better with the Round tranny 1066- but very close- (with EQ out of course). I still love my 1073 and rented 2 other 1073's with the same rectangular trannys from the toy speacilists in NY and they all sounded the same. So go figure. Thanks to all you Vintage Undercover Informants in advance for any insite.

[Thermionic]

Geoff will know more about these than I do, but I was given the impression that the 10468 that come in the round package are rare as hen's teeth. I know someone who's got a few (someone not unbeknown to Geoff T), but I can assure you that he'll want a serious amount of corn to sell you one...

I was also under the impression that the package was the only difference and theoretically, there shouldn't be a difference in sound between the conventional package and the 'plug in' version.

The guy with the round versions is a GS member, but if he gives you a high price, don't say I didn't tell you so... (Note that he's a respected Tech and travels the globe looking after Neve gear; the only reason the circular transformers are expensive is because they're rare, and you can't expect a chap to sell you one for the same rate as a rectangular job as he needs spares for clients).

I would suggest scouring Ebay and speaking to specialists such as Geoff before getting a quote from my associate - cheap it won't be. I'll PM him a link to this discussion, but give it a week or two as I think he's away for the holiday season.

Justin

[Geoff_T]

Hi

There's so much myth and hype about transformers!

If you look at the very earliest "solid-state" Neve modules like the black faced 1053, you'll see that they used Gardners octal based transformers for both mic and line inputs. Back then, Gardners made a whole range of transformers in the octal base format so it was an easy task to obtain the best unit for the task at hand. The transformers were pretty chunky so they fitted to the rear panel of the module with the line transformer (in the case of the 1053) mounted remotely in the console frame. This was the 1966 era and the output transformer, the 1166, derives its part number from the date of introduction. As far as I am aware, the output transformer was a joint design effort by David Rees and Marinair and the 10468 a standard Marinair product adopted by Neve (the company).

So, early Neve modules, including the later 105* series and early 106* series, used Octal based transformers as the Gardner's octal format was adopted for early Marinair versions... like your 1066. By the time the 1073 came along (C1970) the transformer format had changed over to the rectangular can version that could fit inside modules a lot easier.

You'll note that early Marinair input transformers had the same two "L" shaped metal side plate construction that was also adopted by St Ives but Marinair later went over to the more expensive fabricated case with the moulded top panel.

You can distinguish Marinairs from St Ives (other than the brand name printed on the body) by Marinair using a "T" part number system and St Ives using "VT".

The octal Marinairs are pretty damn rare as Neve went over from Gardners Octal to Marinair Octal to Marinair rectangular so they will be as rare as mermaid's tears.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if there was a difference between the octal and rectangular cased models and would attribute it more to the dozens of design changes in the history of the 1066 and 1073 as they weren't introduced at the same time. (ie the 1073 came out later and you may have a 1073 that is several update issues along the trail).

So, whether it's worth you trying to find more Octal transformers could be accademic... they aren't necessarily the reason for the difference in sound.

[Geoff_T]

Originally Posted by Thermionic

Geoff will know more about these than I do, but I was given the impression that the 10468 that come in the round package are rare as hen's teeth. I know someone who's got a few (someone not unbeknown to Geoff T), but I can assure you that he'll want a serious amount of corn to sell you one...


Justin

Hi Justin

Bless his woolly bedsocks, I know of whom you speak! I just FedEx'd him a Christmas card and present!