Neve 54 opinions and advice

[Jam]

Ok I hope this is of some interest to everyone and that you guys and gals can fill in some blanks for me. I have the oppurtunity to buy a Neve 54 console which I intend to use in a front end back end situation for my room at home. It's in bits at the moment so I can't hear it and obviously it's a fair amount of work for my tech to put it back together so I thought I would solicit some opinions, hopefully get some history and find out if there any cool mods.

Jam

[jb_studio]

Hello Jam,

The Neve 54 series is a line of small broadcast consoles which originally came out in the late 70's. There are several different configurations but they generally feature 34128 mic pre/EQ's and transformer balanced in/outs. They are entirely IC-based.

I have a 5465, which is the 16 channel version of the console, and I use it as a front-end/back-end for my studio. I think it sounds excellent, and the engineers and artists with whom I've worked have agreed. However, a 54 definitely has its own flavor. A 34128 does not sound at all like a 1073, and IMHO a 54 mixer should not be approached as an economical way to get "that classic Neve" sound (I sometimes see them advertised that way). Having said that, it's still a very cool piece of gear and I enjoy working on mine.

Another thing...the 54 is stronger as a front-end than as a mixer. The pres on it are nice, but as they are simple broadcast boards (and old ones at that) you don't get a lot of features. No inserts, 2 aux sends, 2 or 4 busses depending on the model, 3-band EQ per channel...very basic stuff.

Anyway, if you ever come across one in great condition at a reasonable price I would recommend it. As for one lying in pieces which will require a lot of time and effort, I doubt it's worth it. After all, if you're looking for a good front-end/mixer, there are certainly plenty of options out there.

Best of luck -- JB

[Jam]

JB

Thanks for the reply. I guess my thought process was to use the little Neve to sum eight outs from my mac and use the separate outs to enable me to patch in some outboard. I am fascinated by the dangerous and folcrom concept and this seemed a cool way to try it and add some extra pres at the same time.
I was probably a bit misleading when I said in bits the cards are out of the chassis and it just needs reassembling and testing.
Although I know that the 5442 is no BCM10 I'm hoping it would equivalent quality to a modern board of the Midas Venice ilk ( a step up from the Mackie A+H or Soundcraft product ) but a bit more interesting.

Jam

[Jim Williams]

It's not easy, but good things can be done in there. I replaced the input transformers with Jensen JT-13k6. Steve Hogan took a week at the comtran simulator to find all the combinations of gains and loading resistors to maintain the correct impedances. All the philips 5534 (TDA1034's) were swapped out to low noise fast Linear Technology opamps. The 100 uf 4 volt caps were replaced with 220 uf/25 volt 105 degree caps with film bypasses. The EQ caps were changed to Wima or MIT poly film caps.

A lot of work but good things came from it.


Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[Plush]

We've used the 54 series for some 15 years as a mixer for classical program material. We bought it new in 1986 for
$ 10,000. If one can find one today for a fraction of that amount, jump on it! It's really a very good and reliable console with huge headroom (40dB!) Although the mic pre's are 15 dB steps with no fine trim, as long as the individual channel faders are lowered so that reasonable level is read on the VU's, there is no distortion-- you're sounding good.

The sound is so much better than all but the top analog consoles available today and destroys , smokes, dumps on --you choose your adjective---consoles like the cheap Venice.

Yes it is an IC based board, but I have to differ with those who say it does not impart the Neve family sound. It smooths and warms, partly due to the large transformers in each part of the signal path. Yes you can remove the transformers and change the circuitry, but then it's not a Neve.

The stock board has no inserts and aux. structure is mainly oriented towards sending signal to an external reverb device. Its useability with outboard is limited to being used in series.

These consoles get a bad rap because of its ic build and its "broadcast" heritage. However, at that time, Neve built the broadcast boards with the same care and scrutiny as the larger music consoles. There you have it. If it was good then, it's good now.

If you're really interested in having your console modified, Mick Hinton (ex Decca) in London will do a wonderful job.

[jb_studio]

Jam,

I think your thought process is very logical...if you want high quality summing with some nice pre's thrown in for good measure, I'll think you'll be pleased with the 54. The sound is not like any smaller modern boards though...it's better. Way better. And definitely colored.

Plush, I completely agree with your post. I hope my original comments didn't lead to you to believe that I was discouraging him from getting the console on the basis of its sound. I think they are wonderful, and if the board in question was in great condition I would not have hesitated. I just paused because it seemed like a lot work and money to get it rolling. As to whether they have the Neve sound or not, they most certainly do...but just not the exact kind of tone people sometimes associate with Neve (1073). It's different, but still really great -- JB

[Jam]

Jim,Jb and Plush

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Jam

[Alpha world]

Just picked up this little diddy need PSU.... any thoughts..

Geoff Tanner was very helpful with information...thanks!

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Just buy it before someone else does...

They sound great, albeit different from 10XX but for mixing they have bullshit amounts of headroom at the mix buss, where all the $$$$$ is at!

Wiggy

[deckerluke]

hmm...

[RoundBadge]

You realize this thread is 4 years old right?

[Plush]

5400 series Neve--it was good in the 70's and it's good now.
We bought ours new in 1986--- $ 10,000.

Every record we have used our 5442 to record has won big awards.
This in itself is not as important as the fact that winning awards allows us to raise our rates. Yes, even in this economy.

Not good as a summing mixer?? You've got to be kidding me, right??

[Jim Williams]

Stevie Wonder recieved one as a gift from Neve after they bought the 8128 console in 1983. We used it on the studio floor as a side mixer, a keyboard mixer, but never used the mic preamps. It always sounded foggy to me, it rolled off transients. To me it's very much a 70's sort of sound.

By design it's very similar to the 8128 design. 5534 opamps with the same transformer, same multi switch for gain staging. It does not in any way resemble the 80 series that everyone raves about. It's probably due for new caps as those axial 100uf/4 volt Phillips caps were not so good when they were new. Nichicon HE's would be ideal and would last 30~50 years.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[deckerluke]

------

[u b k]

all of these questions and judgments really boil down to what you want to hear (or not) from your desk, and what you do or don't need it to do.

Jim's mods will clean up the signal path beautifully, esp. the chip swap, you'll get sharper transients and less distortion on all fronts. is that what you want? me, I like soupy foggy desks that smear and/or lop off the pointy stuff, I search long and hard to get boxes that do this in musical ways and the 54 is like one box that has multiple channels of that kind of distorting/sweetening ability. I tend to only upgrade signal paths when something is failing or if the tone is in some way edgy or harsh. nothing about a 54 is edgy or harsh.

likewise, on the mixing front, I strongly prefer limited options; I will spend the time to make sure the mic, position, arrangement and performance all make it so that I don't need tons of power at mix. a little cut here, a little juice there... I know not everyone has the time or works with artists who support this kind of approach, but if you do then old school mixers imho are an amazing way to keep the process minimal and uncluttered.

iow, not everyone needs 6 auxes, 16 busses, crazy cue routing, and deadly accurate sonics. OP's needs seem simple, some preamps up front and summing on the rear. I can't think of a more worthy or sweet sounding option than a 54.


Gregory Scott - ubk
.

[Lyxound]

I agree...

I have the 12ch version 5455desk mint cond, direct outs. I use it for summing...this old grandma rocks!! 15 db step mic pre. turn those faders down and 1 step on the mic pre. fatter, warmer, better...sick.
For ribbons...magic, acoustic git-royer sf-12 54micpre-api 225L, sweet.

[GSOUND PARIS]

Hello,

I own a little 8 channel 5442 since 6 years and since one year i bought a little audient zen , api 512, and many preamps .... i was wondering for solding my 5442 for 1073 reissue preamp ....
Will i have a better sound with the 1073 ?

Thanks for your reply

Best

Loic