RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS 5025 Dual Shelford Mic Pre

Description

5025 Dual Shelford Mic PreThe Rupert Neve Design bestseller, the Shelford Channel, is the ultimate evolution of the original electronics of the classic 1073, 1064, and 2254.By popular demand, Rupert Neve Designs is re-releasing the Dual Shelford Mic Pre: a two-channel version of the flagship preamplifier that has become the indispensable tool for countless sound engineers, producers, and musicians. The Dual Shelford offers the sonic excellence of two Rupert Neve Designs Shelford microphone preamplifiers in a single rack unit, with an internal power supply; put simply, these are two channels of the best microphone preamplification in the world.The Input TransformerLike Rupert Neve's original designs, the Dual Shelford Pre uses a custom input transformer that provides the first 15dB of gain. This custom transformer, along with its careful integration with the surrounding Class A circuitry, is critical to the amplifier's sonic performance. Its sound can be heard on thousands of historical recordings. While most of the harmonic richness of Rupert's designs comes from the output transformer and surrounding Class A amplifiers, this input transformer provides unique sonics. The technical reasons are primarily a result of the input transformer's characteristic reactive impedance and how it interacts with the connected microphone, with a fine non-linear harmonic enhancement of the bass and an unmistakable sweetness in the high frequencies. When creating the input stage for the Shelford Channel and Dual Shelford Pre, the goal was not simply to replicate classic designs, but to improve them by combining the unmistakable sound of vintage technology with wide-band frequency response, consistently excellent amplifier performance at any gain setting, and extremely low noise floor. To achieve this, the custom transformer designs were optimized, and full MuMetal shielding of the input transformer was implemented. The resulting preamplifier is flat from below 10Hz to above 60kHz, thus achieving the purest and most versatile sound possible.What is Silk?The Dual Shelford Mic Pre's exclusive Silk & Texture circuit allows you to adjust the amount (and type) of harmonic content in the output stage. This means the sound can range from transparent settings to others that produce almost 10 times the amount of color of vintage Neve modules. This is done with two unique modes. Whatever sound you're looking for, Silk can help you achieve it. When you apply SILK RED, you are enhancing the harmonic content generated by the highs and upper-mids of your source. This adds brilliance to the upper end of the band, and is often ideal for sources like vocals, snare drums, strings, piano, and many other acoustic instruments. With SILK BLUE, you are enhancing the harmonics generated by the bass and lower-mids of your source. This tends to "reinforce" the signal, making it a great choice for drums, bass, heavy electric guitars, male vocals, and synthesizers.The Dual-Tap Output TransformersCompleting the Silk circuit are custom-designed output transformers, which use Rupert Neve Designs' unique dual-tap topology. These provide both Main (+26 dBu) and -6dB (+20 dBu) outputs, allowing the engineer to drive the preamplifiers into classic transformer saturation without clipping converters and other downstream devices in the audio chain. The main outputs are designed to capture a more pristine sound at high levels, avoiding any non-linear coloration from the output stage. The -6dB outputs allow high gain levels on the Shelford without clipping even the most professional interfaces. On drums, vocals, guitars, and other instruments, these outputs allow you to easily reach the "sweet spot" of the transformer's non-linear harmonic content, bringing a recorded performance to life in a way that other preamplifiers cannot match.FeaturesThe ultimate evolution of Rupert Neve's renowned vintage microphone preamplifier technologyDual-tap output transformers create rich harmonic character, without clipping the next device in the chainSilk Red & Blue modes with Texture control for precisely dialing in the desired amount of "classic" soundShelford offers the essence of classic design combined with modern versatilityClass A gain up to 72dB with low noise floor, to get the best out of any sourceWorldwide suitable power supply, with double voltage compared to the original 80-series modulesPrecisely engineered discrete design, built to last for decades to come.