extraordinary performance and musicality expected from a Rupert Neve design.
The EQ certainly invokes similarities sound-wise with some of Rupert’s classic
EQ designs from the seventies. The 5051 repeats history in using a custom tapped
inductor and carefully selected capacitor values to form the mid range equalizer
band. The 5051 also uses inductors for the low and high EQ, with the shelf curves
and frequency choices based on Rupert’s vintage designs. While this method
may not be as variable as some of Rupert’s designs of the last 20 years, the “old
ways” did have a “sound” that has become rather known and sought after. The
use of low-feedback, class-A gain blocks in each EQ section are also an important
contributor to the overall sound, preventing low level artifacts and harshness from
detracting from the tonal shaping. While these elements make the 5051 much like
many of Rupert’s vintage designs, the 5051 takes advantage of techniques that were
not possible 35 years ago, and should not be considered a clone of his earlier work.
Rather, the 5051 is a culmination of Rupert Neve’s years of experience, expertise,
and highly discerning ears, giving this unit a strong sense of Mr. Neve’s design
heritage.
Both the high and low band can be switched from shelf to peak curves and offer 15
dB of boost or cut. The high band can be switched from 8 kHz to 16 kHz, and the
low band can be selected at 35 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz or 220 Hz. The inductor based
Mid Band offers 6 center frequencies; 200 Hz, 350 Hz, 700 Hz, 1.5 kHz, 3 kHz
and 6 kHz. The Mid Band also has a “Mid Hi Q” switch to narrow the bandwidth
(increase the Q) of the filter. The 5051 includes an 18 dB / octave high pass filter
with cutoff frequencies on a button that toggles through “OFF, 60 Hz and 120 Hz”
indicated by a blue or red LED respectively.
Additionally, the EQ can be switched Pre or Post the compressor. The 5051 also has
two XLR balanced inputs that can be selected from the front panel. This allows the
user to have both a mic preamplifier and line input from a DAW pre-patched and
easily selectable.
The compressor likewise contains some elements of the past, utilizing Class A gain
blocks, mixed with the gain reduction techniques that have been developed over
the years and is similar to the Master Buss Processor. The threshold has a range of
-30 dBu to +20 dBu. The ratio can be set from 1.1:1 to 40:1. The attack has a range
of 5 ms to 75 ms, and the release is variable from 100 ms to 2.5 s to be set. Make-
up gain can be set from -6 dB to +20 dB.
The Compressor allows the user to select either a modern feed-forward topology or
the traditional feed-back style of compression. Each has advantages depending on
the source and desired sound. The 5051 includes a 12 dB/octave 250Hz high pass
filter that can be switched into the compressor side-chain to reduce the chance that
loud low frequency material inadvertently affects the gain reduction. There is also
a link switch and associated 1/4” phone jacks on the back panel so that multiple
5051’s can be properly used for stereo. The back panel also features a pair of 1/4”
phone jacks to patch in your own EQ into the side-chain for de-essing and finessing
the compressor response. The 5051 has two 8 segment fast acting accurate LED bar-
graph meters to indicate Gain Reduction and Output Level.
