Pioneering audio equipment inventor Rupert Neve is dead at age 94 of non-Covid pneumonia and heart failure, according to information on his official website.
The inventor whose custom Neve 8028 mixing console was integral to the classic rock sound of the 1970s, died February 12th in Wimberley, Texas.
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Rupert Neve was born in England in 1926. He volunteered to serve during World War II as a teenager, aiding communications support to the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals.
Mr. Neve established his own company, called Neve Electronics, a year after creating his first audio mixing console in 1960 for a composer in Ireland.
The decade marked a prolific period for the audio savant in which he produced much of the kit he is now recognized for, including the Neve 80 and 50 series mixing desks.
Neve’s ubiquitous 1073 preamplifier was also hailed for its sonics and has been reproduced in software plug-ins.
His Neve 8028 console, which is known for its punchy sound, ushered in the reign of rock in all its mutating forms after it was installed at the iconic LA recording facility, Sound City Studios, in 1973.
Over 100 gold and platinum certified albums were created out at the studio in subsequent years.
Neve’s kit was featured on records by Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, and the Heartbreakers, Santana, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Weezer, System of a Down, Slipknot, Metallica, and Death Cab for Cutie and more.
The studio was celebrated in Dave Grohl’s 2013 Sound City documentary, with the Foo Fighters frontman purchasing its equipment, including the Neve 8028, after its closure in 2011.
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In 1975 Neve and his wife Evelyn sold Neve Companies and then continued to work on new designs. In 1994, Rupert Neve and his wife moved to Texas where they later established Rupert Neve Designs in 2005.
Neve’s work was recognized by the industry with a Lifetime Achievement Technical GRAMMY Award in 1997.
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