Rupert Neve Designs Portico II Channel Reviews

5.0/5.0 based on 4 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Bart Good

The legend continues with the Rupert Neve Designs Portico II. I've used this channel strip and have always been impressed with what it does. It can sculpt the dynamics, tone, and overal vibe of everything from vocals to drums. If you'e interested in getting a highly versatile and powerful channel strip, this is a very good choice.

Sort By Date Sort By Rating

Customer Reviews

Mike Schatzleun
from Nashville
January 31, 2013Music Background:
Musician, producer, mixing engineer

Amazing! A 5088 in a rack

Got a couple of these, for kick/snare when tracking and for vocal overdubs. They sound SUPER. You start with the tantalizing aroma of those big transformers warming up for the first time. Then you discover how clean the audio is and remember what is was like to work on a Neve console. Balanced in and out, low noise, plenty of gain in the preamps. EQ, compressors, and silk are the real deal. Knobs feel great, push/push switches feel a little cheesy. Unit over all is big (deep) and feels rock solid. Biggest improvement to sound since I started my project studio five years ago.

Scott A.
from New York, NY
April 22, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer

Extremely Versatile Channel Strip

After looking at a few channel strips all around the 3K range, I decided to go with the Portico II. I looked at the STT-1 Orgin, the 6176, GML 2032 and the Avalon 737/747s. I wanted a channel strip that served it's purpose on vocals, but would also allow me to use it on various other applications. Seeing as I already owned 2 5012s I was just itching to see what Rupert Neve and his Team added to what was already an amazing preamp and product line-up.
Simply put, I was blown away by the end of the first session using it.

On vocals, it can handle any singer, and the De-Esser is great because it is separate from the compressor (on the Millenia STT-1 Orgin you couldn't use the De-Esser and Compressor at the same time and the other strips didn't have a de-esser). Another great function was being able to move the EQ post compressor. Can't forget the Silk+ mode and texture knob! Really added a nice robust low end on the blue setting to the singers voice. Very very good paired with a Tube Mic.

The next session I had was with a band and I paired it with the RNR1 from Se on a guitar cabinet. Immediately I saw a great opportunity to play with the Texture knob and WOW was I completely blown away. I could literally color the Signal to my preference. The red Silk setting was great. The EQ was of great help again and was very transparent.

Next, I plugged a bass in, and I knew I wanted Blue Silk for a nice detailed bottom end. After some fiddling (not much) we had a beautiful bass sound that we were all happy with. The "blend" knob on the compressor was great and just let me dial in the perfect amount of compression, and the FeedForward and FeedBack modes and RMS/Peak selection made the compressor just that much more versatile.

All in all, if you are looking for a WORKHORSE in your studio, I highly recommend this channel strip! It can handle ANYTHING you throw at it.
It can color signal any way you want to, or keep your signal transparent. It has a ton of headroom. Can't wait for a second one!

Bojan Ostojic
from Iquique Chile
October 21, 2011Music Background:
Owner Recording Studio, drummer.

It's a diamond

I just have this baby for 2 weeks , and just blow my mind away.... just buy this. nothing more

Matias A.
from Santiago, Chile
December 16, 2010Music Background:
Profesional Producer, Recording Engineer, Composser and Pro Musician

1073???... Why if you can get this Baby?!

What can I say?..... This baby is awesome!!!..... everything that you need in one box!

I have a pair of this bad boys and I'm using them on everything... Today I was in a Drum recording session and everyone were impressed with the sound of the Kick and the Snare where we used them... Punchy, Thight, focused, BIG and silk.

In vocals is such a great unit!... all the vocals are silk when they run through the pre amp, the EQ section and the compressor are beautiful... so musical!

The +/- 36V Rails it's an amazing design improve v/s the small portico units.... this are like "the Poor man 5088 Console".

If you need a clean Sound you can get it.... if you need a more foward kind of distortion in your sound.... like an API pre amp, you can get it..... And if you want / need that Classic Neve sound, you can get it too... that's the job of the 2 modes silk button plus the Texture control.

It's expensive, but you get a lot for your bucks.... so if you need a great pre amp, a very musical EQ and a really amazing compressor... this is the unit for you!!!

Why you should pay 2,000 dollars more for a 1073 if you can get this baby?!!!!..... I don't get it!!!.... This is the new 1073, period!