Rupert Neve Designs 542 500 Series Tape Emulator

Name: Rupert Neve Designs 542 500 Series Tape Emulator
Brand: Rupert Neve Designs
Rating: 5 (34 reviews)

500 Series Processor with "True Tape" Silk/Texture Circuitry

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Item ID: 542

Rupert Neve Designs 542 500 Series Tape Emulator

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Rupert Neve Designs 542 500 Series Tape Emulator

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Put the Portico Sound in Your 500 Series Rack

Rupert Neve Designs brings their acclaimed tape emulation (from their Portico 5042) to the 500 Series format with the 542 module. Add the thick, musical sound of tape to your tracks, with the added bonus of Neve's Silk/Texture circuit to fine-tune your sound. Once you hear the 542, we're pretty sure you won't want to mix without it.

Resources

500 Series Buying Guide

Signal Processing Buying Guide

500 Series: Why You Should Add One to Your Rig

Mar 23, 2017

Hands On: Rupert Neve Designs 500 Series

Apr 15, 2013

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Tech Specs

Type: 500 Series Processor
Processor Type: Tape Emulator
Number of Channels: 1
Controls: Saturation, Blend, Silk/Texture, Trim
Module Slot Size: Single
Power Usage: ±16V DC, 125mA
Manufacturer Part Number: 542

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Reviews

4.9

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Just wow! Can't say enough good things about the 542. Drums, bass, acoustic guitar (red silk all day), vocals, and currently on my mix buss right after the 5057 followed by my Aphex 204 and an ssl compressor. It just makes everything come to life!

Words cannot express what the Neve 542 will do to your recordings. It will thicken and smooth out the mix. You just have to be careful with it. Although it smooths out "digital harshness," you may want some of that harshness for certain tracks like distorted guitar or snare. You can use this unit as a smooth compressor. Just know that it does kill the highs a little so you want to put an EQ after it. There's been a few recordings I've done where I would listen to the final mix and realize I may have overdone it by having the blend up too high. Also, I don't hear much of a difference between the 30-ips setting and 15-pis. I just leave it on 30.

Other than that, this unit will work wonders to your tracks. True analog, vintage tone. When I first got this unit, I put it at the end of the channel strip and it gave way too much low end. So I ended up placing it right after the pre-amp and before the compressor/EQ.

In my constant pursuit of tone I found this, I bought two for across my mix bus and it was there. Actually reading a review of the Tascam DA-3000 mentioned putting these in the signal chain and you get that sound of tape compression. Very happy with my purchase.

If you're just getting into the world of analog outboard gear I definitely recommend a pair of 542's as a smart first purchase. They sound great have a lot of flexibility and functionality. The 542 can teach you a lot about saturation and soft clipping.

The start of my mix chain is a pair of two stage preamps and ends with a pair of 542's.

Having been a consumer of pro gear for many years now Ive become skeptical of every claim that something "will make that difference,"..... BLAH BLAH BLAH.

I therefore connected my new pair of 542's with a healthy amount of prep for critical listening and a dose of skepticism. I had heard enough of a difference on the dozen or so youtube videos when I was researching that it warranted a further look.

My recording chain for this evaluation was an SE electronics RNT mic connected to a Shelford Channel and then through a 542 (30 IPS) and into my Apogee Symphony Mk II. I sat down with my acoustic guitar and tracked several different playing styles to capture a wide range of dynamic yet clean input (picking, strumming, finger picking, plucking, etc). The 542's were in a RND 6 hole chassis along with an SPL Big I also purchased with these (more than adequately powered, 2 dots on the chassis power meter).

I AB'd the sounds with tracks that didnt have the 542 in the chain on Focal monitors and found when I got the signal up to one or two yellow dots on the 542 the sound was burnished, warm and crystalline. I could not see any significant difference in spectral content on the tracks when the 542 was applied but the sound had noticeably better girth and clarity. I have used the UAD FATSO plugin for the past few years and found that to be lacking compared to these by a large degree (I have never tried the HW version of the FATSO).

The 542's do precisely as advertised and do so in a way that is pleasant and controllable when you hear the effects. I see these being a permanent resident on my recording chain. I did try and use them on the stereo buss and found I didnt like it as much as applying to certain tracks in a mix. However maybe that will change with time.

Lastly, I used the silk on my Shelford channel on the way in vice that on the 542's. However, the silk response on the 542 worked just as it does on my Shelford so it can certainly provide that color if you dont have something that already has it.

These are a bit pricier than your average 500 series unit but for the cost they are worth it.

Great unit that gives noticeable color in a way that just sounds damn good.

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What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

inSync Review

Mitch Gallagher

Watching the studio-gear paradigm progress has been interesting. Years ago, of course, everything was analog. Then the digital era hit, and many of us switched to completely in-the-box systems for the advantages they provided. But these days, many studios (including mine) are switching to a hybrid approach - using the best of both digital and analog. A big part of the growing popularity of the hybrid approach has been the rise of the API 500 Series format, which condenses pro studio gear into compact modules that can be loaded into a rackmount or portable chassis. Rupert Neve Designs recently released a family of modules, including two brand-new pieces that were first shown at the 2013 Winter NAMM show. I was able to load up all four into a chassis and take them for a spin. There are two preamps: the 517, which combines an RND preamp with an opto compressor and RND's signature Silk control, and the brand-new 511, which is a preamp with Silk and a variable highpass filter. The 517 actually has two paths, mic and DI, which can be blended. Both modules sound phenomenal, with a full but open tone. The Silk control allows you to shape the tone, adding a subtly smooth texture. The 543 is RND's mono VCA compressor. It offers full control over all parameters, plus a choice of RMS or peak detection, feed-forward or feedback operation, and the ability to sidechain with or without a highpass filter in the path. I found it to be transparent, with just a touch of added "polish" - the tracks I ran through it sounded subtly enhanced in that beautiful Neve fashion. Also brand-new is the 542. This tape emulator module can do great things to your audio, adding beef and rounding out harshness while adding desirable harmonic content. You get a saturation control, a blend control for mixing in the effect, and the choice of 15ips or 30ips tape-speed simulation - as well as the ability to add Silk to the signal. Here's my favorite setting: 30ips, fairly heavy saturation, the blend set to around 50%, and a good amount of the "blue" texture setting. It's analog heaven! Rupert Neve has really hit the mark with these modules. All the Portico sound is there, with plenty of control and powerful sound-shaping options, but in the compact, affordable 500 Series format. Outstanding!

See also: Rupert Neve Designs, Rupert Neve Designs 500 Series Effects