Rupert Neve Designs Launches 5059 Satellite at EastWest Studios

August 1st, 2012 by Bo Boddie

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HOLLYWOOD: This past Sunday in Studio 1 at L.A.’s venerable EastWest Studios, Rupert Neve Designs launched their brand new 16×2+2 summing mixer, the 5059 Satellite.

Rupert Neve Designs 5059 Satellite, Portico II Channel and Master Buss Processor

Old met new when virtuoso bassist Miles Mosley spent the afternoon recording with his band through EastWest’s classic Neve 8078, and summing it all through the brand new Satellite – 35 years or so of Neve designed gear came full circle.

The 5059 (Retail: $3,995) represents Rupert Neve’s first foray into the now ubiquitous world of analog summing mixers; however, the Satellite has some unique features that differentiate it from its counterparts, not to mention of course the custom output transformers designed by Rupert Himself (“H” deliberately capitalized here).

The 5059 has 16 inputs with inserts and pans on each channel, and most interestingly has two sets of stereo outputs. In the case of the Miles Mosley session conducted at EastWest, this feature was used to great effect, summing the drums individually through one set of outputs and then feeding it back into the mixer, thus allowing a greater level of transformer saturation for the drums in the overall mix. The distortion qualities of the transformers are easily accessed and modified by the use of the Silk (high-end saturation) and Silk+ (low-end saturation) controls available on both output busses.

The Silk circuit is common in many of the other Rupert Neve Designs pieces, and allows for continuously variable control over the amount of harmonic distortion present in the output transformers.

While Sunday’s event was officially billed as the launch of the 5059, both the Rupert Neve Portico II Channel and Master Buss Processor were also used in the session, providing both a robust input for Mr. Mosley’s bass and EQ and dynamics control over the 5059’s output mix. Additionally, several Neve-designed sE ribbon and condenser mics were also in use on the ensemble; and last but not least, sE’s Munro Egg 150 monitors provided monitoring in the Studio 1 Lounge for those who preferred some low-key rumination.

Plus, we all got to hang out in one of the world’s most legendary recording studios! Check out some photos from the event here…Photos by Chris Dauray…