A Sonic Soiree: Rupert Neve Designs 5060 Centerpiece Debuts in NYC
A new audio attraction arrived in New York City recently, in the form of the Rupert Neve Designs 5060 Centerpiece 24×2 desktop mixer.
A compact Class A analog mixer, the 5060 was designed to provide the tonality and center section of the Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console, bringing custom transformers flexible monitoring DAW transport controls, and a Rupert Neve-designed 24×2 mix-buss together in a desktop unit.
The Rupert Neve Designs 5060 Centerpiece, left, kept the Neve 8014 company at Downtown’s Studio B. (Photo: Kerry Pompeo)
The venue for the Neve’s NYC debut was the beautiful Bali-inspired setting of Studio B at Downtown Music Studios. There, a cordial crowd of producers, engineers and artists came to check out the 5060 firsthand, uncork a cocktail, and unwind. In addition to the RND team. Shane Koss of Alto Music NYC, the first authorized 5060 dealer in New York City, was on hand to field questions.
“My initial impression of it was that it’s well-built and reasonably sturdy, and well-designed,” says Ari Raskin, a busy NYC mixer/engineer (Robin Thicke, Black Eyed Peas, OneRepublic, Whitney Houston) who was in attendance. “The Rupert Neve Design people probably consulted working engineers — it’s not just a copy of a competitor’s unit or a technician’s fantasy project…it’s actually got a ton of useful features and lacks the nonsense.
“Paired with a few choice outboard mic pres, the RND 5060, appears to have everything you need for running the vast majority of typical modern-day recording sessions in an ergonomic, space-saving design. The idea of four stereo, or mono, large faders — for the engineer to do whatever they need with so that their session will run smoothly– and another 16 simple inputs, essentially for analog mix summing, in a relatively small package is really ideal. A stereo master mix VU meter and a variety of external monitoring inputs tops it off well. With the exception of outboard mic pres, it really is all you need for a beat production, overdub or mix session.”
NYC’s audio crowd got a good look and listen. (Photo: Josh Thomas)
(l-r) Erica Glyn and Kerry Pompeo are shocked by the specs! (Photo: David Weiss)
(clockwise from left) Joe LaPorta of Sterling Sound, Shane Koss of Alto Music NYC, mixer+ Input/Output host Eli Janney, and mixer Denise Barbarita (Photo: Kerry Pompeo)
(l-r) Madli Kents of Alto Music NYC and singer/songwriter Carlie de Boer peruse the product literature. (Photo: David Weiss)
Jon Lurie of Aura Sonic scopes the Centerpiece. (Photo: Josh Thomas)
Ari Raskin got enough of an earful to rock a review. (Photo: Kerry Pompeo)
The nightlife sounds bright. (Photo: Josh Thomas)