Recording - April 2015 - 28

Universal Audio UAD-2 Neve Collection

steps, with line level settings of +10 to
-20 dB selected on the right side. There
is an Off position between the two
ranges, and another Off position
between 50 and 80 dB on the mic side.
To modern eyes this can be a tad confusing. It's very easy, on both the hardware and plug-in, to spike your speakers
if you move from one side of the knob's
range to the other without paying attention. This will only happen with a mouse
click to a different range, not with a
mouse drag, but be careful anyway.
The 1073 has two possible impedance
settings: Hi (1200 Ohms) and Lo (300
Ohms). In default mode the unit is set to Hi.
This lets you adjust the 1073 to suit a particular mic; it's not like the "Hi-Z" instrumentlevel setting on modern preamp designs
(those impedances range up to millions of
ohms). When line level is selected, the unit's
impedance defaults to a third 10 kilohm setting. On vintage units you had to crawl
under and inside the desk to switch impedance; modern units have a rear-panel switch.
The original 1073 included a white
phase switch and a matching EQL button
which engages the EQ section. Some modern units like the 1073N also offer a 20 dB
pad, which the new plug-in offers as well.
The 1073 EQ
The original Wessex EQ, as some call
it, is a 3-band semiparametric EQ with an
additional 5-position hi-pass circuit. The
first control is a single variable grey High
Shelf knob offering ±18 dB at 12 kHz.
This 12k sparkle and sheen is one of the
1073's most famous features.
Next is the Midrange band, which uses
a dual concentric pot. The stepped outer
ring selects between frequency choices of
360 Hz, 700 Hz, 1.6 kHz, 3.2 kHz, 4.8
kHz, 7.2 kHz, and an Off position that
disengages the band. The variable inner
knob boosts or cuts the chosen frequency
around ±15 dB. The Q is self-adjusting
and gets narrower the more it is pushed.
After this is a similarly designed Low
band with frequency choices of 35 Hz,
60 Hz, 110 Hz, 220 Hz, and Off. Finally
we have the High Pass; its large blue
knob is similar to the red preamp control
and offers five selectable settings of 50
Hz, 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 300 Hz, and Off.
Hardware variants
Nowadays AMS Neve offers a 1073 for
every application. There are drop-in modules
that can sit side by side with their vintage
brethren in a console, or be racked in a multichannel frame or in 1- or 2-slot enclosures.
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RECORDING April 2015

There is a 19" rackmount version, separate
mic preamp and EQ versions for use in an
API 500 series rack, and the version I was
sent-the 1073N, which is a standard 1073
module inside its own custom built singlechannel casing.
In every instance the basic controls are
unchanged. On the 1073N, the pad,
impedance switching, +48V Phantom
power, ground lift and such are located on
the rear of the unit. Also on the rear panel
are a Neutrik Combo XLR/TRS input jack,
an XLR output, a master power switch, and
a input for the external line lump power supply. There are also switches for external
level control, 5k1 termination, and a blue
multi-socket output as would be used when
seating a 1073 module in a rack or desk.

The software version(s)
As with all UA plug-ins, the Neve's visual
and functional attention to detail is phenomenal. Every button, knob and switch functions
and reacts just like its hardware counterpart.
The new plug-in 1073 is mounted vertically,
whereas the Legacy version was horizontal,
and the new version is nice and large compared to the much smaller Legacy UI.
The plug-in 1073 is mounted in a virtual
wooden enclosure with the module on the
left. The right "module" contains Impedance
and Pad switches, followed by a large Penny
& Giles output fader just like you'd find on the
original 8014 desk. This fader allows you
more accurate control when driving the input
hot for saturation and distortion purposes.

Below the fader is an additional Output trim
knob with a throw of -24 dB up to +12 dB
for further fine-tuning your levels in your
DAW, and lastly there is a power switch that
bypasses the plug-in.
The new plug-in accurately models the
entire circuit of a "golden" 1073 from
point to point, with special attention paid
to the original Marinar transformer. The
Legacy 1073 model was created with a
linear approach that is accurate, but does
not offer the nonlinearities of the circuit
design. These nonlinearities give the new
model a more analog sound, especially
when pushed into saturation and distortion. Also, the input control of the Legacy
plug-in was a simple gain knob, whereas
the new version is 100% accurate to the
hardware in function and design.
In use
I started by taking the 1073N out for a
spin along with a Chandler TG2 and a
Great River MP-500NV, just to get my
own personal bearing on the "Neve
1073 sound." I quickly learned that the
1073 is everything you have read over
the years. It has a beautiful top end sheen,
but with a nice subtle edge, a punchy low
mid, and tight solid bottom end.
As with my 610 comparison, I used a
pair of Lauten Atlantis microphones to
track an entire song with drums, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, double-tracked
lead and backing vocals, tambourine, and
shaker. One mic went into the Apollo Twin
with the 1073 plug-in enabled; the other
went into the 1073N hardware, then into
the Apollo Twin at line level.
The challenging part of reviewing this
plug-in alongside the hardware is that unlike
a typical plug-in comparison, here you have
multiple variations on a theme. Do you compare just mic pre to mic pre, mic pre with
added EQ to "tape" or just the EQ sections
during a mix? Of course the correct answer
to all three is "Yes!" I tracked many sources
twice, both with and without matched EQ at
various impedance settings, and I also used
just the EQ section on a mix.
Side by side: the preamp
It's become common in plug-in vs. hardware duels to distill everything down to:
"The plug-in is close, but lacks that analog something that we often call air."
Where UA's new Unison technology
changes things significantly is that there is
an actual analog process involved.
Highlighting or discounting the analog-air
factor becomes a bit tougher.
So how do the two compare? First, it's
not air, but a slight 2-3% intangible high
sweetness, that I heard in the hardware at
times. There was also a slight difference
in low-mid weight, with the plug-in being
a hair more forward-feeling and the hardware just a tad fuller, yet more laid back.
Much of it was only noticeable when

Recording - April 2015

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