Recording - April 2015 - 26

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Universal Audio
UAD-2 Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection
...with a special guest appearance by the AMS Neve 1073N!
My August review had me comparing
my own SOLO/610 pre (reviewed
January 2007) with the company's UA
610 Tube Preamp & EQ Plug-In
Collection; I was quite pleased with the
"feel" and reaction time of the plug-in
models, which did a great job of capturing the spirit and vibe of the classics-so
much so that for those tracking sessions I
stayed with the new 610-B model for the
whole session.
In addition to the 610 series, there are
currently two other mic pre models available. One is the 212L preamp module
found in UA's recreation of the API Vision
Channel strip; thanks to both UA and API,
we will have a side-by-side comparison of
the plug-in and the hardware coming up
in a future issue. The other current model
is the ubiquitous Neve 1073, which we
will be reviewing here. New Unisoninfused designs are on the way; we got a
glimpse of some cool upcoming models
(including guitar pedals!) at NAMM, as
reported in this issue.

One of the highlights of Universal
Audio's Apollo Twin interface/DSP
Engine (reviewed August 2014) is its
Unison preamp technology, also found in
the original 8-channel Apollo. Unison
uses software coupled with physical hardware to emulate the sound and characteristics of vintage mic preamps.
Unison starts with a clean, uncolored
microphone preamp of UA's own design.
Then, through the magic of circuit modeling, you can inject the colors found in the
modeled preamps into your sound.
However, unlike a typical plug-in, this all
happens at the input stage, not in the
DAW, and it's not only a software
process. The preamps in the Apollo and
Twin are digitally controlled and
designed to alter not only their gain staging, but also their impedance, to match
the original hardware's specs.
26

RECORDING April 2015

Meet the 1073
The 1073 mic preamp/EQ was built
by famed console designer Rupert Neve
and dates back to 1970, where it was
part of the Neve A88 console custombuilt for Wessex Sound studios. It soon
became an official part of Neve's line as
part of the 8014 desk. The 1073 was
superseded in 1973 with the launch of
the similar but expanded 1081 and
1084 mic pre/EQ modules, the latter
used in the 8048 console that recently
became a movie star in Dave Grohl's film
Sound City.
Thanks to its sound and helped by
decades of third-party clones, as well as
the current AMS Neve spec-for-spec reissues, it's not much of a stretch to say the
the 1073 is one of the best known and
most sought after mic preamps in history.
Through the cooperation of AMS Neve in
England and the generous loan of a
brand-new 1073N from our friends at
Professional Audio Design, I had a
chance to listen to the hardware and software side by side.

If you are thinking, "Wait, didn't UA
already release a 1073 years ago as part
of a larger Neve bundle that also included the 1081?", the answer is "Yes, they
did." That original bundle is no longer
available, although you can still get the
Neve 1081 by itself (and a non-Unison
version of the 31102, which is electronically identical to the 1084). As with all of
UA's upgraded versions in the past few
years-like the Teletronix® LA-2A Classic
Leveler Collection, 1176 Classic Limiter
Plug-In Collection, and the Fairchild Tube
Limiter Plug-In Collection-the now-Legacy
version of the 1073 and its lighter
1073SE variant are included with the
newly modeled 1073 as part of the new
1073 Preamp & EQ Collection.
The 1073 preamp
The 1073 is equal parts microphone
preamp and equalizer. The preamp is a
Class-A design with transformers on both
its input and output stages, which many
argue are its most important sonic components. (The folks at Universal Audio disagree, saying the transformers are actually among the most linear, best-behaved
components in a very complex circuit.)
The original transformers were made by
Marinar. As popularity grew, a second
manufacturer, St. Ives, was brought on
board to help with the increased
demand. All 1970s-era units will include
one or the other, and while I have seen
online debates as to whether one is superior to the other, they are essentially the
same design. Current production units
use transformers made to the same specs
in the original St. Ives factory, now doing
business as Carnhill.
Controlwise the 1073's mic pre starts
and ends with one single knob. Unlike
most modern mic preamps, where a
switch selects between line or mic input
while a gain pot controls the level, the
1073's famous "big red knob" does both
at once. Both level and source are chosen
based on which side of the knob you are
on. Mic levels of +20 dB to +80 dB (these
are input sensitivity settings, not input
gain numbers) are on the left side in 5 dB

Recording - April 2015

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