Rupert Neve Bundle 5025 Dual Shelford Mic Preamp and Compressor, Save Up to $2,000

Punch, color, weight, and tone. Two channels of iconic diode bridge compression – straight from the Shelford Channel.

Since the early 1970s, Rupert Neve’s vintage 2254 and 33609 diode bridge compressors have been revered for the punch & thickness they bring to drums, instruments, and the mix bus. Originally developed for the acclaimed Shelford Channel, the Shelford Diode Bridge Compressor captures the soul of these coveted compressors while providing a host of modern updates, including advanced timing control, significantly lower noise, fully stepped controls throughout, higher voltage power rails, and internal parallel processing capabilities.

What is diode bridge compression?

Where the VCA compressor found in the Master Buss Processor provides unmatched clarity, the weighty, harmonically rich tonality of diode bridge compression can be essential in pushing key sources like vocals, electric guitars, bass and drums to the forefront of a mix.

By understanding the limitations of vintage units like the legendary 2254 & 33609, painstaking effort was taken to reproduce the unique tone of these classics while improving the noise floor & accuracy, expanding inflexible time constants, adding full wave sidechain detection for improved dynamic response, and widening the range of threshold and ratio controls.

Delivering the powerful sound of these iconic designs with enhanced flexibility for the modern age, the Shelford Diode Bridge Compressor is a dynamic tool equipped to make a bold statement on virtually any mix or track.

Classic Diode Bridge Tone

Capture the punchy, larger-than-life tone used on countless hit records for the last 50 years.

Advanced Timing Controls

Custom-shape your compression envelope with the unified timing control, which enables a much wider range of responses than vintage units or clones.

Custom Transformers and Class-A Line Amplifiers

Vintage warmth meets the improved headroom and precision of Rupert Neve’s updated transformer-coupled line stages.

31-Position Detented Controls

Accurately recall and match your settings with precision and speed.

Built-In Parallel Compression

Internal blend control enables you to subtly dial in more dramatic compression settings for color as desired.

Full-Wave Sidechain Detection

Enhanced from the vintage units’ half-wave design, the updated sidechain detector provides substantially more accuracy.

Stereo Linking

Run your compressors in either dual mono or stereo configurations.

Internal Universal Power Supply

EIC connection for world-wide AC power from 90-240V embedded in the 1U rack-mountable chassis.

5025

Two Channels of the Finest Microphone Preamplification in the World

Our best-selling Shelford Channel is the definitive evolution of the original technologies in Rupert’s classic modules like the 1073, 1064 & 2254, thoughtfully advanced and refined for the 21st century studio.

Originally released as a limited edition and back by popular demand, we are now offering the Dual Shelford Mic Pre: a two-channel version of our flagship preamplifier that has become an indispensable tool for countless engineers and musicians. The Dual Shelford offers the sonic excellence of two Rupert Neve Designs Shelford mic preamps in a single rack space with an internal power supply; simply put, these are two channels of the finest microphone preamplification in the world.

The Transformer Gain Mic Pre

Like Rupert’s designs from his time in Little Shelford, the Dual Shelford Pre uses a custom step-up transformer on the microphone input that provides the first 15 dB of gain. This specially-designed transformer, along with its careful integration with the surrounding class-A circuitry, is critical to the amplifier’s bold, mid-focused magic that can be heard on thousands of classic recordings.

While the majority of the harmonic richness found in Rupert’s designs is a product of the output transformer and surrounding class-A amplifiers, this step-up input transformer also imparts a unique musical enhancement of its own. The technical reasons for this are primarily a result of the reactive impedance characteristic of the input transformer and how that interacts with the connected microphone, resulting in subtle, non-linear harmonic enhancement of the lows and an unmistakable sweetness in the high frequencies.

While creating the input stage for the Shelford Channel and Dual Shelford Pre, the goal was not merely to recreate the classic designs, but to advance them: combining the unmistakable sound of the vintage technology with wide-bandwidth frequency response, consistently excellent amplifier performance at any gain setting, and extremely low noise operation.

To achieve this, the custom transformer designs were carefully optimized and complete MuMetal shielding of the input transformer was implemented. The resulting preamplifier is flat from below 10Hz to above 60kHz, resulting in the purest possible tone and the very highest levels of versatility.

What is Silk?

The Silk & Texture circuit on the Dual Shelford Mic Pre allows you to fine-tune the amount (and type) of harmonic content in the output stage. This means your signal can be adjusted from quite transparent to settings that produce nearly 10x the amount of sonic color as Rupert’s vintage modules – and in two very unique modes. No matter what sound you’re looking for, Silk can help get you there.

The Dual Output Level Transformers

Complementing the Silk circuit are the custom-designed output transformers, which use Rupert Neve Designs’ distinctive dual output topology. These offer both Main (+26 dBu) and -6dB (+20 dBu) outputs, allowing the engineer to drive the preamps fully into classic transformer saturation without clipping converters and other devices later in the chain.

The main outputs are designed to capture a more pristine sound at high levels, avoiding any nonlinear coloration of the output stage. The -6dB outputs allow an engineer to fully drive the Shelford – adding dynamic tone with these same nonlinear “colorations” – without clipping most professional interfaces. On drums, vocals, guitars and other instruments, these outputs let you easily hit the transformer’s “sweet spot” of nonlinear harmonic content, bringing a recorded performance to life in a way that other preamps simply cannot match.

Mic Gain

This 12-way precision rotary switch controls gain from 0 to 66 dB in 6 dB steps.

Trim

This rotary switch provides further continuous gain adjustment over a range of +/- 6 dB.

48V

This push button switch engages phantom power on the microphone input.

Polarity

This push button switch inverts the polarity of the signal path. It illuminates when engaged. (The symbol “Ø” is often used to denote opposite polarity.)

HPF / HPF FREQ

The HPF switch engages a 12dB per octave high pass filter. The HPF FREQ potentiometer is variable from 20Hz to 250Hz, and can be used to filter out unwanted low frequencies, or in conjunction with the EQ to help shape source material. Note that engaging the HPF to S/C switch moves the HPF from the primary signal path to the compressor side-chain signal path.

Silk / Texture

Pushing the Silk button cycles the Silk modes from Red to Blue to OFF. Silk reduces the negative feedback on the output transformer, adding harmonic content as the texture is increased. Red Silk accentuates the musical harmonic saturation from the mid and high frequencies, while Blue Silk accentuates harmonics from the low and low-mid frequencies. By manipulating the Texture control, the amount of Silk can be changed from essentially absent, to roughly 4-5% THD (mostly second order) depending on how hard the output transformer is being driven.

VU Meters

The VU Meters are calibrated to display average (RMS) output levels.

Peak LED

Red indicates near clipping of the output stage.

Dual Tap Output

In addition to the MAIN full-headroom output, the -6dB output creates a rich harmonic character while reducing the risk of clipping the next device in the chain.

Gnd Lift

This switch separates the direct connection from audio signal ground to chassis earth.

Universal IEC Power Input

Works worldwide, accepting voltages from 100-240VAC.

To learn more about Rupert Neve Designs, Click Here

View more products from Rupert Neve Designs

Brand	Rupert Neve Designs
Condition	New

5254

XLR Line Input to XLR Line Output (Compressor Bypassed) ZSOURCE= 40 Ω Balanced

• Input Impedance: 10 kΩ
• Output Impedance: 40 Ω
• Maximum Input Level (+4dBu Selected): +26.7 dBu typical
• Maximum Output Level: +26.7 dBu typical
• Noise (22 Hz - 22 kHz BW): -104 dBu typical
• Frequency Response (10 Hz to 120 kHz): +/- 0.25 dB typical
• THD+N @1 kHz @ Maximum Level (22 Hz - 22 kHz BW): 0.0008% typical

Compressor Noise:

• Noise @ 0dB Make-Up Gain (22 Hz - 22 kHz BW): -84.5 dBu typical
• Noise @ +20dB Make-Up Gain (22 Hz - 22 kHz BW): -64.5 dBu typical

Compressor Timing:

Note: Timing measurements represent the full range achievable between 1.5:1 and 8:1 ratio and Fast mode

• Fast Attack 250μS - 2 mS // Release 100mS - 200mS typical
• MF (Medium Fast) Attack 1mS - 5mS // Release 100mS - 200mS typical
• MED (Medium) Attack 3mS - 18mS // Release 350mS - 700mS typical
• MS (Medium Slow) Attack 5mS - 40mS // Release 600mS - 1S typical
• Slow Attack 10mS - 80 mS // Release 800mS - 1.5S typical
• Auto Attack 5mS - 40mS // Release T1 400-900mS, T2 1-2S typical

Weights & Dimensions:

• Product Dimensions (W x D x H): 19" (48.3 cm) x 8.25" (20.9 cm) x 1.65" (4.2 cm)

5025

Input Impedance:

• 2.2 kΩ

Maximum Input Level:

• @ 1 kHz: +24.9 dBu
• @ 1 kHz (Main Out): +26.7 dBu
• @ 1 kHz (Main Out): +26.7 dBu
• @ 1 kHz (-6dB Out): +20.7 dBu

Frequency Response:

• 20 Hz to 20 kHz: +/-0.25 dB
• 10 Hz to 62 kHz: +/- 0.5 dB
• 5 Hz: < -3 dB
• 70 kHz: -3 dB

THD+N% (BW 10Hz - 90kHz):

• 0dBu Input, 1 kHz: < 0.0025%
• +20dBu Input, 1 kHz: < 0.008%

Noise At Main Output (BW 22Hz - 22kHz):

• 0dB Gain: -102 dBu
• +30dB Gain: -94 dBu
• +66dB Gain: -61 dBu
• EIN (+66dB Gain): -127 dBu

Noise AT -6dB Output (BW 22Hz - 22kHz):

• 0dB Gain: -107 dBu
• +30dB Gain: -100 dBu
• +66dB Gain: -67 dBu
• EIN (+66dB Gain): -133 dBu

Product Dimensions (W x D x H):

• 19" (48.3 cm) x 9.2" (23.4 cm) x 1.75" (4.4 cm)