Rupert Neve Designs 551 500 Series Inductor EQ

Rupert Neve Designs 551 500 Series Inductor EQ

The Rupert Neve Designs 551 is a 500 series 3 band EQ the features custom-wound inductors, transformers and class-A gain blocks. The 551 brings the thick, powerful lows and sweet highs of Rupert's classics to the 500-Series format for the very first time. Both the high and low band can be switched from shelf to peak curves and offer 15 dB of boost or cut.

The high band can be switched from 8 kHz to 16 kHz, and the low band can be selected at 35 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz or 220 Hz. The inductor based Mid Band offers 6 centre frequencies; 200 Hz, 350 Hz, 700 Hz, 1.5 kHz, 3 kHz and 6 kHz. The Mid Band also has a "Mid Hi Q" switch to narrow the bandwidth (increase the Q) of the filter.

The 551's inductor midrange band is ideal for sweetening vocals and instruments while bringing them forward in a mix, and its proportional "Q" response makes it well-suited for minimising problematic frequencies. The high frequency band is a hybrid vintage / modern design, blending inductor circuitry with capacitor-based topologies to achieve vintage tones with enhanced control. The High Pass filter is a 12dB/octave design with a fixed 80Hz frequency, and can be used in tandem with the low frequency EQ to add low-end presence without clouding the source material.

As Rupert originally intended with his most prized classic designs, each EQ section uses low-feedback, class-A discrete electronics to prevent low-level artifacts and harshness from detracting from the tonal shaping. However, this new circuit is a decidedly modern design with updated techniques and components that were simply not available 35 years ago, and should not be considered a "clone".