Rupert Neve Designs 517 | Preamp, DI and compressor

GAIN
A 12-position precision rotary switch that covers Line (0) and Mic from 0 to 66 dB in 6 dB steps.

+48V
Switches on the phantom power for the microphone input as supplied by the 500 series rack.

POLARITY
The pushbutton reverses the polarity of the signal path. The “Ø” symbol is often used to indicate the opposite polarity.

COMPRESSOR
The 517’s opto-coupler compressor is based on a new LDR (light-dependent resistor) design and has been simplified to a single threshold control with automatic gain. By default, the compressor is set to a fixed 2:1 ratio with fixed attack and release. To adjust the compressor, simply turn down the threshold control until the desired compression level is reached. An LED light indicates when the compressor is active.

BLEND
The 517 can be used to combine and compress a direct and an amplified signal. Use the DI input for the direct signal of an instrument and the microphone preamp for either the miked speaker signal or a completely separate source (such as a vocal microphone). Use the blend control to create the desired tonal balance between the two sources.

SILK
Pressing the Silk button activates the Silk circuit, which boosts the harmonic content of the source in a way that is very reminiscent of many of Rupert’s vintage Class A designs.

VARI-PHASE
The VARI-PHASE control rotates the phase in steps so that two signals with the same source can be phase-matched. This control is most noticeable when the signals to be combined have approximately the same level and is generally used when mixing the direct signal from an instrument with the amplified signal recorded from a microphone.

INSTRUMENT AMPLIFICATION
TRS input on the front and passive pass-through for Hi-Z sources. Continuous gain control from 0 dB to 30 dB.

THRU & INST 1/4″ LOCKING JACKS
These two jacks are used for direct instrument input and THRU output to an amplifier and are wired in parallel and wired together as it is a passive design. Inserting a plug into either jack interrupts the normal MIC input and the user has the full range of MIC GAIN and TRIM. These jacks have a 3 mega-ohm input impedance, which provides a lower loading (i.e. better treble) than most DI boxes, and the sheer amount of gain available makes this input extremely versatile.