AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip AMS Neve

The AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip gives you complete channel from the legendary Neve 88R console-considered industry-wide as one of the best sounding analog consoles ever made

Ever since the early days of home recording and project studios, one of the secrets of competing with the big studios was to have at least one “gold channel” (though it’s always better to have two). For those who layered one track at a time, it made perfect sense and still does. You can get away with lesser preamps on background instruments, but if your music features vocals, you’ll need a signal path on a par with the very best studios out there-and that’s what the AMS Neve 8801 channel strip gives you. Taken from the AMS Neve 88R, just like the one sitting in Alan Sides’ Ocean Way Studio and the preferred console of recording legend Al Schmitt, The Neve 8801 Channel strip features a transformer-coupled microphone preamplifier identical to that used on the 88R console, along with dynamics processing, EQ, and Insert, all user-configurable in position within the channel path. The preamp, according to Al Schmitt* compared to his rack of vintage Neve preamps sounds “as good if not better and quieter.”

AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip-Just the Facts:

• Complete channel strip from the revered 88RS console in a single rackspace
• Hand-built and hand-wired by Neve in Burnley, England
• Genuine Neve mic preamp with High and Low Pass Filters
• 4-band equalization with highly musical, full-range sound
• 88RS-style compressor and gate
• Insert send and return  
• EQ or filters to sidechain
• USB port for direct connection to Mac or PC
• Optional Neve analog-to-digital converter
  

 

*PAD For The Record-A recording engineer’s engineer, it’s easier to list who 21-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt hasn’t worked with. His resume is a who’s who of popular music spanning decades, including Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney Chick Corea, Toto, Brian Wilson, Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Jarreau, Van Morrison, Natalie Cole, Miles Davis, George Benson, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, Michael Bolton, Steely Dan, Luther Vandross, Dean Martin, Gladys Knight, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Frank Sinatra, Aerosmith, and the list goes on. So, you could say that Al knows his way around a console. When the best artists want the best engineer, they choose Al Schmitt, and Al chooses Neve.    

AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip-Under the Hood

Contained in a single rackmount unit, the 8801 combines a classic Neve mic preamplifier and equalization circuitry with an incredible 88R-style dynamics processor. The 8801’s transformer-coupled preamp is identical to that used on the 88R console. With 0dB to 70dB of clean gain, it can handle microphones of any sensitivity, such and ribbon mics or vintage dynamics. For the flexibility necessary to accommodate professional standards and workflow, the 8801 has an audio router function that provides a user-configurable signal path allowing any order of dynamics, EQ, and Insert in the channel path.

Along with Neve’s finest quality preamp, the channel comprises high- and low-pass filters, four bands of highly musical equalization, a compressor, gate, dynamics sidechain, and an insert point. The EQ and or filters can also be placed in the dynamics sidechain for greater flexibility, enabling you to use the compressor as a de-esser, pass low frequencies with clamping down on the signal, or tame cymbals ahead of compression, etc.

For easy recall, just as you would expect on a console, the configuration of the 8801 can be stored and recalled via the Neve Recall software on a PC or Mac. Plus, up to sixteen 88 series units may be connected to a Recall system simultaneously and in any combination.

ADC digital option card

To complete your ultimate DAW front end, an optional Neve-designed analog-to-digital converter can be installed in the 8801. It supports all standard PCM sample rates up to 192kHz, as well as direct-to-DSD conversion. In listening tests, many engineers and producers preferred the sound of these Neve-designed converters to standalone converters costing more than the entire 8801 unit.

Neve Recall software

Neve’s proprietary Recall software (Mac/PC-compatible) allows seamless integration with workstations, providing instantaneous recall of all external device settings. An essential tool for creativity, Recall combines the flexibility of a computer-based system with the power and sound quality of genuine Neve design. Quite simply, the 8801 is the most convenient way to give any serious studio the ultimate Neve analog sound.

If you’re looking for your first golden channel or working toward a 16-channel Neve system with Recall, the AMS Neve 8801 Channel Strip is the place to start. For more information, call or chat online with your PAD Studio Specialist today.   

 

Specifications

General Performance

• Mic input impedance: 1.2k ohm
• Mic input headroom: +26dBu (reference 0dBu)
• Mic input gain range: 0dB to 70dB (using pad)
• Line input impedance (balanced): > 20 ohm
• Line input headroom: +26dBu (reference 0dBu)
• Line input gain range: -24dB to 24dB
• DI input impedance (balanced): >750k ohm
• DI input headroom: +20dBu (reference 0dBu)
• DI input gain range: -44dB to +24dB (using pad)
• Line output impedance: <50 ohm
• Main output (Maximum) >+26dBu into 600 ohm
• Frequency Response: +/- 0.2 dB 10Hz to 20kHz; +/- 0.5dB 10Hz to 40kHz
• THD + N*: <0.005% (Line output to main output, 20Hz to 20kHz, using a measurement window of 10Hz to 80kHz
• Line output to main output: <-89dBu; All audio blocks in circuit: <-80dBu

Physical

• Width: 19″ / 48.2 cm
• Height: 1-3⁄4″ / 4.4 cm (1U)
• Depth: 9-1⁄2″ / 24 cm (without power socket plugged in)
• Weight: 6.6 lb. / 3 kg

*All noise measurements made between 20Hz – 20kHz using measurement window of 10Hz – 22kHz