AMS Neve Genesys Black 16 AMS Neve

8-channels of digitally controlled analogue 1084 Classic EQ
Total Recall software, Console stand

Check out the new Genesys Control software, which gives full control and instant reset/recall of all digital functionality of the console. 

https:///products/genesys-control-software

The Neve Genesys Black is a very versatile digitally controlled analog console that offers the distinct advantages of classic Neve sound with direct DAW control. Plus, instead of setting up a digital mix station perpendicular to your monitors, the Neve Genesys Black enables you to sit centered between your monitors as nature intended. Thanks to a central control screen that sits below the monitors, out of the way of their positive-going acoustic excursions (that’s slang for “pushing air”), Genesys Black eliminates unwanted reflections off the computer monitor. But that’s not all that’s front and center in your control room. The Genesys Black forms a fully integrated centralized bridge for your personal Enterprise, starting with eight channels of classic 1073 mic/line preamps, 16-channels of DAW/tape monitoring, hands-on control for Pro Tools, Nuendo, and other DAWs (Mac/PC), eight channels of digitally controlled 88R-style 4-band EQ, eight channels of VCA dynamics (optional), and channel ADA conversion up to 96kHz over MADI, AES, and FireWire. There are also 24 motorized faders, six aux buses (4 mono, two stereo) eight group buses, two main outputs with faders, four effects returns, comprehensive metering, 5.1 monitoring, two cue mixes, talkback, USB stick storage and reset, plus an internal power supply.

 AMS Neve Genesys Black – Just the Facts:

• Eight channels of Neve 1073 mic pre/line amplifiers (base configuration)
• Dedicated DAW control section with touch display
• 16 dedicated DAW control faders with corresponding stereo DAW metering on the meter bridge
• 16-channel DAW monitoring
• Total Reset and Total Recall
• Motorized 8-track and main output faders with DAW control
• Eight channels of Neve 88R-style, 4-band EQ
• Eight channels of A/D/D/A converters
• Six aux send/returns (4 mono and 2 stereo)
• Eight groups, 2 stereo mix busses (Main Mix LR + 2-track)
• Four stereo effects returns with width control
• Channel, DAW, 8-ttrack, 2-track, and monitor metering
• Two stereo monitoring speaker sets
• 1 mixing and 2x 5.1 monitoring speaker sets
• 2 independent cue mixes
• Full talkback and reverse talkback capability
• Internal power supply units
• USB flash drive for store, load, and reset functionality
• Hands-on DAW control for Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, and more
• AD/DA cassette to provide digital Ins/Outs (16 in, 8 out per card)
• Digitally controlled EQ and optional dynamics (88R or 1084 EQ circuitry and 88R-style Dynamics)
• Optional digital monitoring cassette providing I/O for Aux, 8-track, Main Mix and monitoring
• Expandable to 56 channels, either in straight or wedge formation
  

AMS Neve Genesys Black – Beneath the Surface

Modular and upgradable

Before the Genesys Black arrived on the scene, analog consoles were commissioned to a fixed channel count. If you wanted to add preamps and faders, you needed to add a sidecar, such as the Neve BCM10/2, which, in the case of the BCM, needed modification and added clutter. Modern control surfaces, since they don’t pass audio, can be upgraded easily. However, it’s a tricky thing to do with analog desks, but that didn’t stop AMS Neve. The Genesys Black is also modular. As your business expands (and it surely will with Neve prominently displayed in your control room) so can your Genesys Black, all the way up to a 48-fader, 96-input big dog. Other options include upgrading to digitally controlled, analog Neve 1084 Classic EQs, VCA-style digital control of analog dynamics, and Neve A/D-D/A converters for the monitoring section.

In its basic configuration, the Genesys Black offers eight channels of 1073 mic/line preamps, 16-channels DAW/Tape monitoring; hands-on DAW control for Pro Tools, Nuendo, and more; eight channels of Neve digitally controlled, 4-band analog EQ; and an option for eight channels of Neve digitally controlled analog VCA dynamics and channel A/D/D/A conversion via MADI, AES, and FireWire formats. The Genesys Black also has a central touchscreen, 6 auxiliary buses, 8 group buses, 2 main outputs, 4 effects returns, comprehensive metering, 5.1 monitoring, 2 cue mixes, talkback and reverse talkback facility, and an integrated footprint with internal power supply.

Customize your workflow

Another advantage Genesys Black offers that is no longer the sole province of control surfaces is the ability to customize the control surface to suit the way you work, or, create custom workflows. Plus, there’s that classic Neve look and feel to the controls. But don’t let looks deceive you; they’re ultra modern too. Every switch is “soft,” which enables benefits beyond merely letting you customize your setup. It also means every routing decision and every switch setting can be saved and instantaneously reset. Add the legendary sounding Neve analog EQ and optional dynamics cassettes and you can instantly recall these settings too. Just think of the reconfiguration time that saves when you’re balancing multiple projects in your studio.

Ergonomic control

As mentioned earlier, using a computer keypad and mouse can be clumsy at best with an analog desk. However, the Genesys Black puts keyboard and mouse along with transport controls in a molded armrest in front of the faders. Instead of EQ controls inline on each channel strip, while admittedly eliminating an engineer’s customary lower back workout and stretching exercises, EQ and dynamics are controlled by four knobs and two rows of buttons in the center section within easy reach. Not only can you make digital adjustments of analog Neve EQs and dynamics plug-in-style on the control screen, you also have total recall of those settings as well. Not something that you get with a large-format analog desk.

The Genesys Black gives you one-touch access to essential controls, no pounding through menus. Plus, you have fast and easy access to two cue mixes right on the console, so you don’t have to futz with two or three different software control screens only to find you may not have enough level available for say a vocalist in the software mixer, or you experience playback distortion when you boost software levels. In such a case, the only option is turning down instrument channels in relation to vocals, which loses the impact of the mix (digital gets fuzzy and loses punch at low volumes, analog doesn’t), leaving the vocalist with a less-than-inspiring cue mix.

With the AMS Neve Genesys Black, everything you need for music production sits right in front of you – no machine room necessary, no complicated power-up sequences, and no rear-racks full of spaghetti connecting it all together. Sadly, it won’t provide an alternative heat source for your control room in the winter, like the old Focusrite Forte console did at Electric Lady, but on the plus side, your air-conditioning needs and electric bill will decrease significantly. And, since versatility is the name of the game in our industry, the Genesys Black is also eminently suited to post-production, giving you the ability to mix and monitor in 5.1 on two sets of monitors, plus LCR panning, bass management, and fold-down.

A cost-effective analog/digital hybrid solution

For a system roughly equivalent to a Neve Genesys Black, a 24-fader Avid S6 M10, which has no meter displays (apart from the master module) and a rack of eight 1073s would set you back $46,995** for the S6, plus an additional $21,450 for the 1073s. Granted the S6 has much deeper control of Pro Tools, but the Genesys offers all of the functionality of an automated analog desk and more, with control of the most used DAW features, all combined into one central unit, including MADI, AES3, and ADA conversion, and you know, 1073s. If you’re working in the box, hit the DAW button on the Genesys and all faders control your DAW, so, even if you’re starting out with an 8-channel Genesys Black, you can still have a 24-fader, touch-sensitive control surface – all for $19,195 less than the mid-size control surface and eight channels of classic Neve 1073s, and we haven’t even figured in converters or MADI card. Did we mention that the Avid control surface is not upgradeable beyond 24 faders? No?

Be aware that while we’re comparing costs, this is not a debate between large-format control surface vs. console and which is better. Each has its advantages depending on the type of work you’re doing. If the focus of your work is mixing large projects in Pro Tools ITB, a control surface makes more sense. However, if your work is divided between tracking and mixing, in essence, doing the things consoles evolved over the years to handle efficiently, the Neve Genesys Black is a no-brainer – and as we’ve pointed out, far more budget-friendly than you would suspect from a piece of kit that proudly bears the name, “Neve.” 

That Neve console that features prominently in your fantasies is not as out of reach as you might think. For more information and assistance integrating an AMS Neve Genesys Black into your studio, call or chat online with your PAD Professional today.

Specifications

Record Mode

Mic Input (electronically balanced) to Insert Send

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.05dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.002% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu 10Hz to 80kHz filter)
• Noise (EIN): <-127.5dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, 60dB gain, input terminated 150 ohm R)

Line Input to Insert Send

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.05dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.001% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)
• Noise: <-92dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter)

Line Input to Direct Output

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.1dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.001% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)
• Noise: <-90dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter)
  

Mix Mode:

DAW Return Input to Mix Output

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.1dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.001% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)

Noise

• <-90dBu (20Hz to 20kHz filter, no channel routed)
• <-88dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, 1 channel routed)
• <-80dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, 16 channels routed)

DAW Return Input to 8T Mix Output

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.15dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.003% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)Noise

• <-90dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, no channel routed)
• <-87dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, 1 channel routed)

DAW Return Input to Aux Mix Output

• Headroom: >+27dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.12dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.002% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)

Noise

• <-92dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, no channel routed)
• <-88dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter, 1 channel routed)

General Specifications:

Control Room Output feed from Main Mix

• Headroom: >+26dBu @ 1kHz (<0.5% THD+N)
• Frequency response: Typically +/- 0.15dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
• Distortion (THD+N): Typically 0.002% @ 1kHz (measured at +20dBu, 10Hz to 80kHz filter)

Noise

• <-85dBu (20Hz to 22kHz filter)
  

Crosstalk

• Inter-channel crosstalk: <100dBu @ 1kHz
• Mix bus crosstalk: <100dBu @ 1kHz
• 8T mix bus crosstalk: <100dBu @ 1kHz
• Aux mix bus crosstalk: <100dBu @ 1kHz

Physical

• Height: 38-3/16″ / 970 mm to top of loudspeaker shelf
• Fader height: 28-5/16″ / 720 mm
• Height Adjustment: +/-10 mm (3/8″)

• Width: 8 channel console: 1409mm / 55.47″
• each 16 channel section: 672mm / 26-3/8″
• Depth: 1004mm / 39-9/16″ includes loudspeaker shelf

Weight:

16-channel console and frame: 77 kg / 169.75 lb.

Each 16 channel section and frame: 60 kg / 132.27″ lb.

Heat Dissipation

• 8-channel console: < 500 watts
• Each 16 channel section: < 350 watts
• Power Factor: >0.65

Voltage

• Input Voltage Range 90 – 250 volts AC only, auto ranging

Current

• Standard 8-channel: 2.5 to 4 Amps RMS
• each 16 channel section: 1.5 – 3.0 amps RMS
• Switch-on surge: 10 amps for 7ms (average)