photo used by permission from Josh Thomas , GM Rupert Neve Design
July 31 , 1926 – February 12 , 2021 by Bill Gibson
Proverbs 8:12 reads “ I , wisdom , dwell with prudence ( cautiousness , good judgment , judiciousness ) and find out knowledge of witty inventions .”
As Big Ben ’ s gears grind away , certain memories fall out of the public consciousness - quite a significant loss , really . There ’ s so much to learn from our societal heroes , who in so many cases are unique and inspiring and , in their own special ways , extremely anomalous .
For example , when Quincy Jones was an early teenager , it was the touch and sound of a piano , in the corner of a room he broke into , that pulled him away from his mission to bring his Chicago gangland life to Seattle . From the fortuitous event , he spent his entire life learning about and creating some of the all-time best popular music ! And , Quincy places a high value on character . One of his favorite expression is , “ You ’ ll never be a better musician than you are a person .” He continues to be a game-changer .
Steve Jobs was given up for adoption by his unwed parents . His new parents were engineers , so it was a natural progression that he and his buddies would dabble in electronic design , too . His passion and 100 % devotion to the mission of putting a computer in every home changed the world . He was singularly focused on creating and sharing fantastic new tools for the rest of us to enjoy . He was a gamechanger .
Al Schmitt is has been at the top of the recording industry since he was seven years old , when he ’ d take the train ( by himself ) into Manhattan to spend the weekend hanging out at his uncles recording studio . Every step of his life has been up the ladder of success in the producing and engineering worlds . From Frank Sinatra to Diana Krall and from Dylan to McCartney , when artists want to work with the best , they look to Al , especially for largescale productions that involve full orchestra and big band . Al Schmitt continues to be a gamechanger .
This leads us to one of the audio industry ’ s most influential and inspiring game changers , Rupert Neve , a very prim and proper man with kind eyes , who passed away on February 12 , 2021 at the age of 94 . Unfortunately , Neve and all of the aforementioned game-changes will fade from memory if we don ’ t memorialize them intentionally and regularly .
Rupert was often referred to as the father of modern recording , or at least , the father of the modern recording console . He invented several “ witty ,” game-changing audio tools , from the first recall system for a moving fader automation system ( Neve Computer Assisted Mixdown { NECAM }), to stellar onboard pickup systems for Taylor guitars , and from the creation of Focusrite to his design work for Amek . Neve ’ s design efforts never stopped . He was brilliant ! Everyone acknowledged his genius , and pro audio manufacturers who wanted to offer a bit of greatness to their customers would frequently attach themselves to his brand .
Born in England to Christian missionaries , Rupert was introduced to the mission field at