{"id":4245,"date":"2023-05-01T21:11:07","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T01:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qdivisionstudios.com\/word\/?page_id=4245"},"modified":"2024-03-01T17:56:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T21:56:41","slug":"neve-8068-restoration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/qdivisionstudios.com\/word\/studio-a\/neve-8068-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"Neve 8068 Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 8068 in situ in studio A!<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What follows is a description of some of the work that went into restoring Q Division’s 8068. While this isn’t a short article, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of the immense effort that went into the project. The end goal, a highly functioning and stunning sounding console, is now a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The 8068 at Q2.0<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Q Division\u2019s relocation to Rindge Ave afforded us ample time to work on the Neve. The console was certainly functional, but it was long overdue for a thorough servicing – and Studio A was too busy to afford that much downtime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally a quad board made in the mid 70\u2019s, Q acquired the console in the 90\u2019s from EMI Brazil. After being restored by Fred Hill, it was installed at Q1.0 on Albany street (~1993-1999). At Q2.0 it was in daily use from sometime in 2000 to July 2021 when we powered it down and packed up the Highland Ave Location. We joked that the console had been on longer than some of Q assistants have been alive. To oversee the process of restoring the console, we tapped Andrew Lypps, Associate Chief Engineer at Berklee College of Music, and long time friend who has provided us invaluable tech support over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Original schematics with duplication artifacts<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Maintaining the sonic integrity of the original Neve design was paramount, though functional improvements that reflected the way the world records music now, as well as the specific workflow at Q Division, were on the table. We looked at our service records and discussed recurring issues. Q\u2019s Neve had been modified by Fred Hill in the early 90\u2019s, before it was installed into Q1.0 on Albany Street. His modifications were very clever, adding layers of functionality and routing options. But, some of his modifications were not clearly documented, making service and repair difficult and confusing.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Chuck Hargreaves cleaning edge connectors deep in the console.<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Restoration would fall into four basic categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n