Rupert Neve
Rupert Neve was born on 31/07/1926 in Newton Abbot, England. He spent most of his early childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina as his father was an agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society. At the age of 13, Neve started designing audio amplifiers and radio receivers. When World War II started, Neve began repairing and selling radios as there was increased demand for radios. At the age of 17, he volunteered as a sailor in the British Navy. Soon afterwards he settled in England and built a mobile recording studio. With the studio, he recorded choirs, operas and public addresses.During the 1950s, Neve worked for Rediffusion which was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. Neve would leave the company and form the company CQ Audio which specialised in manufacturing hi-fi speaker systems.
In the early 1960s, Neve designed and built a mixing console for the composer Desmon Leslie which was installed at Castle Leslie, Ireland. The original desk is still housed there.
In 1961, Neve formed the company Neve Electronics.
In 1964, Neve built a transistor based mixing console with an equaliser for Phillips Records Ltd. Demand for consoles increased and Neve started designing and manufacturing audio recording equipment.
In 1969, Neve and his wife Evelyn moved the business into a purpose built factory having previously worked out of their home in Little Shelford, England.
By 1973, the Neve team had grown to over 500 worldwide.
In 1975, the Neve companies were sold to a public British company and Neve established the company ARN Consultants.
In 1977, Neve introduced the moving fader system NECAM at London's AIR Studios.
In 1985, The Neve Group was sold to Siemens Corporation of Austria. Rupert and Evelyn Neve incorporated the new company Focusrite Ltd.
In 1989, Focusrite was liquidated. Phil Dudderidge incorporated a new company called Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd and bought the assets of Focusrite Ltd. Neve would not design products for Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.
In 1992, Siemens closed down the Neve Group and it was incorporated into the Siemens subsidiary AMS Ltd. Neve had no connection with the AMS/Neve company.
In 1989, Neve was inducted into the Mix Hall of Fame. Also in 1989, ARN Consultants entered into consultancy with Amek Systems to design a range of consoles and outboard equipment.
In 1994, Rupert and Evelyn Neve moved to Wimberley, Texas.
In 1997, Neve received the Lifetime Achievement Techincal Grammy Award.
In 2002, Neve and his wife Evelyn became US citizens. ARN Consultants became ARN Consultants LLC. Also in 2002, Neve designed the K4 preamplifier for Taylor.
In 2005, ARN Consultants started trading under the name Rupert Neve Designs.
In 2013, Neve was interviewed by Dave Grohl for the film documentary "Sound City".