Assembled as an ideal starting point for any 500-series rack system, this B&H Kit bundles two Rupert Neve Designs Portico 542 Tape Emulator units with an 8-channel, 6-space 500-series chassis. This provides you with two channels of warm, true tape circuitry for adding texture to your signals, while leaving you with plenty of room for expansion in the future.
The Portico 542 Tape Emulator from Rupert Neve Designs is a single-channel 500 series rack module that simulates the sound of analog tape, and adds texture to your audio with its dedicated Silk circuitry. The emulation of tape is achieved with analog hardware, as opposed to digital processing. The 542 features a "True Tape" circuit, which utilizes an authentic magnetic record head and a replay amplifier, giving the applied audio the warmth of tape compression. Texture can be added by pushing the Silk button, selecting Red or Blue mode, and adjusting a knob. This adds harmonic content that's reminiscent of vintage Neve equipment.
Tape Effects can be added in by pressing an illuminated button. A Saturation knob enables you to dial in the amount of effects, and a Blend knob lets you mix the pre and post signals. A 15 / 30 IPS button lets you select between the emulations of those two tape-based characteristics. Two eight-segment LED meters are on the face of the 542, one dedicated to Drive, the other to Level. When your signal hits the yellow LED in the Drive meter, a Soft Clip functionality kicks in, protecting your signal from peaking. A 500-Series power supply/rack is required for operation.
With 150% of the required current for a 6-space 500-series enclosure, the Rupert Neve Designs R6 will help you hear the full potential of your modules. The headroom in available current helps prevent the power rails from falling under a higher than expected load. LED metering shows you how much power is being used and the internal power supply has been designed with double shielding to avoid significant magnetic induction in any of the channel positions.
The solid steel chassis has a collapsible handle for portability. The unit offers a total of eight balanced I/O channels with interchangeable TRS, XLR, and DB-25 connections with a 48V phantom power bus. The channel 7-8 thru connections can be used as a way to quickly and easily convert your signal from and to DB-25, XLR, and TRS connectors. To accommodate 500 series modules that are slightly out of spec, the unit has variable-position screw holes to make the installation process go more smoothly. A 500 series link function can be enabled in pairs using the link jumpers on channels 1-2, 3-4, or 5-6. Matching blank panels are also available to cover any empty slots.