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The Neve 1073 is arguably one of the most popular preamps in the history of recorded music.

Originally introduced as part of the 80 Series consoles in the 1970s, these colorful preamps are known for their fat, warm sound and rich low end.

Vintage Neve 1073 preamps sound amazing, but their limited feature set and astronomical price tag push many engineers towards digital alternatives. In this roundup, we’ll break down the top five plugins based on the Neve 1073 to help you figure out which one is right for you.

1073 Design

The original 1073 preamps utilize a very streamlined design. In addition to a single gain control knob, which can be used to drive signals until they saturate, the 1073 also features a three-band semi-parametric EQ and selectable high-pass filter.

The top EQ band controls a fixed shelf at 12 kHz. The midband controls a bell curve with selectable frequencies at .36, .7, 1.6, 3.2, 4.8, and 7.2 kHz. The low band controls a shelf with selectable frequencies at 35, 60, 110 and 220 Hz. The selectable high-pass filter can be set at 50, 80, 160 or 300 Hz. Each band offers +/- 16 dB of gain.

About the audio files …

Uad plugins are good. But they won’t be either better or worse than waves or pluginalliance plugins. The Onboard effects dsp is an old technology but rebranded to be used on incoming audio so u can track/record with plugins. But most computers will let u mix w tons of native plugins. And uad is famous for underpowered dsp.

Download Here: was scrolling through Facebook when I came acro.
I understand UAD-2 plugins are processed solely via the Apollo's dua/quad DSP, but didn't know how 3rd party plugins were also processed when an Apollo unit is hooked up in the mix. This question is obv for post editing, not real time tracking w/plugins.

We put some of our favorite 1073-style plugins through the paces on drums, bass, guitars and vocals with the following settings:

Drums

HPF at 50 Hz
+4 dB at 110 Hz
+2 dB at 1.6 kHz
+2 dB at 12 kHz

Bass

HPF at 50 Hz
+4 dB at 60 Hz
+6 dB at 700 Hz
+6 dB at 12 kHz

Guitars

HPF at 80 Hz
+4 dB at 110 Hz
+8 dB at 3.2 kHz
+4 dB at 12 kHz

Vocals

HPF at 80 Hz
+2 dB at 110 Hz
+4 dB at 3.2 kHz
+2 dB at 12 kHz

Here are the unprocessed audio files …

Drums

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Drums_1.wav

Bass

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bass_1.wav

Guitar

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Guitar_1.wav

Vocals

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vocals_1.wav

UAD Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

UAD offers “the only authentic end-to-end circuit emulation” of the Neve 1073. The UAD 1073 captures all of the original’s unique circuit behaviors, including all 10 clipping points from the preamp and EQ stages for that classic gritty class‑A saturation.

The UAD 1073 also utilized UAD’s Unison technology, which allows you to use the plugin while tracking.

In terms of features, the UAD 1073 sticks very closely to the original design. The only new features are an impedance switch and a switchable -20 dB pad.

Drums – UAD

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Drums_2.wav

Bass – UAD

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bass_2.wav

Guitar – UAD

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Guitar_2.wav Uad Vst Plugins

Vocals – UAD

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vocals_2.wav

“The Sound of ’73” – UAD Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection

The Neve 1073 is arguably one of the most popular preamps in the history of recorded music. Originally introduced as part of the 80 Series consoles in the 1970s, these colorful preamps are known for their fat, warm sound and rich low end. Vintage Neve 1073 preamps sound amazing, but their limited f

Slate Digital FG-73 Preamp + FG-N EQ + VCC

Slate has a plugin for everything, and in this case, they actually have three plugins dedicated to emulating the legendary sound of the 1073 preamp.

First, the FG-73, available as part of the Virtual Console Collection, offers simple drive and trim controls for emulating the dual-stage red band preamp of the 1073.

The FG-N, available as part of the Virtual Mix Rack 2.0, is a modified version of the 1073 EQ with variable frequency controls and an additional midrange bell. It also features a variable gain control with an optional “drive” button for added grit — similar to the FG-73.

Finally, the Virtual Channel and Virtual Mixes plugins, both available in the Virtual Console Collection, feature Brit-N settings for emulating the channel circuitry and summing characteristics of using running a signal through a Neve console.

*For the purposes of this test, the VCC (in Brit-N mode) and FG-73 plugins were used with settings at default. Drive set to 6 (10 o’clock); Input and Out set to zero. The FG-73 is set to 20 (the minimum setting).

Drums – Slate

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Drums_3.wav

Bass – Slate

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bass_3.wav

Guitar – Slate

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Guitar_3.wav

Vocals – Slate

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vocals_3.wav

Slate Digital VIRTUAL PREAMP COLLECTION – Real Analog Preamp Tones For Your Mixes!

The Neve 1073 is arguably one of the most popular preamps in the history of recorded music. Originally introduced as part of the 80 Series consoles in the 1970s, these colorful preamps are known for their fat, warm sound and rich low end. Vintage Neve 1073 preamps sound amazing, but their limited f

McDSP British-E

6020 Ultimate EQ is a collection of ten 500-series style equalizer models, including the British-E EQ, based on the 1073. Although the British-E is only a small portion of what this powerful plugin has to offer, it does an amazing job of emulating the sound of Neve EQs.

British-E features more versatile filter shapes than the original design with three fully variable bands: a high-shelf, a midrange bell, and a low shelf. It also includes a fully variable high-pass filter.

The most unique thing about this plugin is that it does not include markings for frequency or gain controls, forcing you to rely on your ears. For these examples, I attempted to match the settings as best as I could by ear.

Drums – McDSP

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Drums_4.wav

Bass – McDSP

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bass_4.wav

Guitar – McDSP

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Guitar_4.wav

Vocals – McDSP

https://theproaudiofiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vocals_4.wav

6060 UMC Module #3 – British-E

The Neve 1073 is arguably one of the most popular preamps in the history of recorded music. Originally introduced as part of the 80 Series consoles in the 1970s, these colorful preamps are known for their fat, warm sound and rich low end. Vintage Neve 1073 preamps sound amazing, but their limited f

IK Multimedia EQ 73

The EQ 73 by IK Multimedia is a “true to the original” reproduction of the 1073, including all of the gain stages, circuit designs, EQ curves and preamp behaviors. IK have also emulated the preamp/EQ interaction, which “truly defines why this unit was so special,” according to them. Earmaster pro 7.

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