Support
AMS Neve Outboard FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the common issues reported to AMS Neve and their simple solutions.
I have recently bought an 8804 fader pack, yet when I have attached it to the 8816, it will not control the audio.
There could be two reasons for this:
1. The 19 internal jumpers have not been set correctly inside the 8816 to hand over the control of the audio to the fader pack;
2. The internal audio ribbon cable that runs from the rear connector of the 8816 onto the unit's motherboard has not been properly installed.
Please refer to the 8816 manual on how to move the jumpers and install the 8816 audio cable correctly.
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On an 8816 with the ADC card fitted, how can I configure the unit so I have two mono AES XLR outputs on the rear of the unit, one for Left and one for Right, rather than a single stereo output?
If the sample rate selected on the front of the unit (for example 48kHz) is the same as the sync connected to the rear of the unit (48 kHz, either Wordclock or AES sync), then the 2 XLR connectors on the rear will output Left and Right on both XLRs, so in effect a stereo mix of L & R on 1/L and a stereo mix of L & R on 2/R.
(This does not apply to just the 48kHz sample rate, but to when any sample rate selected on the front matches exactly that being input on the rear).
If the sample rate selected on the front of the unit (for example 96kHz) is half of what is being input into the sync into the rear of the unit (48 kHz, either Wordclock or AES sync), then the 2 XLR connectors on the rear will output Left and Left on 1/L and Right and Right on 2/R, in effect providing a single mono signal on each AES output.
(This does not apply to just the 48kHz sample rate, but to all those situations when the sample rate selected on the front is exactly half of the actual sample rate input into the rear [either Wordclock or AES]).
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With outboard units with digital options fitted, why does the digital audio output intermittently drop out?
All analogue outboard units must be supplied with a valid sync source if they have digital options fitted, to enable the digital output to be in sync with the rest of your digital studio setup.
The following should be observed to prevent digital output audio drop-out.
1. If a unit receives a Wordclock sync source (via the Wordclock In BNC connector), and there is nothing connected to the Wordclock Out BNC connector, the 75 termination switch should be in the correct position.
2. In setups where multiple units require a sync source, a 'star' system should be employed rather than a 'daisy-chain'.
In a star system, a cable goes from the sync source directly to each unit, and each unit has it's wordclock terminated.
In a daisy-chain system, a single cable supplies the first unit from the sync source (IN), which is then fed into the second (via the OUT BNC on the first, to the IN on the second), then OUT of the second and IN on the third etc.
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On an 8816 with an 8804 fader pack attached, why will the CUTs and SOLOs when pressed on one unit, not be seen on the other?
The ribbon cable that connects the two units together only carries audio, it does not carry the CUT and SOLO information.
For the CUT and SOLO states to be passed between both units, they must both be connected to a PC (or a Mac) via USB and the Recall software must be running.
When you have more than one 8816 attached via USB, one 8816 and it's 8804 must both be set to Master and the other 8816 and it's 8804 must both be set to Slave.
If you only have a single 8816 and 8804 attached, both units must be set to Slave.
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What's the difference between a balanced and an unbalanced signal?
An unbalanced line uses two wires (called Hot and Ground) to transmit the signal. It is only designed for short cable runs (no more than 5m), and is susceptible to picking up interference from other electrical sources.
If using unbalanced lines, make sure they do not run alongside electrical mains cables (or other sources of interference), instead they should always cross them at 90°, but preferably be as far away from them as possible.
A balanced line uses three wires (Hot, Cold and Ground), and can be used for much longer cable runs. It is a much more reliable way to transmit signals, and can be used for significantly longer cable runs.
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When running the Recall software for my outboard unit, it tells me I need to update the firmware. Where can I get this firmware?
When you install the Recall software programme, the latest issue firmware for all of the 88 series of outboard units are placed in C: / Program Files / Neve Recall / Firmware on a PC, or Applications / Neve Recall / Firmware on a Mac.
These will be .hex files.
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What is the difference between the INS and INS MIX buttons on the 8816?
“INS” (Insert) button:
This switches the primary pre fade insertion IN circuit, to allow (for example) a compressor to be inserted into the main program path.
This insert also has the facility to be made into a Sum and Difference insert, where the Left carries the “Sum” signal and the Right insert carries the “Difference” signal.
This allows the two signal to be processed separately before being decoded on the insertion return. This facility is enabled by pressing the main mix output level control and the “INS” button changes colour from yellow to red when the M&S processing is in circuit.
A compressor such as the Neve 33609 can be patched across the Insert, allowing the whole mix to be compressed or EQ’d. Sometimes it is necessary to mix between a clean mix and a processed mix, for example when using a Filter Bank to create a special effect across the whole mix for one section of a song. This can be done by patching the filter bank across the Inserts of the 8816 and switching to Insert Mix mode. The balance between the clean mix and the processed mix is now controlled by the insert Mix level control and the engineer can switch between clean and processed mix or balance the two as required
1. In sum and difference mode the standard stereo signal is converted into a mono common (or Sum signal) on the left output and a mono (Difference) signal on the right output. This enables the engineer to apply different processes to the common (Centre) image and the difference (or Stereo) image.
At the insert return the signal is re-converted to a standard stereo signal. The technique is frequently used in mastering recordings and is used for such things as:
2. Using an overall stereo EQ where the L & R Image will not shift with any tracking errors within the EQ unit, or EQ the mono to subtlety change the mix balance post mixing.
3. To compress and limit the sum and difference separately, to negate tracking errors or create a quite different stereo image.
4. Add a sub bass synth to the mono program for really deep mono bass that will not make the cutter head jump if mastering to vinyl.
5. Listen to the mono and trim the DAW sample delays to get perfect L & R tracking and save the results to an interleaved wav file.
6. A vocal could be brightened by EQing the Sum signal or Cymbals could be brightened by EQing the Difference signal.
N.B. The underlying mode of the insert can be changed by pressing the Mix Level control even if the insertion button is not selected.
“INS MIX” (Insert Mix) button:
This routes the Inset Mix Return signal to the main two track mix output pre the output level control but post the primary insert. The IMR (Insert Mix Return) Level Control allows for the IMR signals to be mixed directly into the main mix output post the insert but pre the mix output level control. It has a range of 8dB to +10dB and is perfect for DJ style mixing or where the engineer wants to mix some compressed or EQ’d main mix source back into the main mix outputs without the compression or EQ dominating the mix as it would using the insert.
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What quality are the ADC convertors used in Neve outboard equipment?
All of the ADCs used are 24 bit.
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Can I connect an AES output to an S/PDIF input?
There should be no problem connecting between AES and S/PDIF ports in terms of data content, but there is a problem arising from differences in the signal levels. An AES signal amplitude is 5v, whereas S/PDIF id 0.5v.
Therefore, if you correctly wire an XLR to phono connector, the input will be receiving 10 times the signal level it expects.
We advise contacting the manufacturer of your interface and checking with them if any damage will be caused in the long term if an AES signal is fed into an S/PDIF input, although wiring a 110? resistor between pin 1 and pin 2 of the XLR should act as protection from burning out the S/PDIF input.
Cables should be wired as follows:
XLR pin 1 to cable shield
XLR pin 2 to RCA connector pin
XLR pin 3 to RCA connector shield
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What is the headroom on the 8816?
The headroom on the analogue outputs is 26dB when measured relative to an output of 0dB, or 22dB when measured relative to an output of +4dB or 0Vu.
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Which versions of Recall software for the 8801 / 8803 / 8804 / 8816 do I need to run on my Mac?
For Macs running OS 10.4 and OS 10.5 you can run Recall Version 5.5.
For Mac versions of software OS 10.6 you will need to run Recall Version 6.
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What is the maximum number of outboard units that Neve software can support?
Both the Recall software for the 88 series of units, plus the control software for the 1081R and 4081s can support up to a maximum of 16 units.
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I have connected my 4081 via USB to a Mac, but in the control software, the MIDI ports do not appear. How can I make the software see the 4081 MIDI ports?
The 4081 requires the correct Serial driver to be installed on the Mac. Once this has been installed, if you restart the 4081 software, the MIDI ports should be visible and able to be configured.
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On an 8816, whenever I try to run the Recall software, I am told that the 8816 firmware needs to be updated. When I try to update the firmware, I see the same message again. What am I doing wrong?
This is not an issue of user error, it could be that the micro controller firmware has been partially erased and cannot be updated.
This firmware update file contains a programme and instructions on how to reload the firmware.
Please be advised that this software is not for general release, and is only designed to run on a PC. At this time, there is no version available for Mac.
Instructions:
1. Download the file and unzip the contents.
2. Create a directory on the desktop of the computer
3. Put the three files – download8816_5.exe, Neve88.dll & down_8816_5.hex - into that directory.
4. Connect the 8816 to the PC via USB and switch the unit on.
5. Double-click download8816_5.exe to run it. There is a small counter at the bottom of the screen. The counter will run up to 20, and then the reloading will start. This will take about two minutes, and the counter will stop increasing during this time. When the reloading is complete, the counter will continue to increase.
6. When the counter starts increasing, close the programme, unplug the USB from the 8816, and turn the unit off and back on again.
7. Run Recall to see if it is working.
If you still see the error message after you have completed this procedure, it may be that you have a hardware problem with the firmware chip itself.
These instructions are also contained in a file within the download itself.
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