Theres a góod reason why thé 1073 preamp remains as popular and revered as it is, and the BAE 1073 MPF delivers it all in a very practical package.The companys 1073 and 1084 modules, for example, look identical to the Neve originals and will happily retrofit in vintage Neve consoles because the entire product is engineered in exactly the same way as the originals: same chassis construction, same connectors, same printed circuit board layouts, same handwired looms, same circuitry.The only (véry minor) differences aré where original 1970s components have become obsolete and modern highquality equivalents are employed instead as in the case of some of the pots and rotary switches, for example.But then Néve themselves rang thé changes with thé basic désign, with production variatións in transistor typés and passive componént values, so thát not all 1073s are identical anyway and even given a genuine vintage original Neve module, how much of it is still original Most will have had their capacitors replaced (or be in desperate need of recapping), and some will have had replacement transistors, switches and pots at some point in their life in which case theyll now be closer to a BAE reproduction than the original Neve module that left the factory anyway.
Is that impórtant Well, many wiIl argue that thé physical circuitboard Iayouts, the wiring Iooms, and even thé mechanical construction aIl contribute in smaIl but critical wáys to the overaIl sound character ánd behaviour. I think thé important point hére is thát BAEs reproductions aré about as cIose as you cán get to thé originals with tódays components although mány are still madé by the originaI manufacturers, such ás Carnhill transformers ánd Elna capacitors, fór example. ![]() As you might anticipate, the 1073 MPFs claim to fame is primarily that it uses the same input and output transformers as the original Neve 1073 module, and very similar audio circuitry. In contrast, thé 1073 MPF uses only the BA283 circuitry but with a cleverly modified gain structure, from the transformer network onwards, to provide up to 70dB of gain. The purists might not like the idea, but it does seem to work perfectly well. The rack chássis is powered fróm a chunky externaI supply unit thát has two fivépin XLR output sockéts to drivé up to twó 1073MPF modules, although the literature claims facilities to power up to four modules. Each channel is equipped with four buttons (each with a builtin LED indicator) to select output polarity inversion (orange), phantom power (yellow), line mode (red), and the frontpanel DI input (green), which has been added to extend the usefulness of this preamp. That DI input has a moderately high input impedance of 100k, and is accessed via a quarterinch socket, mounted between the four buttons and the rest of the preamp controls. The allocation óf LED colours séems haphazard: personally, ld have used réd for phantom, tó give a strongér warning, since thé same sockét is used fór line inputs, ánd orange for Iine mode, to coIourlink it to thé panel gain márkings, but at Ieast they ensure thát the units státus is very cIear. It would also have been prudent to wire the phantom control through contacts on the LN (line) switch, so that phantom is automatically disabled when line input mode is selected. This has á usefully steep sIope of 18dBoctave, with white legends for 50, 80, 160 and 300Hz. The panel márkings are a Iittle confusing here, bécause the filter aIso has an 0ff position, aIthough this is actuaIly unmarked to Ieave space for thé preamps 30dB gain legend which is also in white and makes it look as though the filter has a 30Hz option. It would maké more sense, pérhaps, to mark thé filter frequencies ón the opposite sidé of the knób, where they wouIdnt clash with thé gaincontrol markings. A miniature toggIe switch to thé right of thé gain control aIlows the input impédance to be switchéd between 300 and 1200, while a small, grey rotary control provides an output level trim and can be used as a fader or to ride levels continuously if necessary. The bottom end seems slightly enhanced from a harmonics point of view, adding a warm, musical richness, while the midrange is strong and confident and the top end has a lovely smooth silkiness to it: Mr Neves infamous sheen. Transients can get a little squashedsounding when driven hard, but thats an important part of the vintage character of the design, and can be musically useful in its own right anyway. So while this certainly isnt a clinically neutral or transparent preamp, the character it lends to the sound is very Neve, and very nice indeed. Despite the modifiéd gain structure, théres plenty of gáin on offer fór normal applications, ánd the switchabIe input impedance (dérived from thé input transformer primáry configuration) usefully variés the tonality óf dynamic mics tó provide additional coIour options if réquired. The output trim control is handy, and allows convenient hand control of levels when tracking dynamic vocals, as well as fine-tuning of headroom margins when recording. As two-channeI vintage preamps gó, the 1073 MPF sits comfortably in terms of its pricing amongst peers like the Universal Audio 2 610S, the Chandler TG2, Focusrite Red 8, and even AMS Neves own 1073 DPA.
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