Wimberley, TX (September 19, 2023)—Rupert Neve Designs has launched the MBT—Master Bus Transformer, intended for sweetening and enlivening audio source material with its use of the company’s bespoke transformers.
The Master Bus Transformer’s Input section contains a +/-12 dB Trim control, LEDs to indicate input / peak level, and a high-pass filter sweepable from 15 Hz to 100 Hz. This feeds into a new 2-band Shelf Equalizer circuit with 3-octave ranges. Each band has +/- 9 dB of gain control, with the LF EQ corner frequency variable from 30 Hz to 240 Hz and the HF corner variable from 3 kHz to 24 kHz.
The Color Comp is a new optical compressor design intended to accentuate non-linear distortion and ‘colorful’ characteristics of the Opto cell. The ratio can be set to 2:1 for subtlety or 5:1 for more dramatic reduction, the high-pass side chain filter is sweepable from 20 Hz to 350 Hz, release time is variable from 100 mS to 1.5 S, and the Blend control can compress in parallel with the source material. A green LED indicates gain reduction, and 20 dB of Class-A make-up gain is available.
The Width section includes a variable high-pass filter from 50 Hz to 800 Hz, so lower freqencies can remain unaffected and centered in the mix as the mids and highs are spread out.
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Super Silk makes both Red and Blue Silk modes available simultaneously for independent control over both lower and upper frequency harmonics, and an interacting “Harmonics” control determines the overall musical harmonic saturation from this section. A red LED illuminates when the signal level reaches the optimal range for Silk operation, and a new Zener Drive circuit can also be engaged to introduce a more aggressive tonality as the signal approaches the edge of the MBT’s headroom.
The Output section includes a +/-12 dB Trim control and a pair of 16-segment LED meters to show output level. The MBT includes Class-A input and output amplifiers to maintain gain staging throughout the MBT, fully drive the custom interstage & output transformers, and accurately match the pre / post signals.
The Master Bus Transformer is now shipping worldwide with an MSRP of $3,999 USD.
