Rupert Neve Designs has announced the introduction of the new MBT (Master Bus Transformer), which provides a number of features designed to “sweeten, enhance, drive, widen, and utterly transform source material,” and is intended for use on full mixes, groups, stems, or individual mono or stereo tracks.
The MBT 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 two-band shelf equalizer circuit with three-octave ranges, gentle slopes, and minimal phase shift. 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 3kHz to 24 kHz.
From the company: “One exciting aspect of using the MBT is discovering how the different sections can interact with each other. Sometimes the EQ can be dialed in first, other times it can be left alone until the other sections are dialed in. We always encourage experimentation.”
The COLOR COMP is a new optical compressor design which according to the company, “excels at accentuating the non-linear distortion and ‘colorful’ characteristics of the Opto cell.” The ratio can be set to 2:1 for ,pre subtlety or 5:1 for more dramatic reduction, the high-pass side chain filter is sweepable from 20 Hz to 350 Hz to allow low frequencies to pass through uncompressed, release time is variable from 100 mS to 1.5 S, and the BLEND control provides the ability to compress in parallel with the source material. A green LED indicates gain reduction, and 20 dB of Class-A make-up gain is available, intended not only for level-matching but also to drive the interstage transformers found in the SUPER SILK section.
While the WIDTH section was inspired by the Stereo Field Editor (SFE) found in the Portico II Master Buss Processor, the MBT’s circuit “has undergone further refinements and now includes a greater additive range for more extreme operation,” the company says. It also 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.
SUPER SILK builds on the “Silk” harmonic saturation circuit found in many of the company’s products. With the MBT, both Red and Blue Silk modes are now 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 help maintain optimal gain staging throughout the MBT, fully drive the custom interstage and output transformers, and more accurately match the pre/post signals.
The Master Bus Transformer is made in the U.S. and is now shipping worldwide with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $3,999 USD/€3,699 EUR/£3,199 GBP (all prices exclude local taxes).
