Neve 88C

Not only does this portable box grant you access to the famous 88R console’s channel compressor anywhere you go, but it’s also blessed with several clever features.

When it comes to compression, Neve are probably best known for diode‑bridge designs such as the 2254. That was released in 1969, and variants of it remain popular today. It was Dave Blackmer of dbx fame who famously developed the use of voltage‑controlled amplifiers (VCAs) as the gain‑reduction element in compressors in the early 1970s, but Neve were fairly early adopters of this technology. The first product of theirs to employ VCAs was probably the 8108 console, released in the late 1970s, which used custom ICs by Newmarket Transistors in an optional VCA fader system. By the early/mid‑1980s, Neve were working on in‑channel compressor designs based on dbx’s 2151 VCA chips, which would first appear in commercial products such as the 5104 console. They went on to use the modern descendant of that Blackmer VCA chip, THAT Corporation’s THAT2181, in the 88R console, which was introduced in 2001.

It’s the 2181 that takes care of gain reduction in the company’s new standalone compressor, the dual‑channel 88C. Like the company’s consoles, the 88C is made in Neve’s factory in Burnley, Lancashire (England), where they go to incredible lengths to get the quality of construction right. For example, Neve scan all the solder joints to highlight any potential defects — they’d like, just as much as you would, for you never to have to return the product to them for repair!

Because the various knobs double up as push switches, there’s more control at your fingertips than it might first appear.

Overview

The 88C might look simple at a glance, but there’s some clever stuff going on behind the scenes, and because the various knobs double up as push switches, there’s also more control at your fingertips than it might first appear.

For most, it will be the form factor that really catches the eye: the various knobs and switches protrude from the front and back of a case that measures 182mm wide, 183mm deep and 76mm high, and is encased in a hard‑wearing leatherette finish, just like the company’s 88M audio interface, which we reviewed in SOS September 2022. At 1.32kg (a shade under 3lbs), it’s not unduly heavy, but it’s still sufficiently weighty that its rubber feet kept it firmly in place on my desktop during my review tests, even with a total of seven cables attached to the rear.

In terms of the sound and technical performance of the circuitry, it’s of mixing/mastering quality, so while it obviously isn’t designed to sit in a conventional studio rack, it should be well at home in any studio. But the format makes it more versatile, to allow you access to high‑quality analogue compression in pretty much any situation. I could see freelance engineers taking it with them to different studios, and it could also serve well in a home studio for music or dialogue, while the robust construction means it could be taken on the road, on stage or on location.

Unusually for a professional‑level standalone processor, the 88C is powered using a USB‑C cable. There’s no data or digital audio connection, but this means power can come from a USB3‑equipped computer (arguably, the biggest advantage of USB3 for audio gear is not its greater bandwidth compared with USB2, but rather that it makes more current available to power attached devices) or from a phone‑style USB adaptor that can supply 900mA or more. A suitable USB‑C to USB‑C cable is supplied. An adaptor isn’t, but given their ubiquity, that’s for the best in my view — none of us need more USB adaptors clogging up our studio storage or heading to landfill!

The provided cable fitted securely in its socket, but there’s no provision for securing it in place. You could fashion something yourself with, for example, a stick‑on cable‑tie...