Goodies from NAMM 2020 are now coming thick and fast. The latest beauty to arrive at Production Expert’s London HQ is the new AMS Neve RMX16 500 series reverb. This is a 500 Series recreation of the 80’s classic reverb. But how does it sound? Let’s hear this modern take on a vintage classic on drums.

AMS Neve RMX16 500 Series

The original AMS RMX16, housed in a black 2U rack was the world’s first microprocessor-controlled, full-bandwidth digital reverb unit. It gave its sound to enormous numbers of hit records from the 1980s and has remained an essential piece of studio kit for many a self-respecting producer or studio owner ever since. Mint condition units sell for many times their original cost on the auction sites due to great desirability.

The RMX 16 was designed from the ground up to be musical rather than just a mathematically perfect series of algorithms. Each program was tuned and re-tuned to provide as wide a “sweet-spot” of settings as possible. It was designed very much by ear over an extended period of time and from first principles and over time this attention to detail has made it a classic. The sound of the RMX16 is unique and instantly recognisable.

The new 500 series format version of the RMX16 is now available, not only to top studios and vintage gear collectors but to anyone with a 500 series chassis. In addition to the 9 standard programs, there are 9 aftermarket programs which were originally only available via the unique and incredibly rare remote control.

Connectivity

The beauty of the 500 series format is that firstly you are not paying for another power supply for your new unit and secondly, all the connections can be pre-made to your mixing hardware or audio interface. The RMX16 is a 3 space 500 series unit and hence has 3 sets of ins 3 sets of outs. Like the original, the RMX16 500 series is a mono input and stereo output device. Input to the unit is via the first slot and output is via slots 1 and 3. Slot 2s I/O is not used. Beyond that just get on and enjoy the 80s reverb goodness.

Saving And Recalling Patches

A large part of the front panel of the RMX16 is dedicated to the 4x4 alphanumeric keypad. This is used primarily for saving and recalling preset patches. Whilst the RMX16 has just 18 reverb programs to start you off you can store up to 100 user patches which can be easily named from the keypad.

Video

In the video below you can see and hear the AMS Neve RMX16 500 series at work in James’ studio. He uses a drum track as the demo material so you can hear just how good the classic reverbs, delays and choruses are.

Verdict

The new AMS Neve RMX16 500 series is a fantastic reverb processor. Even if you are not a fan of the sound of the 80s there is plenty here to keep you musically entertained. The obvious star of the show is the Non-Linear reverb which was always the RMX16’s party trick. It just sounds great on drums.

For my money, the RMX16 is what I would call a character reverb. Not the sort of thing that is going to be your day to day go to, but you are going to call on it when you need something a little bit different and there is nothing wrong with that. Yes, it was big in the 80s but I am quite sure with its new 500 series lease of live the RMX16 is going to be a studio favourite for the new school of producers and mixers as well and the old guard.

The AMS Neve RMX16 500 series is available now for £995 UK Pounds + VAT. For more information about the RMX15 and the rest of the AMS Neve 500 series hardware check out the AMS Neve website.