Chris Jones
Location recordist Chris Jones, aka “ardent taper,” has acquired a Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5012 Duo Mic Pre dual-channel microphone preamplifier, demonstrating the length fans will go to for an excellent live recoridng. Jones, who spends much of his spare time traveling the country to record artists, also maintains an easily transportable collection of high-end professional microphones, converters and hard disk recording equipment.
“This is a step up,” says Jones. “The Neve box is fantastic.” The Rupert Neve Designs 5012, a compact, half-space, two-channel unit that incorporates custom designed transformers, very short signal paths, minimal negative feedback plus single-sided transformer-coupled amplifier designs, has allowed Jones to not only slim down his portable setup but also improve the quality of his recordings.
“With the 5012, I’ve been recording some great stuff,” he reports. On the road, Jones typically records through the Portico 5012 to a Mytek Digital Stereo192 ADC converter and a Sound Devices 722 two-channel hard disk recorder using microphones from his collection of DPA 4011, 4015 and 4022 models. Closer to home, local New York shows are generally captured through the Rupert Neve pramplifiers to an Apple laptop using a Metric Halo Mobile I/O.
Elaborating on his hobby, Jones continues, “It’s my life outside of the finance world, which is what I do for a living. Typically, I record artists with liberal taping policies that allow audience members to capture their performances. I’ve been recording the Dave Matthews Band since 2000. That got me started. The Dave Matthews Band community led me to other renowned acts with similar attitudes toward audience recording, and I’ve been fortunate to record others such as David Gray, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio, Howie Day, and Jason Mraz. They all have this grassroots attitude, letting audience members record their shows. It’s free marketing for them, a privilege for me, and has allowed me to spread great music through my recordings.”
For more information on the Rupert Neve Designs Portico Series, please visit www.rupertneve.com.
