Focusrite

In 1985, Rupert Neve founded Focusrite Ltd. with his wife Evelyn — his first venture since selling Neve Electronics in 1973, departing the company in 1975, and serving out a ten-year non-compete agreement. The company was commissioned by George Martin to build a custom console for his AIR Studios in Oxford Street, London, and Neve delivered what many engineers consider his finest single work.

Built to George Martin's exact specification, the console incorporated the finest components available anywhere in the world. Its preamps and equaliser sections were considered by engineers who used them to represent the absolute ceiling of what analog circuit design could achieve. Approximately ten consoles were built in total. The commercial and digital control aspects of Focusrite Ltd. ran into difficulties outside Rupert's expertise, and the company was ultimately forced to liquidate.

In 1989, Soundcraft co-founder Phil Dudderidge bought the assets of the liquidated Focusrite Ltd. and rebuilt the company as Focusrite Audio Engineering — retaining Neve's designs from 1985–1988 but without Rupert's further involvement. That company became the Focusrite that exists today: the interfaces, the preamps, the brand. But the original console — the one George Martin commissioned — belongs to an earlier and more extraordinary chapter.