Creation of the dBu standard level reference

[@donnythompson408]

Every time I think I’ve compiled a comprehensive mental list of all of Rupert’s contributions to audio, I discover something else he did that I’d not previously been aware of. And each time, I’m left shaking my head with wonder and amazement at this incredible man. RIP, Sir Rupert. 🙏🕯

[@RupertNeveDesigns]

That's how this video came about, he just casually dropped this story in a conversation about VU Meters at the office in 2015. No one at the office was aware of that detail.

[@Podcastage]

"Do you mind gentlemen!?" haha! What a legend.

[@regmonmusic]

I love Rupert! The Lord has truly blessed him… :-)

[@knucklehead99-z1w]

+regmonmusic Yes! Praise God!

[@pascalmerschaudio]

this guy is the lord of good consoles, soundcity, bnirvana rage tom petty stevie nicks......neve is the answer of good quality music

[@wriker36]

His chief engineer is Mr Watts!!!! Hahaha.

[@thaexception3406]

Insightful as always

[@richshafiee]

Legendry One ❤💯🌹🥀

[@Aistlander]

Mr. Neve, where does the "u" in dBu come from? Is it from VU's "volume unit" and means "unit" or does it mean "unloaded" as many interpret it? Or was it originally meant as "unit" and then changed to "unloaded" or even something else? Best of health and greetings from Finland!

[@SchuchDesigns]

Good question! I hope Neve can provide an answer. It certainly can be interpreted as unloaded since the impedance is not specified, but I read somewhere it was once written as dBv, but to avoid confusion (since the reference is 0.775V, NOT 1V) the lowercase v was changed to u. Thus it may not be an abbreviation for anything.

[@DE-iv8if]

​@@SchuchDesigns Could You use "dBu" also for something else. Maybe for dB over 1µV..? :/

[@MrPureBasic]

It stands for "unloaded"

[@guitarplayerfactorychannel]

I feel he posits here that volume units lead to dBu.

[@lewisticknor]

Thank you for asking this, as I had the same initial impression, but after playing it back a few times I think these two points are unrelated concerning what the U means. I guess now the search is on as to why the dBu relates to VU.

[@joeyburgio6569]

how did i get to this video what

[@mariumeplume9562]

The first time I listened to a whole clip with that much clicking

[@ksteiger]

Yeah not the best microphone choice, lol...

[@benwah1854]

Why did CBS use 150 ohms? Simple: Western-Electric and RCA.