Neve gear helps Robbie Williams achieve record-breaking success

Robbie Williams' vocal engineer has opened up about the secrets used to create his record-breaking new album, as Headliner recently discovered…

Music producer and audio engineer, Thai Long Ly was part of the team of engineers working on the production of XXV - Williams’ 14th solo album, which dropped in September.

The album shot straight to the top of the charts, and helped Williams become the solo artist with the most UK Number 1 albums.

“Working with Robbie is a treat,” says Thai. "I was recommended to work with him a few years ago on a project and I’m honoured he keeps calling me back.”

Two channels of Neve 1073 were used as part of a signal path to track half of the album, and to Thai, the results speak for themselves.

“The 1073 has a richness and roundness that really pairs well with Rob’s inherent gravel and texture,” he adds. “Plus, they’re great at handling his extreme dynamic range. His vocals come out large and clear with no sibilance and they capture his low end with authority.”

Typical recording sessions for Williams and Thai have developed to become simple and may only require a couple of takes per song.

“We’ve developed a good communication system whilst tracking and are able to capture great performances in an efficient manner,” Thai explains. “The sessions are always respectful and low-key, and good people surround him. I enjoy it because he’s real.”

Before working with Williams, Thai’s introduction to the 1073 came from various studios in L.A. that were equipped with 80 Series consoles packed with Neve 1073s or 1084s. He continues: “Once I understood what I was hearing and how to gain stage for the amount of character I was after, I realised nothing else does what a 1073 circuit does.”

The Neve 1073 uses a discrete class-A circuitry throughout which is entirely free from crossover distortion and produces a subtle warm and musical analogue hue to any line or microphone source.

Thai favours analogue gear, using it as the centre of his tracking and mixing workflow, and there is rarely a session that doesn’t involve Neve equipment.

At EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California, he uses the custom Neve 8078 or 8028 consoles and personally owns the Neve 1073DPX and 33069/N.

Meanwhile, his two Neve 1073OPXs, two additional 1073DPXs and one 8803 will be used in the PMJ Nashville studio for all Postmodern Jukebox videos starting in spring of 2023.

“The Neve sound is the sound of a finished record,” he concludes. “It’s only when you start to push the inputs and drive the circuits that you find out what separates the good from the greats.

“This is where all the character and tone lives and this is where Neve begins to shine.”