PRODUCERS who work with the likes of U2, Prince and Jay Z have thrown their weight behind a music mixing ‘plug-in’ developed in Burnley.

For years the RMX 16 digital reverb system, the brainchild of Mark Crabtree, managing director of Billington Road-based AMS Neve, was the essential piece of kit for any self-respecting studio wizard.

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But today with the components for the hardware version no longer available, Mark has gone back to the drawing board with Universal Audio.

So now with the equipment out of production since 1990, a new generation can engineer their own bedroom classics.

The Burnley sonic ace sat down and painstakingly recreated all of the same effects, with new algorithims, and has already received several plaudits.

Young Guru, who works with Jay Z and Beyonce, is a fan, along with Kevin Killen, who engineered U2’s The Unforgettable Fire and produced several Elvis Costello albums, And Chuck Zwicky, who engineered Prince’s Crystal Ball album, is suitably impressed with the new plug-in’s range of effects.

Mark said: “Digital equipment has a nasty habit of becoming obsolete within a very short space of time. Even Apple products are out of date in a year. But the RMX 16 has stood the test of time due to the amazing sounds it can produce, and I’m so proud when I still see the original, which I developed 33 years ago, still being used today in internationally renowned studios.

“The system has been used by famous artists of the 60s, right through the decades, with today’s top artists still favouring the system relying on its sound.”

Steve Rumbelow, Burnley Council’s chief executive, added: “This is fantastic news, another world-class product made here in Burnley, building on Burnley’s reputation as a centre for advanced manufacturing excellence.

Other superstars who have used the equipment in their recording include Radiohead, Peter Gabriel and Rihanna, The company has become renowned for its studio soundboard engineering, especially in films, and is pivotal in most Oscar or Golden Globe winning soundtracks, over the past few years.