Richard Chappell has to be one of the hardest working engineers around.  He is Peter Gabriel’s recording and mix engineer aswell as live monitor engineer and general live music co-ordinator. He began his work at Peter’s Real World Studios back in 1988 and it’s far from over yet!

After finishing the album ‘UP’, he went out on tour for 2 years, recorded and mixed a live DVD, and worked on another DVD of Peter’s videos all mixed in surround, on the Sony Oxford console. They are currently mixing another live DVD, and Peter is in the process of writing a new record.

We caught up with Richard to ask him a few questions.

You say you used the Sony Oxford R3 console for the surround mixes for Peter’s video DVD, could you share with us why Peter chose the Sony console?
We bought two Sony Oxford consoles 7 years ago. It came down to the sound. We did listening tests with many consoles and the Oxford always came out on top. The converters and the EQ were, and I believe still are, unbeatable. The Oxford consoles are our final way of finishing off the music recording and mixing. For 5.1and 7.1 surround mixes I still can't see anything better, even in the current new market of controllers. Sony have defined the way a console should be ergonomically set out, and looking around today, nothing comes close.

So how does ProTools come into the set up?
We feed the outputs from ProTools into the Oxford console, and with it’s huge processing power (120 EQ channels) this is the perfect environment for us to sum ProTools’ outputs.

So having used the EQ & Dynamics in the Oxford console, how do the plug-ins compare, and do you use them ?
Absolutely. In fact the Oxford EQ is the only EQ I will use now. Yes, I have the luxury of a console full of them, but sometimes I need to equalise before another plug-in, and that’s generally when I reach for the plug-in version. They sound exactly the same, and so give me the same confidence I get when I use the console. The Oxford EQ is a great musical tool which I use to sort problems out, and to give a something a nice analogue sounding boost. Of the 4 EQ types you get with the plug-in (and the console), I like using type-3 the best for some reason. I just like the way it responds, and gives a strong sheen to the top end.
The Oxford Dynamics is a great way of getting compression and limiting that works, whether you want to hear it or not. I can really drive a signal in the classic mode, getting a great slam on drums. Then in linear and normal compression mode you can get full control that will really make program stand out in a mix without hearing the limit or compression taking over the result , just like having your finger on all your faders riding every change in level but still retaining your performance. I use the Gate and Expander a lot, and the side chain input works very accurately – again, I can't tell the difference between these and the console.

The warmth option is a lovely and pleasing control and adds exactly what it says. I have used this to sort out bass synths and keyboards that need that extra firming and strength.

Have you used some of the other Oxford plug-ins ?
The combination of Inflator and TransMod makes any ProTools a great rock & roll machine. Inflator can give you more loudness without over loading and makes anything really tight and exciting, while TransMod gives you unthought-of control over drums that we only used to dream of ! You can make the weakest drum kit or loop jump right out at you and get the vibe back in the mix. Both these plugs are indispensable once you get using them over a whole mix. When you just need that little bit extra at the end of the day, these two will make the program really come alive.

I’ve just started using the new Oxford Reverb, which is crazy good! It’s so realistic sounding, and again very, very musical. The rooms you can create with this "power verb" are so original sounding, it’s very easy to create natural sounding spaces. The fact that you get an Oxford EQ in there too makes it all so flexible and in control.

Listen - the Oxford plug-in range is a MUST for anyone wanting full tonal musical depth to their work. The plug-ins never take anything away, rather they just add something extra and keep any engineer smiling and happy in their work! Such care has gone into this technology that it shows clearly these Oxford people love music and are passionate about their work.
They simply sound the best and I couldn't work as well without them.

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