Oxford plug-ins get the Spike treatment

Over the last 20 years, Spike Drake has worked his way up from night time receptionist at Sarm studios to producer, mixer and engineer of worldwide renown.

He’s worked with industry icons New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure, to name a few. He has also engineered and mixed several number one hits including Adamski and Seals’ Killer and Spaceman by Babylon Zoo. More recently he has worked with R’n’B singer and MOBO award-winner, Beverley Knight, as well as new Geffen-signing, Headway.

Throughout his impressive career, Spike has run the whole gamut of technological developments. And the biggest change, he feels, has been the transition from analogue production and recording methods, to digital.

‘Now I do most of my mixing on the computer and spend a lot less time in the studio,’ he says. ‘When I first started out as an engineer, I worked exclusively with analogue equipment. Then at Trevor Horn’s Sarm Studios we were one of the first to use the Sony Digital 24 track. Now I use a Pro Tools HD 192 rig running the Sony Oxford plug-ins, along with all of my analogue equipment.’

But while many in the music industry are still suspicious of an over-reliance on digital production methods, Spike remains unphased.

‘If you know what can be achieved in the analogue domain then, today, you can work just as easily in the digital domain,’ he says. ‘What’s important is knowing what sounds you want and then achieving them. Now that Sony Oxford has raised the stakes with its plug-ins, it’s even easier to go for the digital option.’

And there are a number of the clever bits of software he enjoys using above all others.

‘I love the Sony Oxford EQ and it’s become one of the tools that I turn to most regularly,’ says Spike. ‘It’s great because, though it’s in the box, you rely on exactly the same principles as when you’re mixing on a normal desk.

‘Another thing I love is Trans Mod, which is excellent for putting that extra punch into percussive sounds.

‘I was recently sent a very average recording of some tom toms to use in a mix. To enhance them I used the Trans Mod, and when I’d finished it sounded as though the player was really hitting the skins.’

Apart from jazzing up poor individual performances with the Trans Mod, Spike uses the Sony Oxford Inflator to beef up elements in the mix. He freely admits that, even with his impressive engineering background, he is somewhat baffled by the plug-in’s seemingly supernatural sonic abilities.

‘It would be impossible to know what to do in the analogue domain to achieve the same results as just one fader in the Inflator,’ he says. ‘It really does something to the dynamics and the EQ that thickens the sound in an inexplicable way.

‘I also use the Inflator as a soft clipper,’ he adds. ‘When there’s a sound that I don’t want to compress too much, but that has unwelcome transients, it works well limiting in a way that doesn’t damage the signal.’

Another versatile beast in Spikes production toolkit, and one that he can’t get enough of, is the Sony Oxford Reverb.

‘I haven’t used a single other reverb since I got my hands on this.’ he enthuses. ‘What’s the point? It’s fantastic! It’s the best reverb I’ve ever heard!

‘Even though it doesn’t work on convolutions you get a plate that sounds like a plate, a hall sounds like a hall – the list goes on.

‘I only ever need to adjust three or four faders on the work surface to change the length of reverb and level of pre-delay. The presets are so good that you don’t have to mess around much. Sure, there are a lot of faders on the plug-in which can be a bit intimidating, but because of the well-designed presets it’s a tool that more-or-less anyone can use.’

Right now, Spike uses the Oxford Reverb on a number of distinguished voices, including that of up-and-coming artist Cara Dillon, signed to Rough Trade Records.

‘I’m mixing every track on Cara’s album,’ says Spike, ‘and I’m using the Oxford Reverb on her voice each and every time. Because Cara’s stuff is quite minimal, and we’re recording entirely natural instruments such as violin, piano and guitar, it’s important to choose the right reverb – one that sounds natural – and the Oxford really fits the bill.’

Interview and editorial provided by Matthew Pigott Public Relations. +44 (0)7903 723898

<<< Back to User Profiles