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Studio-Quality Home Recording: Tony Draper’s 88M, 1073SPX-D & 88C Workflow

Bringing professional studio sound to home recording has always been challenging, but Neve’s latest compact units are changing the game. Recording engineer Tony Draper demonstrates how the 88M, 88C and 1073SPX-D deliver console-quality results in a domestic setting.
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Recording engineer Tony Draper (Ibibio Sound Machine, Peter Perrett, Emilíana Torrini) recently welcomed Neve into his home studio. With over a decade of professional experience, Tony demonstrated how outboard gear like the 88M, 88C and 1073SPX-D can transform a domestic space into a professional recording environment. From tracking piano to mixing final productions, his workflow reveals how these compact Neve units deliver studio-quality results without the need for a large facility.

Tony’s journey began as a musician, first a pianist, then a guitarist, before discovering his true passion at the intersection of technology and creativity.

“I realised that I don’t really want to be a performer. I was more interested in working on other people’s music from a technological standpoint… I loved that marriage of the technology and music together.”

After formal education and training, Tony spent 11 years at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios, where he first encountered the Neve VR console. This experience shaped his understanding of what audio equipment could deliver.

“My first real introduction to Neve was working on that console… I got to know the VR very well and how classic it sounded.”

Tony learning his trade on the Neve VR console at Parr Street Studios

Tony’s experience with Neve consoles expanded when he began working with another studio that installed a Neve 88R. He was present for the installation process, even visiting the Neve factory to meet the team and learn more about what goes into the consoles. As Tony explains, the 88R was a real step up.

“We used to use the VR quite a lot for its preamps, but then the 88R was a massive step up in clarity and bandwidth and all of these sorts of things. It’s just a gorgeous sounding preamp.”

 

The Neve 88M setup to record Tony’s Yamaha U1 piano in his living room

From Console to Compact

For Tony, the 88M interface represents a revolutionary development in audio technology – bringing the pristine sound of Neve’s flagship 88R console into an accessible, portable format.

“With the 88M, you can take those same quality preamps that we were all blown away with in the 88R console, the huge format analogue console, and take it home with you or out on the road… and get that same quality of sound, that crucial input stage, in a super affordable little box.”

Tony demonstrates this by recording his Yamaha U1 piano using a pair of Neumann KM184 pencil condensers running through the 88M at 96kHz sample rate.

Throughout the session, Tony emphasises that no amount of post-processing can compensate for a poor initial recording:

“The preamps are really important for that initial capture. If you don’t capture something well in the first place… whatever you do afterwards is not going to help. That initial capture is absolutely crucial.”

This philosophy guides Tony’s approach to recording, making the quality of the 88M’s preamps essential to his workflow.

The Converter Advantage

While many focus exclusively on preamp quality, Tony highlights another critical aspect of the 88M that often goes unnoticed:

“People don’t talk about Neve converters enough. They are incredibly good, really strong, really natural sounding… It’s 3D all day long. The depth is absolutely amazing.”

He explains that quality conversion means the audio can handle subsequent processing without degradation:

“Anything I track through Neve conversion, whatever you want to do to it later—distort it, EQ it, compress it—it’ll take it really well and do it naturally.”

The 1073SPX-D is the central hub of Tony’s home setup

The 1073SPX-D: A Mixing Hub

After recording piano with the 88M, Tony moves to his mixing area where the 1073SPX-D serves as the centrepiece of his setup. It provides not only the classic Neve preamp sound but has become his primary digital converter:

“When the 1073SPX-D arrived and I plugged it in… I didn’t expect it to be the very best I’ve got. Now it is my main mix conversion. Everything I mix in here—hundreds of tracks a year—all of it is monitored through the SPX-D.”

The 1073SPX-D’s digital option also allows Tony to reprocess previously recorded tracks, as he explains:

“If a vocal needs a bit of help, we can flow straight out of the computer into the Neve through its conversion, through its line amp and EQ, do a little shaping through its transformer goodness and then straight back into the computer again.”

The 88C brings 88R compression to your desktop

Adding Character with the 88C

For the final touches, Tony experiments with the 88C compressor on his piano recording. Like the 88M, the 88C brings the classic compression characteristics of Neve’s large-format consoles into a compact unit.

“I’ve set it quite subtle, only 1.5 to 1 gain reduction, but the threshold is quite low, so it’s grabbing a lot of the signal but just squeezing it very gently… adding density to the sound and really pinning it to the front of the mix.”

Tony concludes by reflecting on what Neve equipment brings to recordings:

“There’s a real lushness to stuff that goes through Neve… It feels big and weighty and clear, which sound like opposites. How can it be weighty and also clear? But it is… It sounds classic. You just know it’s quality when you plug into it.”

From recording the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Steinway grand piano to tracking overdubs in his home studio, Tony Draper demonstrates how Neve’s portable solutions – the 88M, 1073SPX-D, and 88C, bring world-class audio quality to any environment.

With these compact yet powerful units, that signature warmth, clarity, and depth can now be achieved in any space.

Neve outboard allows Tony to get big studio sound in a small setup

Tony’s Key Points:

  • The 88M delivers the same preamp quality found in Neve’s high-end 88R console in a portable format
  • Neve’s converters provide exceptional depth and clarity that holds up through processing
  • The 1073SPX-D serves as both a preamp and high-quality conversion hub for mixing
  • The 88C compressor adds density and presence while maintaining a natural sound
  • This compact Neve setup enables professional recording quality in any environment

Experience the Neve Sound for Yourself

Ready to elevate your home recording setup? Neve’s professional-grade equipment is now more accessible than ever. Contact your nearest Neve dealer today.