Mark Tufty Evans - Renown Producer

Friday 5th September 2008

Looking back through the varied and distinguished career of Mark 'Tufty' Evans, it's clear to see that he's an engineer and producer who's capable of turning his hand to suit almost any artist who books time at his Berkshire-based Wispington Studios.

Since opening back in 2003, both Tufty and Wispington Studios have become firm favourites with those needing the expert ear of an engineer who specialises in the mixing process, expertly fashioning the raw material on the multi-tracks into perfectly crafted stereo mixes.

But way before that Tufty had already racked up some impressive credits, cutting his production teeth as house engineer for Peter-John Vettesse's legendary Area 21 studio. He's worked with a huge list of industry heavyweights and up-and-coming artists alike - the Bee Gees, Heather Small, Joe Cocker and Tina Arena have all benefited from Tufty's mixing prowess. And in the five years since Wispington Studios opened its doors, he's also played host to the likes of Girls Aloud, Beverly Knight, Melanie C, Fluke…

Tufty has earned his reputation in the studio through his ability to cope with anything that's thrown at him, so the gear he uses needs to be able to keep up with the myriad challenges he overcomes daily to further build on the success that's put him in the a-list of mix engineers. So amongst the racks of high-end outboard and software he relies on to get the job done, you'll also find a few sE mics to hand…

"I'm just completing the final mixes of Robin Gibb's new album, and I bet that it's the first time anyone's used an sE mic to record a large group of bagpipes!

I've also just finished recording an LP for a new artist called Arthur Delaney, which called for the recording of a wide range of instruments - sitar, tablas, bodhran, cora, fiddle, acoustic guitars, dhol drums, double bass, acoustic drums… loads of different instruments from around the world, in fact. During the recording I found myself reaching for the Gemini II just as much as my Brauner VM1 when I needed a large capsule condenser - especially for the double bass. When I need a greater amount of detail in the lower-mids, or just that 'thudiness' you need when recording low-frequency percussion… I'm reaching for the Gemini."

But the dual-valve Gemini has also been put to good use for more subtle applications. "While recording drums for a new artist - Ben Montague - at Fisher Lane Farm [Studios, owned by Genesis], I was using the Gemini II to pick up drum ambience in the famous Stone Room. And after an unreasonable amount of compression the staff at the studio were jumping up and down about how the ambience sounded more like Phil Collins than Phil Collins sounded!"

Tufty may be a convert to the way sE's Gemini can ably deal with practically any recording situation that's thrown at it, but he also embraces modern techniques and equipment when the situation demands it. And for the perfect acoustic recording, what could be better than sE's GM10 - the mic that actually clips onto an acoustic guitar to ensure consistent levels to tape, no matter what the talent does.

"Of course, the GM10 is a genius design for a recording engineer, for the obvious reason that it stays right on the sweet spot of an acoustic strung instrument. It's been developed for acoustic guitar, but I'll usually try and strap it to anything that makes a noise these days!"

"I very quickly saw the genius in the design of the GM10. Consequently I don't think I will ever use a pick-up for recording an acoustic guitar again."

For Mark 'Tufty' Evans, please contact:

Fraser Kennedy - fken10353@aol.com