RECORDING
ABOUT THE STUDIO
Tilehouse Studios was designed in 1979 for Mike Oldfield and is situated in picturesque Buckinghamshire countryside in Denham, Uxbridge, just 25 minutes from Central London by train from Marylebone. The studio gets its name from the unique tiles on the walls of the Live Room and Control Room and also because of its location on Tilehouse Lane.
RECORDING & EQUIPMENT
At the heart of the studio is our beautiful sounding vintage Studer 189 mixing console built in 1970. The studio offers the best of both analogue and digital high-end recording options. We have a fantastic selection of vintage and modern Equipment including an original Mellotron M400 from 1973. Whatever genre of music you play and whatever sound you are after we can help you record it.
ANALOGUE - STUDER A800 / A80
We have a fantastic 2-inch 16-track Studer A800 tape machine - the same model of tape machine responsible for recording countless multi-platinum albums, not least Nirvana's Nevermind and Jeff Buckley's Grace. Here at Tilehouse it is possibly to make pure analogue records without the use of computers in any part of the recording or mixing process by mixing to 2-track quarter-inch tape on our Studer A80 tape machine..
DIGITAL - PRO TOOLS HDX
The digital side of the studio is covered by a Pro Tools HDX rig with pristine sounding Apogee Symphony IO converters. It is possible to use a combination of analogue and digital in the studio and many bands prefer to record drums and bass live to tape before transferring to the digital world for the convenience of overdubbing, editing and mixing in Pro Tools.
THE ROOMS & THE TILES
The studio is made up of three rooms: Control Room, Live Room and Dead Room/Booth. Tiles were chosen specifically to make the Live Room reflective. The studio was built before before the arrival of digital reverb and room emulations at a time when the sound of a room was vitally important. All options are covered at Tilehouse with tiles at one of end of the Live Room, dampening at the other end and a separate Dead Room. We also have curtains and acoustic screens for dampening where necessary. The rooms are acoustically designed to the highest standard by renowned studio designer, Eddie Veale. Even the stairs sound good, which is why we always have a mic in the stairwell for a larger than life Led Zeppelin-esque drum sound!
STAFF
Luke Oldfield manages and operates the studio and is a seasoned studio engineer with years of experience as an engineer, musician and producer. His studio credits include Metronomy's top 10 album "Love Letters" on which he played lead guitar on the opening track and The Wytches Top 50 debut album "Annabel Dream Reader", which he recorded and mixed. When Luke is not at Tilehouse he can often be found at all-analogue Toe Rag Studios in London or playing with his band GypsyFingers.
ACCOMMODATION
If you'd like to stay there are lots of options all a stone's throw or at least within a short walking distance from the studio. We have our own apartment directly below the studio and there are also hotel and B&B options literally across the road. Please ask if you'd like us to enquire about rooms for you and to get the best room rates. Accommodation is arranged separately from the studio booking and its best to book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Vintage Studio
Analogue Recording
Fantastic Live Room