EQ Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 10)

PUNCH IN FASTIDIOUS FIDELITY Mr. Scruff Squeezes Every Last Frequency Band Out of his Grooves BY RICHARD THOMAS In this age of portable music collections and ultra-compressed mp3s, the life of a fastidious audiophile is a tricky one—especially if you happen to be a DJ like Andy Carthy (a.k.a. Mr. Scruff). Known as much for his relentless pursuit of high fidelity as he is for his love of cartoons and a good brew—he moonlights as CEO of his own organic, fair-trade tea company— Carthy’s soundchecks run longer than most DJ’s actual gigs. But it’s exactly this keen attention to detail that separates him from more plug-and-play performers. “In order to be made well, tea, beer, or anything has to be made by very obsessive, geeky people who really love what they’re doing,” says Carthy. “It’s a blend of being very serious, but also being light-hearted and relaxed.” Vinyl is Carthy’s weapon of choice, and his entire DJ setup is perched atop a rumble-free steel platform bolstered with huge concrete slabs. He uses a Formula Sound PM-100 mixer— a modular system more commonly found in broadcast studios—hooked up to three Vestax PDX-2300 turntables outfitted with Rega tonearms and Grado 200i cartridges. The decks are modified with custom-made Isonoe preamps with single-ended transformer outputs. Isonoe Isolation Feet—reinforced with Sorbothane shock and vibration absorption material—cut down on resonance, and external power supplies are encased in separate boxes to cut down on any unwanted hum picked up by the ultrasensitive tonearms and cartridges. Supplemental outboard gear includes a TC Electronics D2 Digital Delay on an auxiliary send, and a Drawmer 1961 EQ on the master effects loop. Everything is connected with loads of posh Van Damme cables, and Carthy’s personal engineer is present at every gig to ensure sound quality is up to snuff. “I don’t want anyone to have sore ears after hearing me play,” Carthy says. “The system also helps me bring different genres of music together— some old Latin stuff, some Northern Soul, or some dubstep—so that a thin, old pressing can stand up to a very modern and well-mixed one. I’m sure in three or four years my entire DJ setup will be up to mastering studio standards—never mind the basic recording studio standards.” Due to a perpetually flooding basement, Carthy’s living space isn’t able to accommodate much of a home studio, so most of his tinkering occurs via his laptop and a pair of headphones. To record Ninja Tuna [Ninja Tune], his fourth full-length release, Carthy transplanted all his outboard gear to Manchester’s Zombie Studios, which is owned and operated by Andy Kingslow and longtime friend Phil Kerby. Like his DJ sets, the album is a festive experiment in groove, ranging from the Latin swing of “Stockport Carnival,” to the disco house of the Moog-infused “Get On Down,” to the haunting organ-driven funk of “Music 10 EQ MARCH 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2009

EQ Magazine - March 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Mr. Scruff Apollo Sunshine Al Schmitt Toolbox Third Eye Blind Kind of Blue Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Ableton Live Vocal Tools Gadgets & Goodies Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - March 2009

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