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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Vinyl chasing!



Drums & fifes... the hounds unlashed... found these nuggets hidden in dusty flea-market carton boxes lying on the tarmac...


















Yeah!




Sunday, January 28, 2018

The Poser Studer C 37








Bert Jansch at Waverly Studio




Look at the beauty of this pix: Bert with one of his several borrowed acoustic guitars, here a nice Gibson... and the two AKG C24s' stereo mikes with capsules set as mono...


This pix comes from Nathan Joseph's shooting session at Waverly Studios... the missing Bert's sessions.

How I'd wish them to be re-surrected and made available...



Thursday, January 25, 2018

Brian Eno's seldom read facts...




Brian Eno is a producer, writer, and multi-instrumental musician, legendary both in his own right as a pioneer of ambient music, and in the work he’s done across his vast career with others, like Bryan Ferry’s band Roxy Music. He is perhaps best known in mainstream circles for his incomparable synthesizer and soundscapes work on David Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy” of albums — Low, Heroes, and Lodger — all produced by Tony Visconti with visionary help from Eno, and for producing records with pop artists like U2, Coldplay, Sinéad O’Connor, King Crimson, Bauhaus, The Ramones, Heart, and many more.
But there’s so much more to him than meets the framed platinum record… His body of work is surprisingly eclectic. Here are just a few surprises from his catalog.

1. “The Microsoft Sound”

Anyone who owned a PC in the ’90s is intimately familiar with the chimes that rang out when their Windows 95 operating system loaded. It turns out that sound was created by none other than Eno himself.
Tasked with coming up with an “inspiring, universal, sentimental, futuristic… and emotional” micro-song, Eno went to work. The only parameter was that “it had to be 3.25 seconds long.” Nevertheless, he rose to the challenge and created 84 pieces for submission to the project.
The chosen track would eventually enter the consciousness of millions of computer users the world over. Somewhat ironically, he composed the entire thing on a Mac!

2. The Dune Soundtrack

The soundtrack to David Lynch’s 1984 sci-fi epic Dune was produced by Brian Eno and largely written by Toto, although one song (“Prophecy Theme”) was penned by Eno himself, alongside ambient synthesizer-soundscapes producer Daniel Lanois and Brian’s brother, Roger.
Rumor has it that Eno wrote an entire soundtrack for the film on his own but ultimately decided to hand the writing reins over to Toto. I would love to hear that original music one day, but alas, who knows if it will ever surface!

3. Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

The debut album by Ohio new wave weirdos Devo had tons of top producers clamoring to be involved. Iggy Pop and David Bowie both expressed interest, and although Eno eventually won out, Bowie is rumored to have helped “on the weekends.”
Unfortunately, it was not an easy project — Eno found the band difficult to work with and resistant to his suggestions. It’s really no wonder, either. The aesthetic identities of the two artistic parties don’t really mesh at all. Where Eno wanted a warm and atmospheric sound, Devo’s vibe was cold, mechanical, and robotic. The album was initially released to mixed reviews, but in the years that have followed, it’s become a new wave classic.

4. The Spore Soundtrack

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Brian Eno contributed Reich-inspired electronic soundscapes to the soundtrack of the video game Spore. The 2008 game, which centers around developing your own creatures, features unique music that evolves with how you play. For instance, the music is different if you choose to raise a herbivore or a carnivore, a large animal or a small animal, etc.
Uniquely, players never hear the same song twice. The interactive soundtrack was a perfect fit for Eno, and no doubt a lot of fun to produce. Contributions were also made by Cliff Martinez of Drive, Contagion, and Traffic soundtrack fame.

5. Talking Heads’ Remain in Light

Although Eno and the Talking Heads had worked together before, and David Byrne would later go on to record a duo album with Eno, this particular project was considered a bit of a departure for both parties musically. In fact, in order to tour in support of the music, the band had to expand their roster.
Remain in Light was more heavily influenced by world music with the stated goal being to blend Western rock energy and African rhythms. The resulting album became an instant classic and included the hit single “Once in a Lifetime,” in which Eno used a different rhythm count for some members than others.

6. Paul Simon’s Surprise

For many, the collaboration between the two on Paul Simons 2006 release, Surprisecame as an actual surprise. At face value, it would seem the two artists were from two different worlds entirely — Eno’s synthesized soundscapes and Simon’s world-music-influenced acoustic folk might not seem to be an obvious marriage. But on the contrary, Simon notably stated that, “We’re both ‘sounds’ people… We’re both about soundscapes.” And, in fact, some of the songs do feature some very Eno-esque trippiness — the track “Another Galaxy,” for example.
It’s worth mentioning that the album was Paul Simon’s highest-charting success since 1990’s Rhythm of the Saints. It’s also worth mentioning that Herbie Hancock, Pino Palladino, and Bill Frisell all played on this album. Surprise!

7. “Only Once Away, My Son” (with Kevin Shields)

Kevin Shields, the vocalist and guitarist for shoegaze mainstay My Bloody Valentine teamed up with Eno to produce a new track for Adult Swim’s Singles Program. The TV network has been commissioning various artists to release around 30 songs a year.
The result, “Only Once Away, My Son,” is over nine minutes of lush, ambient landscapes complete with dark waves of synthesizer, big distorted guitar drones, and chimes. The real surprise here is that these two, cut from similar cloths, haven’t managed to team up before!

8. Songs from Cool World

Eno contributed one exclusive, new song to the soundtrack for the film Cool Worldwhich features Brad Pitt and Kim Basinger. Other contributors to the music include the late David Bowie (with Nile Rodgers), Moby, Pure, Ministry, and the Future Sound of London.
While Eno contributing to soundtracks is nothing new for Eno, what is surprising is this particular film — a very risqué combination of live action and cartoon. The movie itself is a strange cult favorite, ostensibly about a creator that falls passionately in love with his bombshell of a creation and her struggle to become real. The movie never found its niche, but the soundtrack — a mix of jazz, pop, electronic music, and cinematic orchestral pieces — was quite well-received.

9. Willie Nelson and U2’s “Slow Dancing”

This might just be the oddest collaboration on here, but somehow, it works. Almost a decade before it actually got recorded in the ’90s, U2 wrote “Slow Dancing” for Willie Nelson. Although a simple acoustic track was released as a B-side, the band eventually decided to revisit the track and collaborate with Nelson in the studio. But this time with a strange secret weapon: background vocals provided by Brian Eno! Can you hear it?

10. Grace Jones’ Hurricane

Grace Jones is a force of nature in the entertainment world. She has pioneered as a supermodel, an actress, a producer, and of course, a recording and performing artist. Initially a disco artist, she got into all kinds of styles throughout her lengthy career, including new wave, reggae and pop.
As her career began to wane, she vowed never to record another album again — and didn’t for about 20 years. Hurricane, her widely acclaimed 2008 comeback album, featured a whole new style, a bit closer to trip hop. Eno contributed, naturally, with his signature keyboards, effects, and sonic treatments, as well as backing vocals.

11. African Artists

In the late ’90s, Eno and his longtime ambient collaborator, trumpeter, and composer Jon Hassell contributed some deep, new-agey synthesized soundscapes to Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal’s track “Lam Lam.” As a side note, remember how Talking Heads’ Remain in Light featured an attention toward “African sounds”? Well, Jon Hassell also played trumpet on that record all the way back in 1980!
In 2011, Eno also coproduced Seun Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80’s album, From Africa with Fury: Rise. Kuti is the son of Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.
To learn about modern mixing production techniques (like EQ, Compression, Level, Pan Setting, Digital Signal Processing, FX Sends, and so much more) from some of today’s leading sound engineers, preview Soundfly’s newest and most in-depth mentorship-assisted online mixing courses, Faders Up I & II: Modern Mix Techniques and Advanced Mix Techniques, for free today!
And right now, if you sign up for either course before January 31, you can take 30% off (that’s $150) with the exclusive code MIXINGMONTH.
*This article has been edited, a previous version included the misleading phrase, “He is perhaps best known in mainstream circles for his incomparable production work on David Bowie’s ‘Berlin Trilogy’ of albums.”

Thanking Dan Reifsnyder for the above nice article.

The Jackson C. Frank's Martin D 28





The 1948 Jackson C. Frank D 28 reappeared... finally in the light of day.......the 1948 C.F. Martin D-28 that was used by Jackson C. Frank  to write and record his first and only album and that is pictured on his only album cover.  This gorgeous D-28 has been with one owner since Dec. 1966.  Before that, from early 1965 until Dec. 1966, Jackson C. Frank was in London and used this guitar to compose and record his first and only album, titled:  "Jackson C. Frank".  In Dec. of 1966, he decided to go back to America and sold this guitar to a guitar shop in Richmond.  Seamlessly, a client of the shop who frequented it often got a call from the owner to tell him that Jackson's D-28 was in the back room and that he should come to see it.  Needless to say, it went home with this person.  Noone has known of it's whereabouts until now and we have had the great priviledge of buying it directly from that owner.  It will be one of the more important guitars that we will have the privilege of owning and is an important cog in the wheel of Jackson's tragic life story and musical career. 
     It happens that Jackson owned another D-28 until early 1965, at which time he somehow put a microphone thru the top.  The very next day, he went to a guitar shop in Richmond ( the very same mentioned above) and for two other guitars that he had along with some money purchased this 1948 D-28.  From that point on, his writing accelerated and within the two year period of 1965 thru 1966, he wrote and recorded his one and only album, which was to influence all of the major players in the English folk world, iincluding Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, to name just a few who have commented over the years about the huge influence Jackson had at this particular time.  Many said as much as Bob Dylan.  Jackson's playing style was unique and fluid with a suppleness that combined well with his wordsmith abilities.  His style impacted the folk world as much as Davey Graham and still his music is considered enlightened and of a very high order.




     The guitar is in exceptional, all original condition and has a unique voice for a 40's D-28.  You can hear Jackson in this guitar and one wonders who had the most influence in this relationship of guitar and player. Exceptional Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack spruce top provide the structure that inspired Jackson to his greatest moments.  This guitar was the element that inspired it to happen. It is accompanied by the original  receipt from the shop in Richmond dated Dec. 1966 and a testimony from the previous owner.  
Amazing.
    Relative to price:  I haven't priced the guitar because I am working to be sure it gets involved in some documentary and musical endeavours that are very coincidentally happening at the moment.  Not to create some extraordinary value, but to let it be known that this guitar exists.  It was dormant for over 60 years since Frank sold it and it has now come to light........it would be a shame for it to go obscure again so quickly.

Anyone?




Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Hugh Masekela passed away...






RIP




Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and the dog




I recently got the elegant book-like 4-disks set of first four, seminal Transatlantic's albums of Bert Jansch, freshly issued on Earth records with Bert Jansch Foundation blessing.

I've been a loyal and grateful scholar and lover of Bert's music since my short trousers years and own all the sought-after vinyl discs first pressings of the eponymous first, It Don't Bother me, Jack Orion and Bert & John, albums I listened and listened, sipping their beauty and most important, getting the inspiration to play guitar, as well.



... so, why I bought this disks?

To pay hommage to Bert, to own an easy media to listen to the beloved music at home, where I don't use any turntable or in the car... and...

... to appreciate or blame modern-day mastering and digital rendition of these classics...

Do the average, tattooed studio tech-head hear and is him respectful and faithful to the original master-tape or its hi-rez digital safety copy?

Three of the a.m. four titles - but It Don't Bother me - were recorded in Bill Leader's dining room, in London by Mr. Leader himself using a (tube) Revox G36 and - who knows? - maybe a Reslo or Coles' mike.

I listened to this music for decades... last time... dunno, maybe 4 or 5 years ago...

... but what I noticed this evening during a short, yet much enjoyable listening sessions, while listening to Bert & John was surprising, at least!



During Mingus' Goodbye Pork-pie Hat duet, Bert is on right speaker and John at left... I was immersed in the beautiful interweaving guitars and, suddenly, a dog was barking on right channel, in the background.

I was so surprised I was thinking it was outside my studio when another woof appeared at left, the same dog barking, apparently.

Then on Tic-Tocative, another duet... again the same medium-sized dog, slightly more in the background.

Bill Leader's dog, outside in the yard?

Why I didn't noticed this woofing-dog before, during the several explorations of the original vinyl disc?

My past systems weren't that transparent?

I suspect the above to be the answer, pals... as I always say, it's not the noise itself, but the discovery of the hidden noise in a recording.

When I turned-off the Gotorama and took a short walk homebound, I smiled: it was a couple of days I hadn't a satisfying music-dose in my studio and the daily-job diet was poisoning my soul, day after day.

To my surprise, I was feeling different, better.

Music truly is healing, easy and deep, food for mind and soul.



Woof!






Sunday, January 21, 2018

D.A.V. Electronics - the Decca Studio Heritage...





Designer Talk : Mick Hinton | D.A.V. Electronics


Mick Hinton is the man behind D.A.V. Electronics based in West London. Having worked at Decca Studios for over 29 years he launched his range of Broadhurst Gardens ( BG ) in early 2001 and has now grown his product catalogue to include EQ’s, Compressors, Summing, Re-amps, Guitar Control Room Interfaces and Monitor controllers. 
All of these feature the same low noise designs and are handmade in the UK proving popular with established artists and studios such as British Grove, David Gilmour, Metropolis and The Exchange as well as many clients worldwide.
I caught up with Mick to find out how it all came about, and his ideas behind the designs.
 
 
KMR NM Author Button
KMR : So Mick were you always into sound and designing or was it from experimenting with electronic equipment that got you started?
MH : Well, years ago when Hi-Fi first started people had Radiograms but they never really sounded that good if you compared it to somebody who had a Hi-Fi setup.
So I built my first set of speakers after getting a book ‘ Loudspeakers' by G.A Briggs and connected them to a Radiogram and it was a 100% improvement in the sound and that got me started.

KMR : Did you start recording music or just loved listening to it?
MH : I’ve never recorded in my life, I’ve always played the guitar, but I’ve always liked music and especially the sound, the Hi-Fidelity sound, and you couldn't get that unless you bought separate amplifier, turntable and a speaker setup, you just couldn't get that in a Radiogram or Record player on their own.
First of all, I bought a Japanese valve power amp in the 60’s, then a preamp and power amp, then a Rodgers transistor setup and then I started building my own equipment. When I started working for Decca obviously all the components were available, so I built amps for Decca and built one for myself as well.

Decca Logo

KMR : How did you get the job at Decca?
MH : I wrote three letters, one to Decca, one to EMI and one to CBS, as they were the only Studios around in London really that I knew of.
Decca replied and I went for a walk around the studios. It wasn't an interview or anything I just went for a walk around and they asked "what are you interested in", and I said Hi-Fi and that I’d been studying electronics for 3 years, and the guy just said, "yeah you’ve got the job."
I went to see the boss Arthur Haddy, they never had a salary scale at Decca, he just said what he thought on the day really, he said "how much you getting now?" and I said £10 a week and he said, " well we’ll put you on £20". So I said yeah that’s great.
Decca Broadhurst Gardens 1963
When I started working at Decca I found out that I was earning more than some people who had been there for 10 years! It was a while afterwards that we all got involved with unions and things like that as everyone was all earning different money.
I got a reply from Abbey Road and CBS, but I’d already accepted the job at Decca, which was a good move as I was there 29 years. I don’t think I’d have been at Abbey Road that long or CBS!
I joined in 1969, and when I got there Decca was just going into Stereo, as everything earlier up until then had been in mono - as they’d been going a long long time since before the 1940’s. Most of the people working there were ex-Army and ex-RAF, they were all ex Radio Operators.
Decca Studio1Decca Studio2 1967

KMR : Was it all white lab coats everywhere?
MH : Brown coats!!…and the Tech staff wore White coats! But when I joined I wore a coat for about a month, then I thought oh sod this! - because if you walked into a studio with the band and you came in wearing a coat they thought there was something seriously wrong! - so I ditched the coat and then you could play cards and have a chat with them.

KMR : I’m thinking maybe I should have a white lab coat in my studio…
MH : oh yeah, I put one on here when I’m making my gear all the time…haha..

KMR : As you were in design and maintenance at Decca, did you make products as well for other people?
MH : I remember making something for The Bachelors, the group, they used to have Strings on stage and it used to cost them quite a lot of money for 4 or 5 violin players, so I made them an echo device which made 1 violinist sound like 5 - and it saved them a fortune when they were touring.

KMR : So how did Decca eventually come to close?
MH : Well, we were making our own equipment at Decca, and soon in the digital world, it was far more difficult to make digital equipment than in the analog world, as purchasing it elsewhere eventually for less became an option.
Decca was also purely doing Classical music, as we’d been taken over and the Pop side went somewhere else, and classical music wasn’t selling that well. It used to cost a lot of money to send a team of technicians to Vienna with a couple of multi-tracks or whatever and stay there recording for 1 or 2 months.

KMR : When did you leave Decca?
MH : When Belsize Road Studios closed, they kept me on until the last as they were still editing stuff, they needed a maintenance engineer there, When everyone left I stayed for another 3 months, it was about 1998, when Decca closed actually.

KMR : How long afterwards did you think of doing the D.A.V. thing?
MH : Oh I’d already done it, a friend of mine was into video and had a video company and I was doing the audio design for him - and I’d designed a 24 channel audio mixer for TV and made a couple of them, and built them in conjunction with my friend. Something I started doing about 4 years before Decca finished as I’d always repaired audio equipment as a side line as Decca was always a passion ‘hobby job’.

KMR : Was that when D.A.V. started?
MH : Yes, but I just make customer equipment that anybody wanted, amplifiers etc - I’d make stuff for people like the Moody Blues, the Bachelors, repairing stuff and making pedals and it just grew as a part time job alongside Decca into Digital Audio Visual Electronics ( D.A.V. ).
When Decca closed I was purely in maintenance repairing U-matics, like DMR2000’s, DMR4000’s and I was used by all the mastering places in England, The Exchange, Abbey Road, Metropolis as there was nobody around who could repair these U-matics. But then that slowed when people went over to things like Sadie, so I thought I better do something else, and I then designed the Broadhurst Gardens 1 ( BG1 ).

DAV BG1 KMR

KMR : Was the BG1 designed for someone specifically?
MH : I’d actually designed it for Decca, I built many 4 channel mic amps for us there and when I left I didn’t think of carrying it on, I was just doing maintenance which was great. Then it was only a few years later it dried up a bit so it was then I started making them.
I then got an email from a guy in the states called Hudson Fair*, he had a recording company over there, and he read an interview in the Gramaphone magazine where an ex-Decca engineer had mentioned that he’d bought a mic preamp from me. He was called Simon Eadon, and I was calling it the ‘Crystal Clear’ mic amp at the time, and Hudson Fair bought one, a four channel version - and I sent it to him and he said it was the best mic amp he’d heard. He got onto Gearslutz telling everybody about it, and it all started from there.
( *Hudson Fair, is a Grammy winning Classical Recording Engineer with over 34 years in the recording industry with over 370 releases. )

DAV BG2 KMR

I never advertised anywhere, and then about a year later KMR came to me and raised the profile, but it was this guy in the States who started it for me, and he’s still on Gearslutz talking about my gear. It was pure luck, but I really appreciated it!

KMR : I know many studios use the DI as well as the mic-pre on the 500-Series version the BG501, as they prefer your clean approach - I would say it’s musical...
MH : I should have called all my stuff ‘Crystal Clear ‘ which would have described it better! - but then again people do say it has ‘colour’. So everybody can decide themselves really.
DAV BG501 KMR

KMR : What are you most proud off - is it the BG1 as it started it all off?
MH : Yes as the BG1 is what started it all off, and they’re still going strong alongside the BG501 for the 500-Series format and the BG1U Rack.

DAV BG1U KMR
DAV BG1U Rear KMR

KMR : Do you prefer to make everything by hand?
MH : Yes, as it’s the quality control I can look after - there was a time when I used to have a wireman when I was really busy, and then I'd finish them off myself, and I do have a couple of other people who work for me, but the QC is all done by me here in-house.
The metalwork is made in the UK, it’s all British made by a company called Bryant Broadcast, the only things that I buy that aren't British are the switches, they’re Greyhill switches from USA and high quality.
Bryant are more of a video company, but they have a nice metalwork company there, and I send them a drawing and they come back really well.

KMR : Why do you think your design stands up so well against other product that are sometimes 2-3 times the price?
MH : The philosophy at Decca was ' the simpler the better'. If there was an electronic piece of kit that was good, why make it yourself, if it was good? - Also it makes it easy to service, especially when sending products all around the world.
Sometimes there is so much labour involved in making equipment, so you can understand why certain products are made in China. But when they need servicing or repairing the cost can be unappealing to the customer due to the work involved.

KMR : What's the most labour intensive, or complicated design you make?
MH : The most complicated thing I build is the BG4 Limiter, as it’s got transistors in it.
Both the BG4 and the BG7 is the Decca limiter, which is discrete and IC, and it’s quite a complicated limiter which is the original 1976 design. But this design was used on all Decca Masters in Classical, Pop and Rock.

DAV BG4 KMR

KMR : Your equipment has always impressed by how good it sounds - the appearance is definately functional, but then that’s quite appealing don't you think?
MH : Yeah, the thing that could let my gear down, is the front panels - But if I had a more ‘professional’ front panel the metal work costs a lot, and it would be more money to make it, say ‘more attractive’ - and it would probably double the price at least.

KMR : I think it’s good to know that where the money goes is on the inside rather than the outside.
MH : Yes, my philosophy is just very low noise distortion. If you want distortion add it after you’ve recorded it!

KMR : How do you keep coming up with ideas and designs like the S.I.P.P and the Control Room Guitar Interface?
MH : Mainly it’s engineers and people, for example, like the engineers at British Grove, who I’ve known for years. They'll ask me to design a few pieces of gear, and then I see how they sound and work. Then sometimes I take a design forward and develop it. Which was how the Monitor Controller came about, as they’ve got about 5 of them.

DAV SIPP KMR

DAV BRITISH GROVE KMR

I actually build my own volume controls, I have a company in England that I deal with, and they give me the wafers, I match them up and then send them back and they make a pot out of the two wafers. This way I can get them to be matched to within 0.5db.
On my monitor controller there are two stereo matched pots, one on the headphones and one on the speakers. If I used switches there it would cost a lot more money, but this way I match the wafers here, pair them up, and then they put the spindles on.

DAV Monitor KMR
DAV Monitor Rear KMR

KMR : Is being aware of design costs something you picked up from Decca or for yourself with D.A.V?
MH : Oh doing it myself! - as at Decca costs didn’t come into it, they were just make it, whatever ! I’ve been buying stereo pots for years now, but they’re never really matched, and if you want a good left right image you can’t use a cheap pot.

KMR : This is really interesting, as you’re keeping the quality but also making sure the price isn’t unrealistic...
MH : Yes that's why all my amps use switches, except for the monitor controller of course, I mean you can go to companies like Alps in Japan and they’ll make you a stereo pot but then they want you to take quantities of like 2000.
I try to make the best equipment I can, at a reasonable cost because if I used the Decca cost philosophy of ‘cost doesn’t matter’ - then people may not want to buy it.

KMR : Do you do modifications of your current products for clients?
MH : Yes, I’ve had the occasional mastering engineers using my BG3 EQ ask for requests and I’ve done mod’s for them, where they want 0.25db or 0.5db steps. So I can do specific versions for clients should they need things changing, but generally my EQ's are popular as they are, but I have done updated revisions for the BG3 EQ.

DAV BG3 mk4 KMR

KMR : The BG504 limiter/comp is your new design for the 500-Series?
MH : Yes the BG504 is an optical compressor, more like a Fairchild or something like that. It’s clean, very very low distortion but it’s not as fast as the Decca one... there’s a slight delay on the Optical side. It’s slower, and doesn’t operate as fast, but it’s very musical.

DAV BG504 KMR

KMR : Are there any products you wish you’d designed or thought, I wish I’d come out with that?
MH : I was thinking about it for years as I was thinking of a tape simulator. I was going to do it, as it’s fairly easy, but I won’t bother now, it would have been an interesting design. The only thing with my sound now is all my gear is based upon low noise, low distortion and then they’d be me putting out something with loads of white noise! - so I decided not to do it.

KMR : What’s been your biggest challenge you found designing and making your own gear?
MH : Well, when I was really busy, I couldn’t go out much! - but now the orders are more manageable and I have enough time to balance it all really.

KMR : Finally Mick, your Studio / workshop is burning down and you can grab three things!...what and why?
MH : Well, it’d be :
  • The Audio Precision System One - it's a computerised audio test set, it does all the frequency responses, noise, distortion - everything. I can work without it with a meter, but this is so much easier…
  • My Hardrive - with all my designs and everything on it..hopefully!
  • My classic US Black Fender Strat - it’s hanging on the wall in my workshop and I test all my DI’s with - it’s the only time I play it!

KMR : Isn’t that 'overkill' having a classic Strat just testing your DI’s?... haha
MH : Haha yeah…I’ve got a Les Paul as well though, and funny story is the Gibson I got when i’d just been made redundant from Decca, I saw it in London and bought it. Then went back a few weeks later to buy some strings and things, and they told me that they’d sold it to me without their mark-up on it - they’d sold it to me at cost!
KMR : Thanks for the interview Mick!

DAV Electronics Logo