Digi-Talk: Pro Tools Power User Rich Tozzoli
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Rich Tozzoli
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Tozzoli makes his home in Brooklyn New York, and can be found working out of Gizmo Enterprises in Manhattan a couple days a week, and the rest of the week he freelances with his portable (and powerful) Pro Tools system. This rig consists of a 800 Mhz Powerbook G4 with a Magma CB2 chassis, loaded with a Pro Tools HD system with process card, connected to a Digidesign 192k I/O.
“On drum loops, the LA-2A... does something special, with just a little bit of compression, it makes the whole loop punchier, especially in the low end.”
Rich Tozzoli started testing our first plugin, SmartPan Pro, back when Pro Tools did not include surround sound functionality. At that time, he could only dream of doing surround in Pro Tools, and when the opportunity came along to work with us on SmartPan Pro, he jumped at the chance. The result has been a great working relationship for both parties for over four years. Among his many surround projects are surround remixes of Joni Mitchell, In Central Park, Average White Band, Foghat, Al Di Meola, and the Billy Squire 20th Anniversary Live DVD. Lately he has been working on a surround release by the incredible flamenco guitarist Romero, which will be mastered on SACD.
Tozzoli’s history in audio recording goes back to when he made recordings in his father’s basement with tape machines. A proficient guitarist, Rich noticed that the tape hiss was one by-product of analog recording that he was less than happy about. He knew there had to be a better way.
He then moved to ADATs and DA-88’s, using mixing consoles and outboard gear. While this solved the hiss problem, it was taking up a lot of room, and was certainly not portable.
Enter Pro Tools. Once he saw a Pro Tools demo at a local studio, his world was turned upside down. “I immediately knew that this was the future of recording, and everyone would be working this way, and I wanted to be a part of it”, Tozzoli recalls. He took a loan from a friend, bought a 24|Mix plus system and 888 I/O, and retreated to his father’s basement. He emerged weeks later to shower and look for work as an engineer, with Pro Tools being his tool of choice.
Lately, Tozzoli has been both a busy engineer and composer, and has been doing quite a few spots for television. Armed with UA’s 1176 and LA-2A plugins, Tozzoli has found them to be indispensable tools for his work, both in music and post. His last TV spot was for the new TNN channel, where he redid a rocking version of the James Bond theme, using his Telecaster, and the 1176.
“I used the 1176 on guitar on that spot. No other compressor that I have gives the guitar the punch I need to cut though like the 1176 does. And in audio for TV, certain instruments really need to cut through.” Tozzoli explains.
“On drum loops, the LA-2A gives me a sound that I can’t describe as compression, because I really don’t like to compress things too much”, Tozzoli continues, “But the LA-2A does something special, with just a little bit of compression, it makes the whole loop punchier, especially in the low end.”
When working on music projects, Tozzoli reaches for the 1176 and LA-2A when he wants the character of a vintage compressor without compromise. He’ll use the LA-2A on overheads and sometimes even kick drum “just to bring out a little more punch”, he explains. “You guys definitely nailed the signature sound with these plugins, no other plugins I’ve used sounds so close to the original hardware. If you guys got this close with the compressors, I can’t wait to hear the Pultec EQ!”
Well, Rich won’t have to wait long, as the Pultec is scheduled to be released in August.
--Interview by Dave Crane
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