Chris Rich: Deltas Make the Difference

M-Powered artists Chris Rich and Vinnie Colaiuta

Artists as diverse as Natalie Cole, Toto, George Benson, and The Black Crowes have sought out renowned sound engineer Chris Rich to make their recordings sound great. In that capacity, Rich has to select and set up gear that not only complements an artist’s unique sound, but also facilitates his or her recording style. To that end, Rich regularly uses M-Audio’s DMP2, DMP3, and Tampa preamps; Groove Tubes microphones; and Delta 1010 sound cards to track audio in both live and studio settings. Most recently, Rich installed four Delta 1010 cards in his Mac for a total of 32 simultaneous channels of digital recording.

Rich began to take an interest in sound recording while in his early 20s. In 1989, he transformed his hobby into a career, and spent two years working at Hollywood Sound. Having never received a formal education in engineering, Rich describes his next gig working as an assistant to producer/engineer Bill Schnee as his graduate school. During that time, he had the opportunity to work with Al Schmitt and numerous other renowned artists. Rich has since transitioned to freelance work, and has been engineering autonomously for the last 11 years.

“Technology has changed the face of the music business so much since I started, and we just aren’t using our 2-inch tape machines so much anymore,” says Rich. “We’re using computers for digital recording and I wanted a 32-track computer—basically a tape machine with a fancy editing system built in. The M-Audio team set up four Delta 1010s in my Mac, and it’s been fantastic. It’s great to record to, edit on, and mix from—and it sounds incredible.”

“Most of the time, you have to be so careful and conservative with levels when doing a digital recording—you can get digital distortion really easily,” he continues. “But the 1010s have so much more headroom than the other cards I’ve tried. And when the musicians come in to hear playback, they are always pleased with how precisely the recording reproduces how their instrument actually sounds in the room. With the 1010s, what goes in is what comes out.”

Putting Delta 1010s to the test

Vinnie Colaiuta doing what he does best

Rich decided to try out his new setup out on a live album he was recording for vocalist/keyboardist Michael Ruff. Ruff was accompanied by Joey Heredia, Marco Mendoza, Alex Acuna, Renato Neto, Andrew Gouché, Tata Vega and a host of session singers. The group rented a studio, set up a club-like vibe, and started to play.

“A live record is scary for some people to do on the computer,” attests Rich. “But I thought, ‘let’s go for it,’ and it worked great. I took the computer down there with the 1010s, M-Audio preamps, and Groove Tubes microphones, and made the record. Even the overdub process was great. I copied the files over to a FireWire drive which I just FedExed off to Michael. He lives in Hawaii, and he’s doing overdubs there. It’s a fantastic way to work—so much easier than shipping 2-inch tape!”

Rich’s second project with the 1010s involved world-famous drummer and M-Powered artist Vinnie Colaiuta. Colaiuta came to Rich’s studio to record drums for Italian artist Simone Borghi’s upcoming album. Rich used Groove Tube microphones, M-Audio preamps, and the four Delta 1010s to track Colaiuta’s drums.

“I think that was the first time Vinnie had been able to hear a full session through all the M-Audio gear,” Rich relates. “We did a take and then Vinnie came into the control room to listen. Not even half a bar into the playback he started raving about the drums and the cards. He was just blown away by the way they sounded.”

Becoming M-Audio’s first endorsing artist

It was initially a matter of convenience and necessity that drove Rich to M-Audio back in 1997. While searching for a SMPTE to MIDI interface to deliver timecode into his Mac, Rich came across the M-Audio’s BiPort 2x4—and discovered that he lived less than two miles away from M-Audio’s corporate headquarters. He got in touch with M-Audio, had a technical support representative walk him through the setup, and has been a fan of M-Audio ever since.

“The tech support and personal attention I received when the company was much smaller is no different from the attention I receive now,” Rich attests. “They don’t want to just sell you something and then leave you out in the cold. Everybody is there to make sure you understand how the products work.”

So enthusiastic about the company’s attitude and products, Rich became M-Audio’s first endorsing artist, later to be joined by the likes of Tom Scott, David Kahne, Jeff Rona, and many other diverse talents.

Looking forward

Instead of getting anxious as he sees the business in which he is so firmly rooted changing drastically before him, Rich is committed to evolving with it. Broadening the scope of his projects and expertise, he is slated to mix the sound for The Steve Harvey Show’s fall season. “It’ll be M-Audio on the front end for sure, because I want it to sound good,” Rich enthuses. “I want to carry over the professionalism from the music business over to the TV world. If I take the Tampa preamps with me, I know that will happen.”

Rich is also scheduled to mix the sound for guest artists appearing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which will debut on NBC in the fall. He also hopes to find the time in his busy schedule to continue working in the music industry, in addition to producing some of his own television shows and independent films.

Return to the M-Pulse homepage