BEATS WORKING

If you know DJ mixers then you will know the name Andy Rigby-Jones. He’s the designer behind some of Allen and Heath’s best mixers as well as the rotary mixers of Mastersounds. From his new factory in Cornwall he’s now launched the fantastic looking Union Audio Orbit.6. Not Boring catches up with the name behind some of the best DJ Mixers that shaped music history for a bit of a natter.

NB: You started of working on the assembly line for small format mixers for bands and venues, when was this and who was it for?

ARJ: That would have been back in March 1992 when I first joined Allen & Heath as the flow solder machine operator.

NB: What were these mixers like from a design perspective?

ARJ: They were all analogue and all modular. A&H were at the start of a renaissance and were introducing a line of well specified, affordable mixers. The design emphasis was on offering a good performance/specification vs cost, and it was the start of a golden age for the company.

NB: How did you get into producing DJ mixers? Who was it for? And what was your first DJ-centric mixer?

ARJ: I had been DJ’ing since the late 70s, first with a homemade roadshow, and then in clubs. I was doing two to three gigs a week while working at

A&H so DJ mixers were a part of my life. Then around 1994 I joined the R&D department, first as a technician and later as a designer. The trigger for wanting to design my own mixer came from playing with a voltage control filter circuit (VCF), and I knew I had to build a mixer with that feature. I put it to the management, and they gave me the go ahead to build a prototype.

NB: Tell us about this first mixer. What controls did it have and how have mixers improved with regards to features?

ARJ: The first A&H DJ mixer was based on the companies MixWizard and was part live-sound mixer with a DJ mixer centre section. As well as an asymmetric EQ (I think that might have been a first) it also had a basic VCF. Today these features are fairly ubiquitous on most club style DJ mixers, so the biggest change has been the inclusion of USB Audio systems and digital FX.

NB: Do you think there is often an over reliance on features and gimmicks on mixers rather than concentrating quality of sound?

ARJ: When you are trying to design a product to stand out in the marketplace, it’s very easy to get carried away adding extra features but in reality most DJs don’t use more than the basic audio toolkit, so they probably could be labelled as gimmicks. As for sound quality, most medium and high-end mixers sound pretty good these days, so you have to spend a lot of time, effort and money to improve on them.

NB: You led the Xone range of mixers team for many years, which of these mixers was your favourite and why?

ARJ: The Xone:DB4 was the most fun to develop but I would say the one I’m most proud of is the Xone:92, it was designed twenty years ago and is still an industry standard. My all-time favourite would have to be the Xone:V6. V6 was a labour of love, and I was quite sad when production ceased due to component availability.

NB: In 2014 you launched Union Audio, that’s a big step but one that has clearly born fruits. What has been your favourite product to come out of Union Audio and why?

ARJ: That’s a tricky question to answer because I still have so many designs in my head but so little time to get them into production. I’m really proud of Model1, which I codesigned with Richie Hawtin, as it has so many innovative features, but linking up with Ryan Shaw of MasterSounds back in 2016 was the turning point for Union Audio, and together we have created an amazing product line.

But from a purely personal perspective orbit.6 has a very special place in my heart. It’s not only taken over from where I left off with the Xone:V6, but it’s also the first product to bear the Union Audio name

NB: You have worked with some big names in DJing, who have you worked with and what were their different needs and requirements from mixers?

ARJ: Over the years I have had the privilege of meeting and working with some incredibly talented artists, Louis Vega, Chris Leibing, Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Sasha, Digweed, Paul van Dyk, the list goes on, but my closest working relationship has been with Richie Hawtin. Rich is not only an amazing artist but has a deep insight and fascination with the technology he uses. He’s always wanting to push the boundaries of what’s possible, and the way he DJs to new levels. Richie Hawtin’s mixer will need lots of IO and lots of channels for the way he constructs his sets. He doesn’t really DJ in the usual sense of the word, it’s more live production. At the other end of the spectrum I’ve witnessed amazing sets from Louis Vega using nothing more than two turntables and a Xone:V6.

NB: You have recently launched the Orbit.6 six channel mixer, tell us more.

ARJ: As mentioned, Xone:V6 holds a special place in my heart, but rather than try to recreate it with the orbit.6, I wanted to design a product that was its complement – a sort of yin and yang. Orbit.6 has styling cues from the V6 and follows a similar design philosophy but they are very different products. The V6 being all FET based has a light open and airy sound, orbit.6 is BJT based with a warmer, deeper sound. People ask me which one sounds better, and my answer is always that it depends in what music you listen to – if it’s Jazz or Vocal then the V6 is better at conveying the close intimacy of voice or instrument, if it’s House, Techno, Disco or Soul, then the orbit is better at conveying rhythm and bass, especially on the low end.

NB: It’s pretty stripped back in terms of features, why is this and what do you think this stripped back approach brings to the DJ’s craft?

ARJ: Orbit, like the V6, has the minimum needed to blend two or more tracks together, which I love from an aesthetic viewpoint. Also, less features mean less circuitry, which is better for audio fidelity. From a DJ perspective, having only a high-pass filter and a fader to mix with is a great way to hone your craft. When you can create a great set using just these tools and a couple of turntables it really teaches you the importance of timing and track selection.

NB: Analogue or digital sources and why?

ARJ: For performance, digital, for best fidelity, analogue.

NB: There’s a move towards CDJs, do you think this is a good thing sonically for the DJ industry?

ARJ: What the likes of Pioneer have done with their players is incredible, so much power and control over your music and the way you play. I can totally understand why they are now standard features in almost every club. However, I’m not convinced they are a good thing sonically, and not necessarily because they are digital. Shockingly, there are still some DJs who use compressed audio files!

NB: Do you believe that the dancefloor actually cares whether a DJ is playing records or files from a USB drive? Ultimately folk are out to dance and have a good time, do you think it’s even important that a DJ is mixing and not just using synch…or to take it to its ultimate conclusion, some AI “robot” is selecting and “mixing” the tunes?

ARJ: Depends on the dancefloor, but I think most people still go to clubs to see a DJ perform live as it’s part of the experience but whether they are playing vinyl or USB media is less important than the music. I sense that clubbing is becoming more intimate and personal, with smaller venues playing very specific genres. The whole covid lockdown also promoted growth in online DJ sets, and a lot of artists now use this platform. I think this has helped the vinyl reviv- al as I see a lot of online DJs playing vinyl sets, which in turn helps to expose this old format to a whole new generation.

NB: Who is your favourite DJ and why?

ARJ: I can’t say that I really have a favourite DJ. The ones I’ve met and worked with are all very skilled artists, and my musical taste is wide enough that I can enjoy what they play. Recently I’ve been listing to RØDHÅD as I love the deep driving energy and hint of melancholy in his sets.

I have a real appreciation for any DJ playing a seamless vinyl set as it takes a lot of skill and practice. I remember watching Carl Cox playing on three decks back in the 90s and it really blew me away, so if you forced me to name one, it would probably be Carl.