The DIY doctor: Crazy Joe Tritschler’s Analog Playground
Taking a do-it-yourself approach is nothing new in this age of low-priced digital recording software. However, few do DIY like Crazy Joe Tritschler, who celebrates the release of his new retro roots album, “The Doctor is In!,” at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton on Saturday, April 6. The local guitarist played all of the instruments except keyboards on his new LP, which he recorded on his custom-built analog audio gear in the studio basement in his Enon home. This writer had a chance to sit down for a private listening session in mid-March, where Tritschler spun a test pressing of his stunning new vinyl release before leading a guided tour through his basement studio. “The vinyl is 100 percent analog, which is rare today,” said Tritschler, who has a PhD in engineering. “I recorded it on my 8-track machine and it was mixed live to 2-track. I literally made the whole record with five homemade tube mikes, a handful of dynamic mikes, a homemade console, one compressor and two tape machines. That was it. I don’t have any other pieces of equipment in my studio.” The new material, which ranges from ’50s pop and classic country to a bit of rockabilly, sounds amazing warm, much like the recordings from the early 1960s that Tritschler is so enamored with. While vinyl is his preferred medium, the retro-rocker isn’t out of touch with modern times. “The Doctor Is In!,” the follow-up to his 2007 album “The King of Nerd-A-Billy,” is available in multiple digital formats. “A lot of people were telling me it’s all about the vinyl and the downloads but I’m also doing CDs because they’re still an important market, especially with people older than the hipsters,” Tritschler said. “I am offering a fourth format too, which is 24-bit 88.2 kHz high-res downloads for my audiophile buddies.” Stepping into Tritschler’s control room is almost like stepping back in time and wandering onto the set of a 1950s sci-fi film. With its handmade mixing board with large black nobs and small circular dials, it is the perfect analog playground for a musician who began home recording when he was only 9 years old. “I really don’t think I’m vintage recording purist,” Tritschler said. “I am a little bit of an audio elitist. A lot of people think I’m eccentric with my homebuilt hi-fi system. I am real particular about using all these audiophile components but I run around in the audiophile circuit and there are definitely a lot worse than I am.” Contact The Dayton Daily News contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com. |
