Tony Cooper - In his own words

I come from a live music background which led me into music composition, arrangement and production. I have developed a significant studio facility working alongside writers, musicians along with composing and producing material for broadcasters, including all the major networks. One of these works was the iconic Channel 7 news theme which was tagged with the John Williams composition and this appeared on air from 2004 to February 2016. As a drummer, I have worked closely with an acoustic instrument in a large variety of acoustic spaces, including numerous live venues and studios with varying acoustic properties. I have always tuned the kit taking into account the challenges of the space at hand to optimise the outcome. When working with a live or studio engineer I make compromises in the tuning and damping of the kit pieces so that the outcome needed for the recording or live performance is met. I know the sound of my instrument. In studio situations, it was always hard to replicate the sound that I heard from sitting behind the kit as I was playing to what was recorded and being heard on the studio monitors on playback in the control room. The monitors on offer invariably lacked the crisp tones and impact I was used to hearing from my instrument.

For years I struggled with the standard supposed high performance industry studio monitor offerings, but fortunately I was guided to Grover Notting, a professional life altering occurrence. The Grover Notting Code 101 Mastering system suited my needs and it has changed my workflow in a most profound manner. With the Grover Notting system, I am impressed and relieved at the honest replication of what is listened to and committed upon tracking is what you hear upon playback of the recorded material. It is like standing in the live space the instrument was recorded in. They convey the instrument sound from a player’s ear and perspective. I now work free of fatigue for extended periods, and the quality (particularly Low Frequency balance) and speed of my work has improved noticeably. I am now able to focus totally on the art. For Cross Reference, I use the Grover Notting CR-1s and CR-2s which perfectly translate my mixes as they would be heard on all variations of consumer audio systems and devices.

Tony Cooper