Mercury Prize Winning Roni Size Chooses PMC BB6 XBD-A Monitors

UK DJ and producer Roni Size has installed PMC BB6 XBD-A monitors in his studio in Bristol where they are being put through their paces across a number of projects.

After a two-year spell out of the limelight Roni says it is great to be back in the studio making music and credits his PMC monitors for his creative resurgence.

"I had this room with these incredible speakers, and I couldn’t just leave them there," he says. "My whole studio was built around them because they were the monitors I’ve always wanted, ever since I first heard them at Metropolis Studios in London. Having a pair of my own was my life goal and now I’ve got them my life goal has changed to making great music with them."

As a musician, producer and DJ, Roni Size is widely regarded as a pioneer and someone who has defined the sound of British music over the last 30 years. His life has been about building something new from whatever is around him - from Bristol youth club parties, through rave and the founding moments of jungle and drum and bass, to transforming underground electronic music into something that could be played by a live band on the biggest arenas and stages. Always in demand on the festival circuit, Size has performed at major events such as Glastonbury, Boomtown, Secret Garden Party, Blissfields, Outlook and many more, as well as undertaking extensive live tours worldwide.

His studio, which occupies the top floor of his house, was transformed earlier this year with the help of engineer Dave Amso, so that it could accommodate the PMC BB6-XBD-A monitors.

"I wanted to recapture the vibe of the studio I used to have at Barton Hill, which had an SSL console and was a fabulous room with great energy," he explained. "I now have two rooms – the main studio and a separate writing room, which gives me all the space I need to put out all the equipment I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve got 60 analogue outputs, a summing mixer, a Rupert Neve A/D converter and lots of cool outboard gear including SSL compressors, Pure Path EQ and Tube-tech, all of which are routed through a patchbay. I have no desire to install a big desk because it would take up too much space and in any case I like the set up I have - it works really well."

The PMC BB6-XBD-A monitors deliver all the muscle any drum and bass aficionado could want – indeed during a quick demo, the bass was so powerful that two boxes of Danish pastries jump off the coffee table and onto the floor!

Size, though, is quick to point out that his choice of monitors wasn't just about volume.

"It's got much more to do with quality and precision," he said. "With these monitors I can hear everything on the track with exceptional clarity. They are amazing. When PMC brought them into the studio for a demo, we all knew very quickly that they were never going out again – and not just because it had taken such a lot of effort to carry them up the stairs! Initially I just had the top monitors on a stand, but I quickly added the XBD subs so that I had the whole stack. I don’t think there are many people in Bristol – or anywhere else for that matter – who have a pair of these PMCs in their home."

To get the best out of his monitors – and ensure a peaceful relationship with his neighbours - Roni Size installed plenty of acoustic treatment and insulation throughout the studio.

"Initially, I just enjoyed listening to the PMCs and figuring out what they were capable of, but I knew the room wasn’t quite right," he said. "I did a couple of mixes that didn’t translate in the car, so I knew it was time to fix the acoustics, get more soft furnishings and install Trinnov digital room correction. Once I did that, the room was perfect, and I am now so happy with the sound. Everything I do in this rooms is just awesome, thanks to these speakers. I just have to remember not to fire them up too late at night because they really are loud!"

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