Mark Ronson reveals ATC SCM25A PRO setup

Mark Ronson has installed a pair of ATC SCM25A PRO three-way compact active loudspeakers in his new Munro Acoustics- and Steve Durr-designed studio space at London’s Tileyard Studios complex.

“I haven’t had my own studio since I left New York about four years ago,” he said. “I looked at some other prebuilt studios being sold, but then it came up that all these rooms were being built at Tileyard.

“Building my own place from scratch meant that I could incorporate some of my favourite things from all the studios that I’ve loved working at during the last four years, like the analogue aspect of Daptone in Brooklyn, where we recorded the Amy stuff, as well as the MIDI and computer aspect.”

Inspired by a visit to a new Nashville studio built for The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Ronson recruited the studio designer responsible, Steve Durr, to collaborate with London-based consultant Chris Walls of Munro Acoustics to build something similar at Tileyard: “It just had a great vibe – kind of like one of those old RCA studios in Nashville, so my live room is, likewise, really well designed, with a no-frills vibe – like walking into any old studio from the 60s.”

Selecting suitable monitoring for his control room, ATC’s SCM25A PRO three-way compact active loudspeakers caught Ronson’s ear: “I was walking around other studios with Chris Walls from Munro so he could get a sense of what I liked. We went to British Grove, and I just couldn’t believe how amazing they sounded – so much punch, bite and growl, then this really pristine top end. It was kind of a revelation, and I just thought, ‘There’s no way I’m going to get any other speakers other than those when I get into my space.’ I was sold on first listen.”

London-based Funky Junk made the sale. “They were very cool and easy to work with,” said Ronson. “They let me borrow a pair to test them out when I was at Avatar in New York, tracking some stuff for Paul McCartney’s new album.”

Now the SCM25A PROs are nestling on the meter bridge of Ronson’s vintage MCI 500 Series console at his studio space at Tileyard: “When I was starting out, I used whatever monitors I could afford, then I worked my way up to things like Genelecs and KRKs – all really nice, but they’ve got nothing on the ATCs, as far as I’m concerned. For the most part, I spend most of my time on the ATCs now. They give a great image of everything that’s going on, whether I’m tracking a live band or working on something with a massive 808 kick drum.”

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