Mr. Miller launched Radio That Doesn’t Suck (RTDS) from his basement. The Internet-based station is a labour of love that he has since nurtured to the tune of $25,000 – a veritable bargain, he says, thanks to his decision to stream the entire production online.
Open this photo in gallery: Mr. Miller recording a segment of The Vinyl Vault on Summer, featuring The Kink's hit "Sunny Afternoon" - a RODE NT2A microphone into an Aphex 230 Master Voice Channel processor, then into a digital mixing board and finally recorded into Garageband on a Mac computer Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Closeup of the NT2A, Shure pop stopper, and mic flag with the RTDS logo on it Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Master Control showing some of the preamps and compressors used to smooth out the sound, as well as a phone hybrid for recording phone interviews, and master controller for changing songs, pause, play, etc Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Mackie sub mixer used as a preamp for the guest microphones, with a picture of Pat Rush (Jeff Healy Band, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Allman Brothers, Dr. John) jamming at the opening at the School Of Rock, Markham, ON Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Vinyl is making a huge comeback, and bands such as Days Of You and record labels such as Seventh Fire Records are sending RTDS new releases on 45 RPM records. Mr. Miller painstakingly converts the vinyl to digital, but leaves a few pop and clicks in so that people know they are listening to an analogue source Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: The interview table. Musicians such as Skip Prokop of Lighthouse have come in to the studio to record interviews. Mr. Miller purchased industry-standard Electrovoice RE20 microphones with professional boom stands to sound like a professional radio station Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Mr. Miller’s extensive guitar collection lines an entire wall of his basement studio. A songwriter, he still composes and occasionally performs his music Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: A selection of the station’s CD library. Friends and fans often donate their old CDs, tapes, or vinyl to the cause, which has helped Mr. Miller’s collection grow into the thousands Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: A vinyl LP from Mr. Miller’s collection. Though he had 2,500 records of his own, a friend has lent his collection of 4,000 records to the station, 99 per cent of which is Canadiana, says Mr. Miller Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Love Stinks, a classic record by the J. Geils Band that Mr. Miller found used at Alleycats Music & Art in Orillia Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: A Digidesign 003 master production mixer which allows Mr. Miller to plug any source, from microphone, turntable and cassette deck to 8-track player, and convert it into the digital world Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: One of two turntables. Mr. Miller purchased this Dual 505-2 in mint condition for only $85 dollars, and with the exception of a new cartridge, it performs flawlessly. The station also boasts a Thorens TD-160 in the “staff” lounge for people to enjoy during breaks Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Mr. Miller’s old 4-track reel-to-reel. This piece of equipment was used before the advent of computer recording to record songs, theatre productions and theme music TV shows. Mr. Miller says he keeps it as evidence of the way things were and also out of respect for people like Geoff Emerick, who recorded The Beatle's Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on a similar machine Jordana Divon
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Open this photo in gallery: Mr. Miller interviews rock Paul Rodgers (Bad Company, Free, The Law, Queen with Paul Rodgers) at Canadian Music Week 2012 Courtesy of Todd Miller
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Open this photo in gallery: Mr. Miller with Alan Parsons (Alan Parsons Project, Pilot, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Manfred Mann, John Miles) after he interviewed the legendary engineer and producer Courtesy of Todd Miller
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