RIGGI MEDIA INTERNATIONAL
AN AGILE , ADAPTABLE & ACCOMMODATING CREATIVE HUB
BY ANDREW KING
WALTER RIGGI AT THE AVID C24 IN THE CONTROL ROOM OF RIGGI MEDIA INTERNATIONAL INC .
Back in 1982 , Walter Riggi was a wide-eyed teenager in Windsor , ON , parsing through the newspaper in search of ads or listings for any nearby recording studios . “ I was just a puppy back then and interested in doing some recording with my band ,” he recalls for Professional Sound .
He eventually found a facility that welcomed outside clients and excitedly booked a session . “ My dad was the one who drove us down there , and on the way , he was like , ‘ This is all fine and dandy , but why don ’ t you just do this on your own ?” Riggi continues . “ I told him I didn ’ t think I was ready for that , but he said , ‘ With your love of music , why not ?’”
Evidently , that was enough convincing , and shortly after the band ’ s first experience in a professional studio , Riggi went to the local Long & McQuade and picked up a few basic pieces of recording gear . When he informed some friends in music class that he had an eight-track TASCAM recorder at home a few days later , the reaction was unanimous : “ Are you kidding me ? We ’ re coming to record !”
“ Some of them have been lifelong customers ever since – and now I ’ m recording their kids !” Riggi says with a laugh , speaking from the control room of his full-service production facility , Riggi Media International Inc . “ It ’ s been a pretty interesting journey thus far .”
Riggi Media International
500 Pearl St . Tecumseh , ON N8N 2L9 519-564-4543 walter @ riggimediainternational . com www . riggimediainternational . com
Riggi recalls that , when he was first getting started , access to reliable equipment and information was far more limited than it is today . “ I remember it was a lot harder for Long & McQuade to get [ specialized recording equipment ], but when they could scavenge something , they ’ d call me and send it over ,” he shares . Subsequently , he was commonly reaching out to manufacturers like Yamaha or Neve for information about the gear he was acquiring and how to properly put it to use .
It wasn ’ t long after Riggi Media International was formally established that the studio added video capture and production to its suite of services . Before the midway point of the ‘ 80s , Riggi had a high-quality camera package and recording system and was regularly putting it to use filming weddings and other personal or community events before getting into advertisements and film and TV production .
“ From there , obviously ADR was just a natural progression ,” Riggi explains . “ We might get some poor audio because of wind onsite or a train going by , but since I was filming , I could do audio work right here in a proper studio , and it ballooned from there .”
In 2001 , the studio relocated from its home of nearly two decades in Windsor to its current address on the shore of Lake St . Clair in nearby Tecumseh . “ It sounds glorious in here , and I ’ m very proud of that ,” Riggi notes about his space . “ To have a great-sounding room and racks full of vintage , high-end equipment that works , that ’ s a big point of pride for me .”
The studio boasts a sizeable , well-ap-
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