King Tubby
Osbourne Ruddock opened an electrical repair shop on Drumalie Avenue in Kingston during the late 1950s. The tropical weather of Jamaica often caused equipment failure for local sound systems. Rival owners sometimes sabotaged machines to gain a competitive edge. Tubby built large amplifiers for these groups and fixed televisions and radios daily. He constructed his own radio transmitter between 1961 and 1962. This device allowed him to run a pirate radio station playing ska and rhythm and blues music. Police began searching for unlicensed broadcasters shortly after he started operations. He shut down the transmission immediately upon hearing about the police investigation. In 1958, Tubby formed his own sound system called Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi. The group became popular due to high quality equipment and exclusive releases. His echo and reverb effects were a novelty at that time outside studio settings.
Tubby began working as a disc cutter for producer Duke Reid in 1968. Reid ran Treasure Isle studios, one of Jamaica's first independent production houses. Most Jamaican 45 records featured an instrumental version on the flip side known as the version. When asked to produce versions for sound system MCs, Tubby initially used faders to remove vocal tracks. He soon discovered that various instrumental tracks could be accentuated through mixer settings. Early effects units helped him create wholly new pieces of music by shifting emphasis. He added sounds and removed others while introducing extreme delays and phase effects. By 1971, his sound system consolidated its position as one of the most popular in Kingston. Tubby decided to open a studio of his own in Waterhouse later that year. He initially used a four-track mixer purchased from Byron Lee's Dynamic studio. This transition marked the beginning of dub music as a distinct genre.
King Tubby built on his knowledge of electronics to repair and design his own studio equipment. He combined old devices with new technologies to produce precise atmospheric sounds. His small studio had no capacity to record session musicians directly. Tubby re-taped or dubbed original multitrack master tapes through a twelve-channel custom-built MCI mixing desk. He twisted songs into unexpected configurations highlighting heavy rhythms of bass and drum parts. Minute snatches of vocals, horns, piano, and organ appeared within these transformations. A unique aspect involved creative manipulation of the built-in high-pass filter on the MCI mixer. This parametric EQ was controllable by a large knob known as the big knob. Tubby could introduce a dramatic narrowing sweep of any signal until it disappeared into a thin squeal. He played the mixing desk like an instrument to create entirely new genres.
Tubby engineered and remixed songs for Jamaica's top producers including Lee Perry and Bunny Lee. These sessions featured artists such as Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell, and Horace Andy. In 1973, he added a second four-track mixer to his Waterhouse facility. He also built a vocal booth so he could record vocal tracks onto instrumental tapes brought by various producers. This process is known as voicing in Jamaican recording parlance. Several albums of Tubby's dub mixes were released among the earliest being Blackboard Jungle from 1974. Bunny Lee's Dub from the Roots also arrived that same year. His most famous dub was King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown from 1974. The original session was for a Jacob Miller song called Baby I Love You So. Bob Marley's drummer Carlton Barrett played a traditional one drop rhythm during this track. Augustus Pablo played melodica on the final version which later appeared on Pablo's 1976 album.
Singer Mikey Dread stated that King Tubby truly understood sound in a scientific sense. He knew how circuits worked and what electrons did inside the equipment. Tubby is often cited as the inventor of the concept of the remix. This idea later became ubiquitous in dance and electronic music production worldwide. His work made him one of the best-known celebrities in Jamaica during the 1970s. Producers, sound engineers, and musicians across the world generated interest in his techniques. Hundreds of B-side labels credited his name with many others likely uncredited due to similarities. Albums like Ital Dub from 1974 and Shalom Dub from 1975 spread his influence further. Compilations such as King Tubby & Friends released in 1994 preserved the evolution of dub between 1975 and 1979. His legacy continues through modern concepts of the remix found in global dance music today.
By the later part of the 1970s, King Tubby had mostly retired from active music production. He still occasionally mixed dubs while tutoring a new generation of artists. Hopeton Brown, also known as Scientist, was perhaps his greatest protege among those he mentored. In the 1980s, Tubby built a new larger studio in the Waterhouse neighbourhood of Kingston. This facility included increased capabilities for future projects. He focused on managing his labels Firehouse, Waterhouse, Kingston 11, and Taurus instead of recording sessions. These labels released productions by popular musicians including Anthony Red Rose and Sugar Minott. Conroy Smith and King Everald also recorded under his management during this period. The shift allowed him to guide younger engineers while maintaining control over his extensive catalog.
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Common questions
Who was King Tubby and what did he do?
King Tubby, born Osbourne Ruddock, was a Jamaican sound engineer who lived from 1941 to 1989. He opened an electrical repair shop on Drumalie Avenue in Kingston during the late 1950s before becoming a pioneer of dub music.
When did King Tubby start making dub music?
King Tubby began working as a disc cutter for producer Duke Reid in 1968 and decided to open his own studio in Waterhouse later that year. This transition marked the beginning of dub music as a distinct genre by 1971 when his sound system consolidated its position as one of the most popular in Kingston.
How did King Tubby create his signature sound effects?
King Tubby re-taped or dubbed original multitrack master tapes through a twelve-channel custom-built MCI mixing desk to twist songs into unexpected configurations. He used creative manipulation of the built-in high-pass filter known as the big knob to introduce dramatic narrowing sweeps until signals disappeared into thin squeals.
What famous albums did King Tubby release in 1974?
Several albums of King Tubby's dub mixes were released among the earliest being Blackboard Jungle from 1974 and Bunny Lee's Dub from the Roots also arrived that same year. His most famous dub was King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown from 1974 which featured Bob Marley's drummer Carlton Barrett playing a traditional one drop rhythm.
Who were some artists King Tubby worked with during his career?
King Tubby engineered and remixed songs for Jamaica's top producers including Lee Perry and Bunny Lee featuring artists such as Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell, and Horace Andy. Augustus Pablo played melodica on the final version of King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown which later appeared on Pablo's 1976 album.