Ken Stringfellow on Lauten Audio Microphones

Ken Stringfellow hails from one of the most influential 90’s American underground bands, The Posies. Mr. Stringfellow has also played with REM as well as a slew of other projects, most recently The Disciplines who currently have a hit song in Norway “Oslo”.



I recently contacted Ken and sent him several microphones to demo while he was producing the new Red Jacket Mine record. Shortly after using them during the session I received an email stating “diggin' the mics (ST-221 and Horizon)...horizons are incredible on electric guitar, how much?”



I have been a big fan of The Posies as well as Ken Stringfellow’s solo and other projects for many years. Having the opportunity to share our creative tools in the form of Lauten Audio microphones was a great honor for me.



Having purchased and spent more time with the Lauten microphones, Ken sent us an email telling us more about his experiences.



Here is what Ken Stringfellow had to say about the Lauten Audio Horizon and ST-221 Torch microphones.

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Just wrapping up a record with A Life A Song A Cigarette from Austria, recorded in a little town outside of Vienna with a nice old Neve console.



I got to try my Lauten Audio mics on the drums, specifically on the toms, and the Horizon LDC made the floor tom enormous! I would have used the other one on the rack but it was doing guitar duty.



I used the Horizons as my main go-to guitar amp mics; also mic'd the top of a Leslie cab with them. Mic'd cello, did some of the lead vocals and acoustic guitar too. I mentioned that I used a Horizon on the floor tom, and a Torch on the rack tom.



Torches were used as ambient mics (I almost always have an ambient mic when I record lead vocals), also as the 'dark' mic for guitar amps. I did a recording where the singer played acoustic, with a female singer sitting across, and they were performing outside the studio in the open air, in a little concrete passageway. I mic'd them with a stereo AKG mic (this is Austria, after all) but used the Torches as the ambient mics, and they performed beautifully. I also did a roomy cello part with a Torch in Omni.



All in all, they were extremely versatile, performed beautifully and were a huge contribution to the record. Thankfully they are packed well too. The Horizons had to travel in my suitcase; I carried the Torch case on the plane. The 221s (Torches) are excellent for applying in lieu of where one would use a ribbon mic--this is useful if ever one is working on a board that has global 48v needed to power other mics that are in use. But, they are also special and don't really sound like ribbons at all of course.



I can't say enough how great the Horizon was on the floor tom. And the guitar amp sounds with the two mics is....well, it's sick, really, how good it is.



So, thank you again for contacting me!

KS

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Ken you are quite welcome and thank you for providing your feedback. We will keep in touch, I assure you.




The pictures in this blog were taken by Dominique Stringfellow and sent courtesy of Ken Stringfellow.