Lauten Audio Microphones Now Distributed by Audio Plus Services in North America

Champlain, NY — November 19, 2010 — Audio Plus Services, the distributor behind Focal Professional and Vovox products in North America, announced today that they have signed a new exclusive value-added distribution agreement with Lauten Audio for their full line of microphones. Lauten Audio products have evolved over the years to include four distinct microphones: the "Clarion" solid-state low-noise FET, the "Horizon" cardioid tube, the "Oceanus" condenser transformer-less tube, and the "Torch" pressure gradient condenser tube. Each microphone has received rave reviews from both experienced recording engineers and leading pro audio magazines around the world.

"We are extremely excited about bringing on the Lauten Audio microphone line," said Simon Côté, Manager of Professional Products at Audio Plus Services. "The pro audio market has already embraced the quality and sound of these excellent microphones over the past few years and I am sure that our dealers across North America will welcome their product line for their customers. We look forward to a successful sales and marketing relationship with Lauten Audio!"

Brian Loudenslager, Founder of Lauten Audio added, "Audio Plus is a great fit for Lauten Audio and the perfect partner to help us expand our presence in North America. It also allows us to continue our focus on research, engineering and new product development, and work as team to ensure the right products enter the marketplace at the right time. We are very excited to team up with Audio Plus and looking forward to a successful partnership."

Sales Contacts:

USA: Simon Cote - scote@audioplusservices.com

Canada: Ron Sluzar - ron@pacificislandaudio.com

Lauten Clarion FC-357 Review

Check out the review of our Clarion FC-357 microphone by Audio Media Magazine.

Follow this link to our reviews and quotes section: http://www.lautenaudio.com/fc357-clarion-microphone-reviews-feedback.htm

A Phone Call from Robert Jason, Songwriter Producer

We get many phone calls here at Lauten Audio and often times people call just to say how much they love our microphones. Robert Jason was one of those callers.

Randy Kohrs, a long time advocate of our microphones had recommended that Robert try our Clarion FC-357. Robert has been in the industry a long time now and worked with Alabama, Reba McEntire, Barry White, Fox Brothers, Randy Kohrs, ABC, NBC, MTV and New Line Cinema just to name a few. See his full credit list at www.robertjason.com. Robert talked in length while he was driving home with the occasional interruption of police or fire sirens. By they we recommend hands free devices in the car :-). Robert mentioned other mics he had used and where the Clarion FC-357 was excelling.

We love these conversations and it's one of the reasons why we love what we do. At the end of the conversation I asked if he could send us an email with a brief summary of his thoughts on the Clarion. We have provided his quote verbatim below.

"While I can say the Lauten FC357 did a very fine job handling male vocals, it was a session with a female artist that just made my day. Generally, female vocalists can be a bit more challenging to record than male, but the Lauten handled everything she could dish out, all with a smooth, linear, musical result. Who she is is what I got. The low notes of the melody cut through rich and warm, with no proximity effect whatsoever. Despite this microphone's truly modest price of $699 (MSRP) there is NO doubt the Lauten FC-357 mic SOUNDS expensive!"

Robert Jason, Songwriter Producer

www.robertjason.com

Scott Kinsey - Lauten Artist Brief

Jazz synthesizer kingpin Scott Kinsey has been keeping very busy lately. In addition to touring the world with his band the Scott Kinsey Group and the Jimmy Herring Band, he is currently completing work on a new Solo album, putting the finishing touches on the debut Human Element CD (feat Scott, Matthew Garrison, Gary Novak and Arto Tuncboyaciyan) and soon starting work on what will be the first new Tribal Tech CD in 10 years! One important thing all of these new recordings have in common is the Lauten Audio Oceanus and Horizon microphones. "These new microphones are really taking my recordings to a whole new level. They have become my first choice when recording drums and are equally amazing on vocals and saxophones. They really have a unique character to the sound and are making a huge improvement in the quality I can produce out of my studio. I love them!"

Lauten Audio on display at AIMS Show Australia

Come see Lauten Audio microphones at the 2010 (AMAC) Australian Music Association Convention and (AIMS) Australian International Music Show!

übersonic will be displaying the Lauten Audio microphone line in booth number 84

MusicTech Review the Clarion

MusicTech magazine recently reviewed our Clarion FC-357 microphone.

To quote their website. "Some microphones make you feel excited about plugging them in on first sight. It’s hard to define why, but the Lauten Clarion is a case in point. Maybe it’s the classy satin sheen of the metallic grey finish, the crispness of the enamelled badge or the sheer weight and solidity of the build. Either way, this mic impresses before you’ve even removed it from the bamboo box. Other accessories include a suspension cradle shockmount and a slip-over windshield."

Head on over to MusicTechMag.co.uk to download and read the entire review.

Review location: http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/reviews/clarion

ACOUSTIC GUITAR SAMPLES

Continuing our sound samples from the Chi McClean session at Broken Radio studios in San Francisco we now present Acoustic Guitars. For this session we recorded a Taylor 814ce and a Gibson J45. These two guitars have very different tonal qualities. The Taylor had newer elixir strings and the Gibson had strings of an unkown age, but didn't seem too old.

For these samples we used the Summit Audio 2ba221's and ECS-410 Everest, Brent Avril Neve 1272's and Universal Audio 710s. All of the Lauten Audio microphones were used including our Torch ST-221's in X/Y stereo.

The sound sample starts off with finger picking and then Chi picks up a pick (is that too many picks in one sentence?) for the strumming.

The files are in 24bit/96k and again no compression or EQ was utilized. These files are quite large and we recommend downloading them to your local harddrive prior to listening.

You can access these sound samples in our Lauten Session page here.

Welcome Match Audio & Vision - Netherlands

We would like to welcome Match Audio & Vision to Lauten Audio's network of distributors. Based in Nieuw-Lekkerland, Netherlands, Match AV, is a highly experience team of audio/video enthusiasts and professionals. They will import and distribute the entire Lauten Audio line in the Netherlands.

For more information head on over to their website Matchav.nl

MALE VOCAL SAMPLES ARE UP!

Male vocal samples are now available in the Lauten Sessions area of our website. Look for the Vocals - Chi McClean link under Solo Voice and Vocals.

A couple months ago we spent the day with Producer/Engineer Matt Boudreau at Broken Radio Studios in San Francisco recording Chi McClean, a fantastic singer/song writer with excellent vocal tonal quality. These sound samples are available in 24bit/96k wav files for a high quality listening experience.

We used our Clarion, Oceanus and Horizon microphones for this session a long with a nice diverse selection of preamps including the Summit Audio Everest; my favorite for this session by the way), the Summit 2ba-221, Brent Avril 1272's for you Neve fans, and the Universal Audio 710's.

The signal chain for this session was Mic -> Preamp -> Lynx Aurora Converters -> Pro Tools. As with all our samples, we used ZERO EQ and ZERO Compression.

Feel free to load these into your preferred audio editing software and add EQ or compression. Since these audio files are quite large we recommend downloading them to your local computer before playing. If you want to use these files for anything other than to hear what Lauten Audio microphones sound like, please contact us for usage rights.

Enjoy!

P.S. Next up Taylor 814ce and Gibson J45 Acoustic Guitars!

Paul Ramsay Interview

Paul Ramsay is the FOH (Front of House) engineer for acts like The Who, Doves, Skunk Anansie and Anne Lennox. Our distributer, The Audio Professionals, recently sat down with Paul at Shepperton Studios in London prior to a rehearsal with The Who. Paul had some nice things to say about his Horizon Tube microphone.

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7UoPSiR7g

Advanced Drum Recording Workshop, with MICHAEL URBANO

Performing the role of band member, studio musician, touring drummer and occasional producer, Michael Urbano has enjoyed a career in the music business for 30 years.

His career highlights to date include: Cracker, CAKE, Smashmouth, Todd Rundgren, Sheryl Crow, Third Eye Blind, John Hiatt, Fischerspooner and more, and an incredible number of appearances on more than 150 major label records including top-10 singles like"If It Makes You Happy", "All-Star", and "Low (like bein stoned)".

Matt Boudreau has spent the last 22 years in the trenches of the ever-changing music industry working on both sides of the glass as a producer, engineer and mixer, as well as an accomplished drummer. He is also the owner and chief engineer of Broken Radio Studios, which boasts the only Bill Putnam-designed live room in Northern California, and has recorded everyone from Rolling Stones sax man Ernie Watts to guitar virtuoso Mike Stern.

On Saturday, April 10th, from 12-6pm, these two veterans of the industry will be hosting an exclusive Advanced Drum Recording workshop at Broken Radio Studios, presented by Pyramind and Broken Radio.

Covering drum kits, drum types, miking techniques, microphones, pre-amps, recording, mixing, digital vs, analogue gear, and just about everything in-between, this is one of those rare sessions where genuine best-of-the-industry information is available to the general public.

For more information visit http://www.pyramind.com/community/calendar/view/53/85.html

ProLight+Sound Frankfurt Germany See You There!

Come visit us at Musikmesse ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt, Germany next week! We have a new booth located in Hall 8 H26

Mark "Tufty" Evans - Lauten Horizon

Sound On Sound Horizon Tube Microphone Review

Our first review in Sound on Sound magazine is available for download. I personally don't know Hugh Robjohns, but from what I hear he's typically not a "sugar coat" things type of guy. I hope to meet him this year at NAMM.

Here's a small excerpt from the review.

"The Horizon definitely sounds far more expensive than it really is, with that typically rich, but still very musical character that most would associate with traditional quality valve mics like the AKG C12 or Telefunken 251 — and the fact that I’m even comparing the Horizon to mics of that calibre says a lot." Hugh Robjohns

Producer Marque “Keybeeetsss” Walker chooses Lauten’s Oceanus and receives two Grammy nominations

Oceanus wows Walker and becomes his new go-to vocal microphone

San Jose, CA, January 6^th, 2009 - Producer and engineer Marque “Keybeeetsss” Walker took Lauten Audio’s flagship studio vocal microphone the Oceanus to new heights, receiving two 52^nd Grammy nominations for his work in the Gospel genres. Sheri Jones-Moffetts “Renewed” and Vickie Winans “How I Got Over,” both produced by Walker, received Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel album and Best Traditional Gospel album respectively. Walker chose the Oceanus for lead and backing vocals on both albums.

“I remember being floored the first time I put up the Oceanus on Sheri Jones-Moffett; she also mentioned how impressed she was. The tone I was getting from the mic just made me go wow and the more I used it there more it became my favorite vocal mic,” says Walker. In addition to its Grammy nomination, Sheri Jones-Moffett’s album debuted #6 on Billboards Gospel Chart’s.

“On the Vickie Winans record, I recorded a group of five singers placed around the Oceanus in omni-directional mode. I couldn’t believe how great they sounded. When I sent the straight track to Vickie; with no processing, she was in awe," continues Walker. Since its release, “How I Got Over” peaked at #1 on Billboards Gospel Chart’s and still sits in the top 20. Winans has also been nominated in nine Stellar Award categories.

Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Walker started playing instruments at the age of three and recorded his first CD as a musician at the age of 15, joining the music business professionally at the age of 20. Since then, Walker has worked in various capacities with a plethora of Rap, R&B and Gospel artists such as Brian McKnight, Toni Braxton, Ice Cube, Too Short, Beyoncé, Isaac Hayes and more recently Debbie Usher, Joey Sabin, Jay-Z, Jaiden and many more. Prior to his Grammy nominated albums, Mr. Walker was nominated for a 2007 “Producer of The Year” Dove Award.

Mitch Phillips - Voice artist on the Lauten Clarion

Mitch Phillips serves the voiceover needs of clients around the world from his custom built ISDN voice studio in beautiful Coral Springs, Florida. Here's the unedited version of what Mitch had to say about his Lauten Audio Clarion microphone.

"I like the core sound of the mic more than many I have tried. By core I mean that the Clarion seems to sound consistantly good on my voice no matter what preamp or settings I use. I like not having to play with settings all day. The Clarion allows me to pretty much plug and play and talk.

In my over 20 years of voice work, few mics really match up well with my voice (again - my ears). I like a certain throat and chest element along with some air and the Clarion does that for me without over emphasizing the upper range like most mics (in this price point do).

Good work. I am impressed! "

In addition to being a voice artist, Mitch recently launched his own radio show Mitch Phillips Live!