Review - Lauten Audio Eden LT-386 Large Diaphragm Multipattern Tube Condenser

The Eden LT-386

The first review of our new Eden LT-386 multi-voicing™ vacuum tube condenser microphone is out!

Found out why Rob Tavaglione of Pro Sound News said "...I can say that this LDC is the finest, most versatile one I have ever used."

Prosound Network: Lauten Audio Eden LT-386 Large Diaphragm Multipattern Tube Condenser

Producer Corrado Rustici Chooses Atlantis Mic for Italian Pop Star "Virginio"

    Italian producer Corrado Rustici, together with engineer Michael Rosen, auditioned many top mics for recent sessions at Rosen's 'East Bay Recorders', but chose Lauten Audio's 'Atlantis' FC-387 for Italian pop singer Virginio's vocals.

Corrado Rustici and Michael Rosen at East Bay Recorders

Rustici has a body of work that surpasses 70-million in album sales, and although he is most well-known in Italy with his work on music from mega-stars such as Zucchero and Andrea Bocelli, he has made California his home-base for many years and has worked with British and US superstars such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Lee Hooker, and Stewart Copeland, to name a few. Most recently, during his production of new Italian breakout singer and songwriting star Virginio, Rustici booked the East Bay Recorders studio in Oakland and working with owner/engineer Michael Rosen recorded vocals for Virginio's new album for Universal Music Italy. When evaluating microphones to best bring out Virginio's pop-star voice, Rosen and Rustici auditioned a series of industry leading microphones as would any seasoned producer or engineer, after many models and trials they realized the best match was the 'Atlantis FC-387 - a mic originally designed especially for vocals.

Rustici is focusing on developing young artists such as Virginio these days, and loved what the Atlantis mic gave to the production, "I have been using Lauten Audio mics for about 2 years, I often choose them over a lot of other top microphones when I audition mics for a singer. On this session we tried about 6 different microphones and the Atlantis was the best match for Virginio's voice. The mic is very smooth with a nice top end, it gave his voice a lot of body."

Virgino's selfie during the session

The East Bay Recorders sessions have already paid-off with a single released entitled 'Hercules', that is in heavy radio airplay in Italy and is receiving incredible reviews. "A young, talented singer who firmly believes in the values of music, Virginio Simonelli is now ready to climb the charts," said journalist Cinzia Del Prete, upon hearing the new song.

After singing one of his original songs at Italy's most important music festival in 2006, the Sanremo Giovani, Virginio was signed to Universal Music Italy and released his first album. Since then, as a songwriter Virginio has collaborated with Italian star Elisa, and Gary Barlow (Take That), and his song 'Limpido' became a hit duet with Laura Pausini and Kylie Minogue, later followed with his own duet with Pausini on his song 'Dove Resto Solo Io'. Recently he's worked with songwriters Andy Marvel (Celin Dion), Dimitri Ehlirch (Moby), and Jesse Harris (Norah Jones). In 2011, Virginio was the winner of Italy's most popular singing contest TV show, 'Amici'.

Rosen, who has engineered for top artists, across many genres, including Todd Rundgren, Santana, Tesla, Joe Satriani, and Popa Roach, commented on the sessions and the Atlantis microphone, "I choose the Atlantis mic for this vocal because of its super clear and present top and strong body, it provided Virginio with the inspiration and the power that the track needed."

The Atlantis FC-387 microphone was a collaborative effort between Lauten Audio, and New York engineer and producer Fab Dupont. Its Multi-voicing' feature gives recordists three distinct timbre's to choose from with just the flip of a switch. Originally designed for vocals, the Atlantis also shines on acoustic instruments of all types.

Lauten Audio
www.lautenaudio.com

Corrado Rustici
www.corradorustici.com

Michael Rosen, East Bay Recorders
www.michaelsrosen.com

All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Darrell Thorp Becomes a Believer in Atlantis

Los Angeles, CA – May 18, 2015 – Seven-time Grammy® winning Engineer and Mixer, Darrell Thorp, recently acquired a pair of Lauten Audio’s Multi-voicing™ microphones, the Atlantis FC-387.

Recently picking up multiple Grammy’s for his work on Beck’s, “Morning Phase,” Thorp has built a solid foundation in the music industry, further adding to that foundation with his Atlantis microphones. Thorp and Lauten Audio’s founder, Brian Loudenslager, recently became acquainted after exchanging social media praise for each other. “I friended Darrell on Facebook; upon him accepting my request, he posted on my page stating, “Love your mics!” I replied simply, “Love your ears,” says Loudenslager, adding, “Of course I had to inquire and get more specifics as I wasn't aware Darrell was using our microphones”.

During a session in 2014, Thorp had a challenging vocal session with a female singer, Suzanne Santo from the band HoneyHoney, who had a very powerful and dynamic vocal. Thorp talked the producer into getting a demo of the Atlantis microphone so he could try it on a few things. “The producer wanted to try it on her vocal,” said Thorp. “We had tried other microphones without success. We put up the Atlantis and, BAM!, really airy and open,” says Thorp. “What really surprised us was how much the mic was smoothing out the 3k bump that was part of her tone. It smoothed the vocal into a more manageable place that I could handle better on the mix. And she loved the Atlantis as well,” added Thorp. He used the ‘Neutral’ setting on the Multi-voicing Atlantis mic, the other settings are ‘Gentle’ and ‘Forward’.

Thorp speaking at Grammy's

“It was truly an honor to have the intended design of the Atlantis validated by such a decorated engineer like Thorp”, says Loudenslager. Released in 2012, the Atlantis was a collaboration between engineer/producer Fab Dupont and Lauten Audio. Dupont wanted a modern vocal microphone, with multiple timbres that could tackle any vocal challenge, that idea became the Atlantis, model FC-387. On release of the Atlantis in 2012, Fab said, “I need a microphone that can be custom tailored for recording female vocalists, so that when they start belting on a chorus – my eyes don’t hurt!” 

Since that initial demo of the Atlantis, Thorp added a pair to his own collection. “I’ve now used them on drums, vocals, background vocals, and guitars,” says Thorp. “I recently used Atlantis on snare; turned it to the ‘Forward’ setting, holy crap, the snare was really snappy and bright - perfect for the song. I like it on back-ground vocals in Omni mode.” In addition to having the Multi-voicing switch, Atlantis also features Cardioid, Figure-of-eight, and Omni-directional polar patterns, as well as a +10 gain, and -10dB pad.

“It’s been great in the mix,” Thorp told Loudenslager, “Man, I am a believer. You have a great product here!”




Lauten Audio
www.lautenaudio.com

Darrell Thorp
www.darrellthorp.com

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Lauten Audio to Reveal "Eden" a Multi-voicing Tube Microphone

Building on the success of the Atlantis, Lauten Audio announces "Eden," a vacuum tube Multi-voicing(tm) microphone at 2015 Musikmesse Trade Show in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt, Germany - April 13, 2015 - At the 2015 Prolight + Sound / Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Lauten Audio will, for the first time in public, reveal the model LT-386, nick named "Eden," a vacuum tube, Multi-voicing(tm), large-diaphragm condenser microphone. Eden features Lauten's proprietary "Multi-voicing(tm)" technology; a switch offering unique timbre settings, three different polar patterns, and an exclusive high-pass filter.  Eden is for recordists seeking the most diverse and useful modern vacuum tube microphone. It offers a smooth and rich character reminiscent of the most sought after classics. Lauten will be showing the Eden microphone at Prolight + Sound / Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, April 15-18, at booth A60B, in Hall 5.1. Eden is estimated to list for $3,999.00 (USD) and be available at dealers starting in June 2015.

Brian Loudenslager, Founder of Lauten Audio, reveals, "This was our greatest challenge yet. In preparation for and during development, I spent time learning to understand what people think is so special about vintage and vintage inspirations like the C12, 47, 251 etc. I spent many hours in the studio with industry veterans learning what they hear. Not that I haven't done this in the past; it's just that this time, rather than think what I could do differently, I was trying to imagine what I could do the same within our own microphone range and then expand upon it. Eden was designed as a result of these experiences. I've even surprised myself; the Eden is so smooth, with a sprinkle of that magic 'pick your adjective' you often hear described."

"I need to give a shout-out to several people including Grammy(r) winning Producer/Engineer, Jason Carmer, who lent us his studio and ears for many, many hours, as well as Mastering engineers Michael Romanowski and Piper Payne and everyone at Coast Recorders," adds Loudenslager.

Multiple switches located on each side and back of Eden allow the engineer to highly configure it. First is a polar pattern switch located on the microphone itself; which is not common for a modern vacuum tube microphone, giving recordists the option of choosing between a Cardioid, Omnidirectional or Figure-8 polar-pattern. It also features a unique high-pass filter; of course, this high-pass isn't like others. "I'm not revealing the per-octave's yet, if ever, but can say, it's unusual in a microphone," says Loudenslager.  Lastly, Eden will feature a voicing switch that offers Forward, Neutral, and Gentle timbre options. "Without a doubt, adds Loudenslager, "Eden could arguably be the smoothest, most versatile, large diaphragm, vacuum tube vocal microphone ever."

As the Company did on its Atlantis model, once again Lauten Audio worked with engineer and producer Fab Dupont to help develop the sonic signature. "I wanted something that has all the benefits of a true vacuum tube transformer mic without the drawbacks, and Lauten Audio made that happen," says Dupont. Some of the many challenges Fab requested were a unique high-pass and a semi-permanent shock-mount. Dupont adds, "The high-pass switch in Eden gives you bass drum clean-up and vocal clean-up options. Imagine having a Lauten Atlantis with all its characteristics and adding the control and density of a tube and transformer design-that is Eden by Lauten Audio." 

"Fab and I have evolved in our ability to understand each other and while this is a good thing, he also challenged us a great deal more," says Loudenslager. "In reality, Eden is a completely 'from-the-ground up' design with a much more vintage inspired design methodology. I started with a tube version of Atlantis, but in my opinion, we ended up with something quite different-this is our new flagship microphone."

Eden will be assembled in the USA and feature a modified version of Lauten Audio's 31.25mm dual-diaphragm capsule, a custom wound, U.S. built output transformer, EF86 or equivalent pentode vacuum tube, Switchcraft(r) connectors through-out, nickel plated head, a semi-permanent shock mount, and Lauten's new unique surface finish also done in the USA. Accessories included with the microphone will be Lauten's custom tube microphone cable with Switchcraft connectors, hard case and mount.  Final specifications will be released prior to the product shipping which is estimated to be in June 2015, with a list price of $3,999.00. (USD)

About Lauten Audio

Lauten Audio microphones continue to carve out a unique niche for recordists seeking microphones with an original sound.  Their product line includes the award-winning "Oceanus" LT-381 transformer-less tube condenser microphone, the FC-357 "Clarion", and the FC-387 "Atlantis" solid-state Multi-voicing(tm) large diaphragm condenser microphone.  Lauten Audio microphones have received rave reviews from both experienced recording engineers and leading Pro Audio magazines around the world.  Lauten Audio is located in San Jose California.  For more information visit http://www.lautenaudio.com or call 1-877-721-7018.

All trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Description and specifications are subject to change without notice.

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Hi-Res Photos download:

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COLIN HAY'S "NEXT YEAR PEOPLE" FEELS THE MAGIC OF LAUTEN'S ATLANTIS VOCAL MICROPHONE

Los Angeles, CA (March 9th, 2015) –Grammy winning recording artist, Colin Hay applies

the magic of Lauten Audio’s Multi-voicing™, Atlantis studio microphone to his latest solo release, “Next Year People”. 

Colin with one of his Atlantis microphones

Perhaps best known as a founding member of the 80’s Australian band, Men at Work, Hay has also had a very successful solo career since the early 2000’s.  Hay’s newest album, “Next Year People,” was released on February 17th.  Hay recently added a pair of Lauten Audio’s Atlantis, FC-387 Multi-voicing™, studio microphones to his studio.  “I received a demo of the Atlantis in late 2013 and it sounded stellar.  Shortly after I had ordered a new one, I asked to purchase and keep the demo unit as well.”

"I've recorded many different instruments with the Atlantis, and it's wonderful.  Vocals, acoustic guitar, tres (Cuban stringed instrument), tablas, congas, acoustic bass, etcetera.  It sounds great on everything," says Hay.  Hay used his Atlantis on the latest album, and most notably on the title track, NEXT YEAR PEOPLE.  Hay adds, “This is particularly relevant as it's primarily acoustic guitar and vocal, and both were recorded with the Atlantis.”

“I have been fortunate to know Colin for a handful of years now.  I first saw his solo show a number of years ago in San Francisco.  I was floored by the amazing timbre of his live voice as well as the extreme entertainment value he offers.  I was laughing as much as I was listening,” says Brian Loudenslager of Lauten Audio; adding, “He has that type of live voice that can give you chills.” 

The Atlantis FC-387 was a collaborative effort between Lauten Audio, and Fab Dupont. It’s a highly unique studio microphone in that is has a Multi-voicing™ feature giving recordists three distinct timbre’s to choose from with just the flip of a switch.  “The Atlantis has really brought awareness to the Lauten Audio brand,” says Brian Loudenslager of Lauten Audio.  “I hear over and over from new owners how much they appreciate the usability of the microphone.”  Hay adds, “I'm using the Atlantis a lot these days.  It sounds great on everything, very good on my voice and acoustic.  I have one next to me at all times in the control room, and can fire it up on anything at any given moment.”

Colin Hay’s, Next Year People, is available from all major outlets and he is currently on tour in the U.S.  For the latest tour stop visit www.colinhay.com. 

Lauten Audio
www.lautenaudio.com

Colin Hay
www.colinhay.com


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